Army Black Knights Still Undefeated Grit and Grind Their Way Into Top 25

With their latest win, extending their undefeated run this year, the Army Black Knights have landed in the top 25 of the latest college football power rankings.

Nov 9, 2024; Denton, Texas, USA; Army Black Knights defensive lineman Trey Sofia (91) and defensive lineman Jacob Tuioti (62) celebrate after a 14-3 victory against the North Texas Mean Green at DATCU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

It may not have been pretty, but pretty is not how the Army Black Knights have won their football games each and every week this year.

Now 9-0 on the year overall, and 7-0 in American Athletic Conference play with their latest win over the North Texas Mean Green, the Black Knights sit just three wins shy of a perfect regular season, something that the program has accomplished only five times before, with the most recent coming in 1945, just shy of 80 years ago.

It has been a historic season for Army in their first campaign with the AAC, and it may turn out to be much longer than intended.

Their exploits this year have seen them rise through the ranks, currently sitting 16th in the AP Poll, 17th in the Coaches Poll, and 25th in the College Football Playoff Rankings (the latest iteration came last Tuesday), and have now climbed even higher in the latest college football power rankings.

Chris Vannini of The Athletic releases his college football power rankings every week, and for the first time this year, the Black Knights are in the top 25 of those rankings, landing at 22nd.

"Army is also newly into this group at No. 22 after beating North Texas 14-3," writes Vannini, "the Black Knights went from zero wins against teams with a winning record to two over the weekend, thanks to this game and East Carolina’s win elsewhere."

It was a massive boon to their resume for the year, one that will be put to the test against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on November 23rd in the first of three remaining games for the regular season.

The key moment of this week's game against the Mean Green came when Army held the ball for one drive that lasted 21 plays, driving 94 yards down the field, and taking 13 minutes and 54 seconds off the game clock, all but sealing the deal on the victory with the longest drive in all of college football this year so far.

Of the 21 plays ran in that drive, 20 came via the run, with the longest being a 17-yard run on the ninth play of the sequence.

That grit and determination has been the driving factor behind the Black Knights' continued success this year, and should they continue to win, it will be what puts them over the top in their quest for a spot in the newly expanded College Football Playoffs.