The Black Knights will have an immediate shot at revenge from one of their worst performances of 2016.
One of the biggest goals for Jeff Monken in his third season as the head coach of Army was to reach a bowl game. The Black Knights (6-5) achieved that goal and will be taking on North Texas in the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl on December 27 at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas.
This will be the first bowl game for Army since the 2010 Armed Forces Bowl and a return to the postseason is huge for the immediate future of the Black Knights program. This means extra practice time for the team with an eye towards next season, plus more visibility when it comes to Monken’s next round of recruiting.
Army made a bowl game despite only having five bowl eligible wins (the Lafayette victory does not count) as the school’s Academic Progress Rate is the highest among five win teams. Army is in a weird position as the bowl schedule is announced before the team’s final regular season game against Navy. The Mean Green (5-7) also have five wins towards bowl eligibility, after they fell apart down the stretch and won just one of its final five games of the season.
This rematch is one that Army will be relishing after a seven-turnover performance that resulted in a loss to North Texas back on October 22. Army found its bowl options limited as there were just three slots remaining by the time other bowl eligible teams had been placed. Two of the slots were in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, while the third was in the St. Petersburg Bowl. The Heart of Dallas Bowl was selected because it is the best fit for the cadets as they will be flying in to play the game, before then flying out for the holidays.