Army (4-2, 3-1 American) at Tulsa (4-3, 1-2 American). Friday, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m. CT (8:30 p.m. ET), Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium, Tulsa, Okla., ESPN2.
Your hosts are Capt. (Ret.) Thaddeus Rourke, a retired Army logistics officer who reads every option pitch like a supply chain, and Wiley Pettibone, a Tulsa petroleum-geology grad who calls every good drive a gusher.
Thaddeus: Copy that. Mission brief: run the ball, protect the ball, beat Navy. Mostly the first two this week.
Wiley: Captain, that drive chart of yours is a dry well waiting to happen. We've got a defense that strikes oil.
Players to watch
Army runs for 357.5 yards per game, first in FBS, and throws for just 69.2, 137th, which is entirely by design. Quarterback Cale Hellums has 719 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns, plus 358 passing yards. Brady Anderson leads in receiving with seven catches for 102 yards. Elijah Walton leads with 42 tackles, and Victor Afolabi leads with three sacks.
Tulsa quarterback Baylor Hayes has thrown for 1,081 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver Oran Singleton Jr. has 38 catches for 474 yards. Running back Damari Alston has more than 360 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. On defense, Kyran Duhon leads with six sacks and Chris Thompson Jr. leads with 66 tackles. Tulsa is plus-11 in turnover margin, third in FBS.
Wiley: Plus-eleven. That's free crude, Captain.
What happened last week
Army beat Florida Atlantic 56-24 at West Point on Oct. 17. The Black Knights scored on their first seven possessions, ran for 479 yards on 60 carries and threw only two passes. Hellums ran 25 times for 195 yards and five touchdowns, including a 58-yard score. Jake Rendina, Samari Howard and Bryson Luter all had touchdown runs of 30 yards or more, and Walton intercepted a pass on the game's first snap.
Tulsa won 38-17 at Rice the same day. Hayes went 20 of 27 for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Trequan Jones broke a 45-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The defense shut Rice out over the final 40 minutes and 59 seconds.
Thaddeus: Two passes in a whole game. Outstanding execution.
Injuries and availability
No official conference availability report has been published for this game. No injury news has surfaced for either team, so check back closer to kickoff.
What the coaches are up to
Jeff Monken has led Army since 2014. He was previously Georgia Southern's head coach and worked under Paul Johnson at Georgia Southern, Navy and Georgia Tech. His team averages only 35.8 penalty yards per game, sixth in FBS, and holds the ball 34:42 per game. Third-down defense is his project: opponents convert 52.1%, 124th.
Tre Lamb is in his second season at Tulsa, after coaching East Tennessee State and Gardner-Webb. His team opened the year by beating Oklahoma State 24-10. Two more wins after this one would make Tulsa bowl-eligible.
Player storylines
The whole game might come down to Army's run game against a Tulsa run defense ranked 121st, at 191.6 yards per game. Wiley's answer is takeaways, and the option needs clean pitches. Both offenses struggle on third down: Tulsa converts 31.3%, 125th, while Army's defense allows 52.1%, 124th. Something gives.
What's happening on campus
Tulsa has made Friday Military Appreciation Night. The plans include military vehicle displays around the stadium and a Military Tribute Halftime Show by the Sound of the Golden Hurricane. Homecoming is still to come, against Florida Atlantic on Nov. 14.
Thaddeus: A military halftime show for the visitors. Tulsa, that is class. I'll stand at attention.
Wiley: Stand all you like, Captain. Just don't run the option at the band.
Anything else fun and true
Army won 49-7 at Chapman Stadium in 2024, and the Black Knights would love a repeat. Army's two losses this season came by four points or fewer, so this team is never far from a win.
Wiley: That 2024 game was a dry well, Captain. Friday we drill somewhere new.
Thaddeus: Noted, filed, and logged for the after-action report. Beat Navy.
Wiley: You're playing Tulsa, Captain.
Thaddeus: Beat Navy anyway.
The Cover Window
My call: Army Black Knights 28, Tulsa Golden Hurricane 24.