Attention on deck. Capt. Thaddeus Rourke, retired, reporting from the stands above the Hudson, where my boots are shined, my clipboard is laminated and my coffee is exactly the temperature the regulations recommend. I spent a career moving the right item to the right place at the right time. Then I retired, and I discovered that Army football does the same thing, except the item is a football and the place is the end zone.
This week's operations order has two phases. Phase one: an after-action review of the most efficient supply run I have ever witnessed. Phase two: a Friday night deployment to Tulsa, Oklahoma, home of a hurricane that has never once seen the sea. Copy that, and beat Navy.
Part 1: After-Action Review, Army 56, Florida Atlantic 24
Let the record show that on Saturday, Oct. 17, in front of 28,537 at Michie Stadium, Army beat Florida Atlantic 56-24, and the Black Knights reached the end zone on their first seven possessions. Seven for seven. In logistics, we call that a perfect delivery record. In football, I believe the technical term is "please stop."
The mission started before the coffee cooled. On the very first snap, Elijah Walton intercepted FAU quarterback Caden Veltkamp. On the very next snap, Samari Howard ran 30 yards for a touchdown. Two plays, one takeaway, one score. I have seen slower service at the mess hall.
Then quarterback Cale Hellums took over the convoy. He ran 58 yards for a touchdown on Army's next possession, then added three short scoring runs in the second quarter for a 35-14 halftime lead. He added another one early in the fourth. His final report: 25 carries, 195 yards and five rushing touchdowns. Five. That is not a stat sheet, troops. That is a shipping manifest.
The relief drivers were sharp, too. On the third play of the second half, Jake Rendina burrowed up the middle and broke free for a 61-yard score. On Army's last possession, Bryson Luter went 69 yards for the final touchdown. Rendina finished with 86 yards on seven carries, and Luter had 78 on three. When the third-string convoy averages 26 yards a trip, the depot is in good order.
Now the numbers, filed properly. Army ran 60 times for 479 yards, eight yards a carry. Army threw two passes. Two. Hellums completed one of them for two yards to Howard, which is still a 50 percent completion rate, and I will hear no criticism of it. The Black Knights went 4-for-4 on fourth down, committed zero turnovers, drew only two penalties for 20 yards, and did not punt until midway through the fourth quarter. The punter showed up, filled out his paperwork and went home with clean cleats.
To be fair to our guests, Veltkamp threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns, and Easton Messer caught 14 passes. FAU matched Army's first two touchdowns. After that, the Owls ran into the supply chain, and the supply chain does not negotiate.
Part 2: Deployment Orders, Army at Tulsa
Friday night, 8:30 p.m. Eastern, on ESPN2, Army (4-2, 3-1 American) visits Tulsa (4-3) at Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium. It is a short week, a road trip and a night game. I have packed three clipboards.
The Inventory
Army's ground game leads all of FBS at 357.5 rushing yards per game. The Black Knights throw for 69.2 a game, 137th in the country, which is not a weakness. It is a policy. They score 34.8 points per game, convert 95.2 percent of their red zone trips (11th), hold the ball 34:42 per game (3rd) and commit just 35.8 penalty yards per game (6th). Discipline is a love letter to your teammates.
Hellums leads the operation with 719 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns on 129 carries, plus 358 passing yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He is the most productive logistics officer in the American, and he has never once filed a late report.
Now the honest part of the briefing, because this is an honest outfit. Army's defense allows 368.0 yards per game (84th), and opponents convert 52.1 percent of third downs against it, 124th in FBS. That needs fixing on the double.
The Opposition
Tulsa beat Rice 38-17 in Houston last Saturday. Baylor Hayes completed 20 of 27 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns, Oran Singleton Jr. caught seven balls for 87 yards, and Trequan Jones ran 45 yards for a late touchdown. Rice did not score over the final 40 minutes and 59 seconds. Credit where due. That is a sound defensive half.
For the season, Hayes has 1,081 passing yards, eight touchdowns and one interception. Damari Alston leads the ground game with 370 yards and six touchdowns, and Singleton has 38 catches for 474 yards.
Here is what the intelligence report says about the matchup. Tulsa allows 191.6 rushing yards per game, 121st in FBS, and 408.4 yards per game overall, 116th. Army runs for 357.5. I am a supply officer, not a mathematician, but I know when a warehouse door has been left open.
Tulsa's offense converts 31.3 percent of its third downs, 125th in the country. Army's defense allows 52.1 percent, 124th. Somebody's third-down number improves Friday night. I have filed a formal request that it be ours.
The one item that keeps me up at night: Tulsa is plus-11 in turnover margin, third in FBS. The Golden Hurricane takes the ball away. Army did not turn it over once against FAU. Every pitch must arrive like a supply drop, on time and on target.
And the clock. Tulsa holds the ball 27:31 per game, 122nd in FBS. Army holds it 34:42. If the Black Knights run their plan, the Tulsa offense will spend a good part of Friday night on the bench, reviewing its own paperwork.
The Series File
CollegeFootballData.com lists Tulsa ahead 2-1 all time. Tulsa won 49-39 at West Point in 2007. Army won 49-7 in Tulsa in 2024. And last season, Tulsa won 26-25 at Michie Stadium. One point. I have not forgotten, and I have the after-action report laminated.
The Golden Hurricane's Season, Reviewed by a Neutral Inspector
I respect a team that beat Oklahoma State 24-10 in its opener. That is a legitimate win, and I salute it. Since then, the hurricane has been downgraded to a tropical storm watch: a 34-6 loss at Arkansas, a 45-44 loss to North Texas at home and a 34-26 loss at Navy. Navy, troops. Tulsa lost to Navy. I cannot overlook a deficiency of that magnitude. Copy that, and beat Navy.
Town Report: West Point vs. Tulsa
West Point. Our post is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. George Washington kept his headquarters there in 1779 and called it "the most important Post in America." Michie Stadium opened in 1924, sits above the Hudson River, and was rated Sports Illustrated's No. 3 sports venue of the 20th century. The 2020 census counted 7,341 people in West Point. Last Saturday, 28,537 showed up at Michie. That is almost four West Points, and every one of them stood for the anthem.
We also have the Army Mules. The tradition dates to 1899, when an officer at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot decided the team needed a mascot to counter the Navy goat. Mules were the obvious choice because they hauled Army gear for generations. A mascot chosen by a quartermaster for its hauling capacity. I have never been prouder of an animal.
Tulsa. Now, I will be a gracious guest. Tulsa is a real city, 413,066 people at the 2020 census, with a proud history. For most of the 20th century it carried the nickname "Oil Capital of the World," and it calls itself the "Birthplace of Route 66." Chapman Stadium opened in 1930 as Skelly Field and sits right on historic Route 66. Cain's Ballroom, built in 1924, is where Bob Wills popularized Western swing. Respect.
But I have questions for the quartermaster. Tulsa's mascot is a Golden Hurricane. Oklahoma is a landlocked state. A hurricane, troops, needs an ocean to form, and Tulsa sits hundreds of miles from the nearest coastline. That is a supply problem nobody solved.
Then there is the Golden Driller, a 76-foot, 43,500-pound statue of an oil worker in front of the Tulsa Expo Center. He has stood at that post since 1966, and in 1979 the Oklahoma Legislature made him the state monument. As a military man, I deeply respect a soldier who holds his position. As a logistics man, I must point out that he has been holding the same derrick for 60 years and has not delivered one barrel. Somebody relieve that man.
Final Orders
Here is the plan. Run the ball. Protect the ball. Win the clock. Fix the third downs. Tulsa will bring a takeaway defense and a quarterback who protects the football, and the Golden Hurricane will be at home on a Friday night with something to prove after last year's one-point win at West Point. Respect the opponent. Then out-execute him.
Thank God for every man and woman who serves, thank the cadets for the example they set, and pack a jacket for the bleachers. Copy that, and beat Navy.
My call: Army Black Knights 28, Tulsa Golden Hurricane 24.