Black Knight offense stagnant as UConn beats Army 22-17

Army was able to move the ball fairly consistently against Fordham in their opening game of the season.

However, Army didn't play Fordham again this weekend.

Instead, the Black Knights' triple option attack was once again relegated to being the "Ahmad Bradshaw Show" en route to a 22-17 loss to the University of Connecticut Huskies.

For the second straight week, Bradshaw carried just about half of the total rushes for Army, and this time he rushed for 129 out of the 180 yards the Cadets posted on the ground.

Bradshaw got most of his yards on a 56-yard scamper to the end zone to give West Point an early 10-3 lead. The Army quarterback would only gain 73 yards on his other 15 carries for an average of 4.86 yards.

Or, in other words, Army's triple option attack was completely stymied by Connecticut's defense. The Black Knights didn't go to the air much with Bradshaw under the helm either. He completed one pass for five yards on three attempts.

However, Bradshaw nearly produced two big plays. Emphasis on nearly.

After the Huskies narrowed Army's lead to 10-9 in the first half, Bradshaw overthrew a wide open John Trainor. The play would have put the Black Knights in scoring position. Instead, the Cadets would not convert on the third and short situation, and would have to punt.

Then on Army's opening drive of the third quarter, Bradshaw turned a huge run to the UConn 11 yard line. However, a DeAndre Bell holding penalty on the 27 yard line knocked Army back to the 37, effectively wiping 26 yards off the board. The offense would blunder away the rest of the possession.

Still, West Point had a chance to come away with the win.

Late in the game, A.J. Schurr found slotback Joe Walker for a 71-yard touchdown reception to bring Army within a touchdown of victory.

But when the Army defense forced UConn to punt, Schurr would only find Huskies safety Andrew Adams. The interception clinched the victory for Connecticut.

On the other side of the ball, Army's defense fared much better in defending the rush initially. However, the Black Knight secondary was victimized yet again. Huskies quarterback Bryant Shirreffs went 19 of 25 for 270 yards passing. With the aerial attack working like a charm, the rush opened up for UConn later on in the contest.

This was a game of lost opportunities. Army clearly wasn't the better football team, but they did hang around long enough to give themselves a chance.

Trouble is, they couldn't take advantage of those opportunities. They couldn't connect on a deep pass play until they were two possessions down in the fourth quarter.

Undisciplined play cost them a huge run by their quarterback which would have allowed them to keep pace with UConn's offense.

And they settled for a field goal after recovering a fumble on the opposition's opening drive for the second straight week.

The Black Knights head back to West Point to face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons next Saturday, and if they want to have any shot in that game they'll need more than just production from Ahmad Bradshaw and their linebackers.

They'll need their slotbacks and fullbacks producing at a much higher level as Bradshaw cannot carry this team by himself.

As for the secondary, the coaches have to dream up a better coverage scheme because, even if he was healthy, Josh Jenkins can't fix this unit.

And if they can't mend the defense soon, they'll be run over by almost everyone else on their schedule.