Army Black Knights 2026 College Football Preview
Posted July 2, 2026
2025 Recap
Record – 7-6
ATS – 7-6
“She’s fat, she’s thin, she’s fat, she’s thin… pick a body and go with it!”
— Jerry Seinfeld, Saturday Night Live (1992)
We won’t dive into the rabbit hole regarding Oprah’s weight, but we will discuss the frustration that Army fans endured during the 2025 campaign. It was a grind, and they never won or lost more than two games in a row, always struggling to find their footing. The regular season ended with a heartbreaking one-point loss to their hated rivals from the Naval Academy, but they finished in style by smoking UConn in their bowl game and thus finishing with a winning record.
It was always gonna be tough to follow up an AAC title, so you’ve gotta cut them some slack. The question becomes: Can they be contenders once again in 2026?
Army Black Knights 2026 Outlook
OFFENSE
2025 By The Numbers (American):
- Scoring: 23.8 PPG (#11 American)
- Total Offense: 335.8 YPG (#12 American)
- Rushing: 254.9 YPG (#2 American)
- Passing: 80.8 YPG (#14 American, dead last)
- Sacks Allowed: 7 (#1 American)
The rushing attack wasn’t nearly as potent last season (255 vs. 201 YPG in 2024; 4.4 YPC vs. 5.5 YPC), and of course that was in large part due to moving on from superstar QB Bryson Daily.
QB Cale Hellums ran the show pretty well, and while he’s not a super-dynamic runner, he’s a productive specimen who keeps the chains moving (1,223 yards, 4.0 avg, 18 TD). Hellums is also the kind of guy who can burn you once in a while through the air (54%, 4-3 TD to INT), and that comes in handy. The RB room needs to be retooled, but we’re never worried about Army finding doods to run the football. Two guys to keep an eye on this year are GODSPOWER Nwawuihe, who was bowl MVP last year in large part due to a 70-yard TD scamper, and veteran Carson Smith (6-0, 240), who’ll do a lot of the dirty work. The news at WR is very good given the return of the devastating home run hitter Brady Anderson (381 yards, 27.2 avg, 2 TD) and Swiss Army Knife Samari Howard.
The offensive line could be the best in the American Conference, and that’s bad news for opposing defenses. The Black Knights return four starters, including center Brady Small, who’s one of the best in the business.
DEFENSE
2025 By The Numbers (American):
- Scoring: 21.6 PPG (#2 American)
- Total Defense: 343.5 YPG (#1 American)
- Rushing Defense: 153.2 YPG (#7 American)
- Passing Defense: 190.4 YPG (#2 American)
- Sacks: 15 (#13 American)
The stop unit took a small step back last year after an insanely good 2024 season, but it was more in line with what we’d seen over the last number of seasons. Army will be without their top seven tacklers this year, so it’ll be interesting to see how things come together.
We’re pleased with how things look up front. They’ve got a generous amount of size and GIRTH on the interior, and they retain ace PENETRATOR Jack Bousum (4.5 sacks, 8 TFL, 5 QBH), who creates lots of havoc from the outside. The middle layer of the defense is very raw after losing all the key pieces from last season’s corps, so that’s a concern. Our Army INSIDERS are telling us good things about sophomore LB Bryson Banks, who’s got interesting dimensions (5-8, 248!), but we’ll have to see how things go. Army’s secondary is relatively experienced at corner with Jaydan Mayes and Jaxon Hammond returning as seniors. They should provide stability. The safety position is a bit of a mystery box as we approach press time, but hopefully Army can sort that position out during fall camp.
SPECIAL TEAMS
We love the situation in the kicking game as the Black Knights will continue to feature punter James Wagenseller (40.8 net) and PK Dawson Jones (15/20). As per usual, don’t expect much in the return units.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – The non-conference slate is very palatable, with Air Force (H) and Navy (N, non-conf game) standing out as the toughest challenges. We like the American schedule as they miss Navy and UTSA, and get to feast on the rebuilding Rice Owls. The conference opener (Sept. 12) at home vs USF is a YUUUGE early season matchup.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at Memphis (Oct 31)
Army will be playing their second of back-to-back road games, and they’ve got the rivalry clash with Air Force up next.
Season Win Total
Market consensus – July 2
Over 7.5 -145
Under 7.5 +115
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Over
This looks like a rock-solid edition of Army football, and the schedule doesn’t hurt their chances.
Note – Our official list of season win total investments will be posted in the blog section of the website.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
MEGALOCKS‑grade trivia ARTILLERY SHELL: West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military installation in the United States. It was first fortified in 1778 during the Revolutionary War — before the war even ended and well before the U.S. Constitution was written in 1787. West Point still stands today as a fortress forged before the Founders finished the framework of the nation — a patriotic trivia artillery shell delivered straight from the Hudson Highlands, yo.
Army is 48-13 at home over the last 10 years, although they were a disappointing 2-3 at West Point last year.
MEGALOCKS Forecast:
We’ve gotten to the point now where Army can have a seven-win season and you’re left a bit disappointed. We anticipate a strong campaign from the Black Knights as we expect the offense to hum, and it’ll just be a matter of the defense holding serve more often than not. The schedule-maker did them a solid, and we view Army as a legit player in the wide-open American — a team that could absolutely be playing for a conference title in early December.
HOOAH, Army!