The UMass Minutemen gave the Army Black Knights a dose of their own medicine on Saturday, defeating Army by taking the air out of the ball and grinding out a hard-fought victory. UMass rode their talented backfield to victory, pushing Army to the brink of bowl eligibility.
Army Drops Sixth Game, Fears No Bowl Eligibility
Army was handed their sixth loss of the season, their fifth in a row, as the fear is now gaining a bowl game could be nearly out of reach.
For reference, teams must win six regular season games to become eligible to play in a bowl game. After losing to UMass, the Black Knights will now have to win out to reach six wins.
That includes games against Air Force, FCS power Holy Cross, Coastal Carolina, and the annual Army-Navy Game to finish the season.
UMass Seals Deal Late
Despite a late push from Army, it was the rushing attack that gave UMass their big lead and, ultimately, the ability to hang on to the victory.
Running back Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams toted the ball 34 times for 234 yards and 3 scores. He scored on touchdown runs of 3, 9, and 34 yards in the victory. The game marked Lynch-Adams’ first career 200-yard game on the ground.
Army made it interesting late as the Black Knights cut into a two-touchdown lead with 5:01 left to play in the fourth quarter when QB Champ Harris took a carry 36 yards for a touchdown. Harris and Bryson Daily each had their moments, with Daily throwing two interceptions but rushing for a touchdown.
On the other end, UMass QB Taisun Phommanchan played great compliment to Lynch-Adams, throwing for 121 yards on 17-of-23 passing.
UMass got just their second win of the season and has just three games remaining on their schedule. They’re back in action on November 4 against Merrimack in a chance to get back-to-back victories for the first time since 2018 when they defeated UConn and Liberty (in triple overtime) over the same weekend slate, Weeks 9 and 10.