This is how the creators of football intended for the game to be played.
No quick passes on slants. No long bombs down the sidelines. Just simply, snap after snap, grinding your opponent into the dirt, and causing the opposing sideline to experience extreme amounts of anxiety as they stare at the clock, watching seconds drip off of it.
When the triple-option is working at its very best, this is what it does.
And this is what Army did to Syracuse on its game-opening drive Saturday, forcing the college football world to rubberneck away from Clemson-FSU, Cincinnati-Oklahoma or some other big game to watch the Black Knights grate the Orange’s defense into dust.
At Syracuse’s Carrier Dome, Army started the game off with a 17-play, 75-yard drive that ate NINE MINUTES AND TWENTY FIVE SECONDS off the clock.
An Army Football Start. pic.twitter.com/IELmtCXnVc
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 23, 2023
The drive was an amazing marvel. The Black Knights converted three third downs and one fourth down. Army attempted just four passes on the drive, completing three. Their average yards-gained-per-play was 4.4. It ended with a one-yard touchdown dive from Jakobi Buchanan.
To make it all even sweeter, Syracuse responded with a three-and-out.
College football fans across the internet were absolutely awestruck by Army’s drive. And for good reason.