Army football is ranked No. 23 and No. 24 in two major polls following 6-0 start
A few weeks ago Jeff Monken dismissed the notion that his Army football team should be ranked among the top teams in the nation.
The discussion is unavoidable now that the Black Knights have cracked the two major polls following a 6-0 start. The Associated Press writers have Army listed at No. 23 and the AFCA coaches poll has Army at No. 24. It is the first time the Black Knights have made the top-25 polls since the COVID season of 2020.
Army has beaten Lehigh, Florida Atlantic, Rice, Temple, Tulsa and Alabama Birmingham, the latter a 44-10 triumph on Saturday at Michie Stadium.
Army (6-0) and Navy (5-0) are the only schools to make their season debut in this week's AP poll - they are also the only two teams from the American Athletic Conference to earn spots. It is the first time Army and Navy have made the AP poll in the same week since Oct. 3, 1960. It is also the first time both service academies have been unbeaten at this point of the season since 1945.
Army has slowly moved up in the AP rankings in recent weeks, from receiving two votes two weeks ago to rank No. 39, to getting 33 votes last week to move up to No. 29. This week, Army has 137 votes from the writers this week and Navy has 84. The top of the AP poll has Texas (6-0), Oregon (6-0), Penn State (6-0), Ohio State (5-1) and Georgia (5-1) - Ohio State and Georgia trade places in the coaches' poll.
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Army hosts East Carolina at noon Saturday. According to ESPN analytics, Army should get to 9-0 before facing Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium on Nov. 23. The analytics favor Army to win all but the game against the Fighting Irish (17 percent chance), with win favorability against ECU (84 percent), Air Force (93 pct.), North Texas (60 pct.), Texas San Antonio (88 pct.) and the scheduled Navy game (60 pct.). Army and Navy could potentially meet in the AAC title game on Dec. 7.
kmcmillan@th-record.com
X / Twitter: @KenMcMillan THR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army football breaks into national rankings
