Army ends successful season under Monken with bowl win
Four years after he was hired at Army, coach Jeff Monken has succeeded where so many others had failed over a span of more than two decades, and the achievements are significant.
The Black Knights finished 2017 with a 10-3 record, a gutsy 42-35 win over San Diego State in the Armed Forces Bowl on Saturday the perfect cap to a memorable season.
Army heads into the offseason with these accomplishments to build on: The Black Knights won the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, emblematic of service academy supremacy, for the first time since 1996; matched the academy record for wins in a season; posted its second straight winning season, which hadn't been done in 27 years; won its second straight bowl game, which had only been done once before, in the mid-1980s; led the nation in rushing; defeated a Power Five foe (Duke) that also played in the postseason; and, most importantly, beat Navy for the second straight year.
Monken has changed the culture in his short tenure. Army now expects to win, and the academy is lobbying to be included in the AP Top 25 when the final poll is released in the new year.
"When you have a whole team of guys that have been with the coaching staff, it's really satisfying to see what they accomplished as a group," Monken said. "This means a lot to our team."
In this day of pass-happy offenses, Monken has accomplished the unthinkable with his option attack — his Black Knights have been winning regularly by pretty much sticking to the ground and not committing turnovers. Army had only five fumbles in more than 800 plays — 785 rushes, 20 receptions — in 2017, a remarkable statistic, while attempting just 65 passes.
Ole Miss DL Breeland Speaks to enter NFL draft
Mississippi defensive lineman Breeland Speaks has decided to skip his final year of college eligibility and enter the NFL draft.
Speaks released a statement through the school confirming the decision on Tuesday. The 6-foot-3, 285-pound junior finished second on the team with 67 tackles this fall, including eight for a loss and seven sacks. He led the team with eight quarterback hurries.
Speaks thanked teammates and coaches for "an awesome four years." Speaks entered the Ole Miss program in 2014, redshirting his first season before playing the last three years.
Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said the program is "excited to see him take this next step in his career" and that he's "particularly proud of the leadership (Speaks) brought to our team amidst the challenges we faced."