Army on skid as it prepares for Air Force

WEST POINT, N.Y. — Coach Jeff Monken was barely audible after Army lost for the fourth straight time when reiterating what he preaches every week — the margin for error is razor thin for his Black Knights.

Army hasn’t lost this many in a row since the end of the 2015 season, when the Black Knights finished 2-10 in Monken’s second year at West Point.

“When you have a stretch like this, nobody feels good,” Monken said. “We’re coming up short far too often. You’re not going to have a smile on your face. There’s going to be some anguish. We want to win.”

Monken’s voice was back Tuesday as Army (3-5) began preparing to face Air Force (6-2) on the road Saturday. Army has won the Commanderin-Chief’s Trophy the last two years in the fierce round-robin competition for supremacy among the three service academies. Air Force already has lost to Navy and dropped two straight to the Black Knights.

Saturday’s 34-29 loss to San Jose State offered a microcosm of what’s gone wrong during Army’s losing streak — simply too many mistakes and too many injuries.

There nine penalt i es for 74 yards, including one for unsportsmanlike conduct after a long kickoff return that set up a field goal with 2 seconds left in the opening half; a bad snap that prevented an extra point attempt; a lost fumble on a first-down play, the lone turnover of the game, which the Spartans converted into a touchdown; and failure on a fourth-and-6 play in San Jose State territory that set up a field goal.

All of that helped negate what was a solid day on offense for Army’s triple option despite being forced to use three quarterbacks because of injuries. Army rushed for 326 yards on 70 carries, a 4.7-yard average, netted 103 yards passing for one touchdown and zero interceptions, and held the ball for more than 39 minutes.