Army’s ground attack hands Buffalo its first loss, 42-13

AMHERST, N.Y. (AP) Army mixed in a few big scoring plays with its ground-control offense to defeat previously unbeaten Buffalo 42-13 on Saturday.

The Black Knights’ triple-option offense gained 281 yards and scored four touchdowns on the ground while running up 37:34 in time of possession. They had four touchdown drives of at least 10 plays and 74 yards.

Having led the nation in rushing last season, Army (3-2) came into the game ranked fourth at 314.8 yards per game while leading the country in time of possession at 40:53.

Quarterback Kevin Hopkins led the Black Knights with 89 yards on 19 carries. He also completed 4 of 5 passes for 91 yards and a 25-yard touchdown to Jordan Asberry. Calen Holt, Connor Slomka, Darnell Woolfolk and Luke Langdon had rushing touchdowns.

Army also scored on Elijah Riley’s 80-yard blocked field goal return in the second quarter.

The Black Knights slowed a Buffalo offense that averaged 40.2 points and 428.8 yards through the first four games. The Bulls (4-1) took an early lead when KJ Osborn tip-toed down the sideline for a 53-yard touchdown on the fourth play of the game. But they finished with 255 total yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Army: Recovering from an overtime loss against No. 5 Oklahoma last week, the Black Knights have a winning record through five games in three straight seasons for the first time since 1984-86. Their five opponents had a combined record of 17-3 entering Saturday.

Buffalo: Playing before the fifth-largest crowd in UB Stadium history (23,671) after starting 4-0 for the first time since 1981 – when they played at the Division III level – the Bulls snapped a seven-game winning streak dating to last season. That was tied for the fourth-longest nationally and one shy of the program record.

UP NEXT

Army: The Black Knights head into a bye week before traveling to San Jose State on Oct. 13 to finish a three-game road swing.

Buffalo: The Bulls return to Mid-American Conference play next Saturday at Central Michigan.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Buffalo received six votes in last week’s poll but is unlikely to merit consideration after falling from the unbeaten ranks. Some of those votes could go to Army, whose only losses have come on the road against No. 22 Duke and No. 5 Oklahoma.