Chase Edmonds was bottled up by the Army defense all night. (Courtesy of Fordham Athletics)
By Jack McLoone
It is never easy to prepare for the triple option. When it is your brand new defensive coaching staff’s first game, and against an FBS opponent like Army, it is all the more difficult. The Rams were unable to get anything going on either side of the ball, falling to the Black Knights 64-6.
It was not a textbook start for Fordham. On the opening drive, they accrued four straight penalties (one, an illegal man downfield, was declined). After a short punt from freshman Andrew Mevis, it took just two plays for Army to find the end zone on a handoff right up the middle for a 39-yard TD.
After a Fordham three-and-out, the defense was a victim of the triple option again, with running back Josh Trainor getting lost in traffic before snagging a pitch and sneaking into the end zone for a 16-yard TD. Less than halfway through the first quarter, Army was up 14-0.
The Rams had a chance to turn the tide early when junior defensive back Dylan Maybin forced a fumble that was recovered by freshman defensive lineman Deondre Carter inside their own 20. However, the offense went three-and-out and actually gave Army the ball back in better field position than where they turned it over. The Black Knights once again quickly found the end zone.
The Rams offense did look cohesive at times, including their first drive of the second quarter. They used about half of the quarter to go 85 yards on 16 plays. Graduate student quarterback Kevin Anderson went 7-9 on the drive for 71 yards, including a 26-yard completion to junior receiver Jonathan Lumley. However, that trip came up empty when junior kicker Kyle Facibene had his first career field goal attempt blocked and returned for a touchdown.
Fordham put together another good drive on its next possession, moving the ball 79 yards on 10 plays. Senior running back Chase Edmonds capped off the drive with a magnificent six-yard touchdown rush, somehow slipping past a defender with no room left on the sideline. Facibene had yet another kick blocked, this time the point after attempt, so the Rams stayed at just 6 points.
Army was able to bottle up the usually-electric Edmonds all night. Despite having a couple of impressive 10-yard rushes – including one that was more like 20 after he reversed field while caught behind the line – he was held to just 42 yards on 15 carries. Army sold out against the run to force Fordham to win with the pass, which it just was not able to do.
Edmonds is now at 5,327 career rushing yards, putting him 1,272 behind the career FCS record. He will need to average 127.2 yards over the next 10 games to eclipse it. He averaged 142.8 yards per game coming into this season.
Army ran one play from scrimmage in the second quarter. Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw got free and took it to the house for a 71-yard touchdown to put the Black Knights up 34-6, which stood as the score till halftime.
The second half was more of the same. Fordham’s offense showed flashes but was unable to finish drives while the defense could not get around the bigger and faster Army team.
It was obviously a rough start to the season for Fordham Football, but they and the Ram faithful need to put the loss in context. Yes, the scoring margin was uncomfortably large. And while it is not a coach’s way to make excuses, “playing an FBS team that runs the triple option as the first game with a new defensive coaching staff and against players much bigger and faster than yours” is a pretty decent one. It is the definition of a wipe game, not unlike the loss at Navy last season. The Rams recovered to finish the season 8-3.
The Rams will look to bounce back next week when they travel to take on Central Connecticut State University at noon on Sept. 9.
The Fordham Ram 
