Army defeats San Diego State in Armed Forces Bowl: 3 takeaways

Army claimed a thrilling 42-35 victory over the San Diego State Aztecs in the 2017 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. Here are 3 big takeaways from the game.

The 2017 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl was a heated battle with San Diego State and Army going back and forth to control the lead. San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny not only put the Aztecs on the board first, but he ended the day with 4 touchdowns and a FBS record to cap off his college career. In the end, this was all about Army’s big win, capping off its first 10-win season since 1996.

The Aztecs got on the board in the first quarter with an 81-yard run from Penny, but Army answered with quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw’s 19-yard run into the end zone to tie the game. Fast forward to the second quarter when Penny had a 32-yard run to score, followed immediately by a Bradshaw handoff to Darnell Woolfolk for a 7-yard carry to tie the game at 14.

After halftime, Army came back with an Andy Davidson touchdown. The Aztecs’ Juwan Washington had a 78-yard kickoff return to bring the game to a 21-all tie, and then Penny delivered another 49-yard run home to make it 28-21, Aztecs.

In the fourth quarter, it was another rinse and repeat with Bradshaw running the ball 27 yards for a touchdown to tie the game (again) and Penny answering with his fourth TD, a 4-yard jump into the end zone to take the Aztecs to a 35-28 lead. Woolfolk scored with 18 seconds left to make it a one-point game. Army went for the two points and made it, taking the lead 36-35. Army intercepted the ball in the final play of the game to bring it to 42-35 for the win.

Here are 3 takeaways from Army’s 42-35 victory over San Diego State in the Armed Forces Bowl:

Rashaad Penny continues to impress

San Diego State football fans know that Rashaad Penny was snubbed by the Heisman committee this year when he didn’t even earn an invitation to New York after spending the season at the top of the stats in a number of categories. While Aztecs fans feel robbed, Penny isn’t letting the disappointment get to him and he turned in another awesome and record-setting performance in the Armed Forces Bowl.

With Penny’s second touchdown run, he claimed sole possession of the FBS all-time single-season rushing yards record, passing Ricky Williams, Matt Forte and Donnel Pumphrey.

By the end of the game, Penny had amassed 221 yards on 14 carries and 4 touchdowns.

Ahmad Bradshaw is a double threat

Ahmad Bradshaw is a quarterback who can run the ball. And he ran the ball really, really well on a team that relies on its running game.

Bradshaw finished the day with 180 rushing yards, 6 passing yards and 2 touchdowns to cap off his college career, leading the Black Knights to a thrilling victory behind his leadership.

Army’s running game is everything

It wasn’t until the third quarter that Army really started passing the ball. Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw himself had 32 carries for 180 yards and two touchdowns. He only had 6 passing yards in the game, which, coupled with the high scoring outcome, tells you that Army’s running game is unstoppable. Army finished the game with 440 rushing yards compared to San Diego State’s 255.

Army had more first downs than the Aztecs even though San Diego State had more plays, which really tells you something about how the Black Knights have mastered the running game.

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By the end of the game, it was clear that both teams deserved a win at the Armed Forces Bowl. These were two evenly matched teams who put it all out there and though Army took the victory, both teams won.