Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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34 NOV. 14, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY MATT JONES F or the most part, the top scor‑ ing defenses in college football are the same teams that com‑ prise the top 25 in the polls. Michigan. Florida. Wisconsin. Ala‑ bama. LSU. Ohio State. Washington. Auburn. But one team — one with less ben‑ efits and perhaps a more difficult road — is also ranked among the best: Army. "It may not have the star power, but they play well as a unit, they play well as 11 guys strong," said Sal Interdonato, who covers the Black Knights for The Times Herald-Record. Through eight games, Army had allowed only 132 points, an average of just 16.5 per game, making it the No. 9 scoring defense in the country through nine weeks of the season. For a team coming off a 2‑10 campaign, the thriving defense is the biggest reason why Army is nearing bowl eligibility for the first time since 2010. In terms of total defense, the Black Knights allowed just 266.8 yards per game to rank No. 3 in the country. Army was also seventh in rushing defense (103.8 yards allowed per game) and fifth in passing defense (163 yards allowed per game). It starts with Army's star group of linebackers in its 3‑4 base defensive scheme: seniors Andrew King and Jeremy Timpf, junior Alex Aukerman and sophomore Kenneth Brinson. "Their linebackers are really, really good," Interdonato said. King and Timpf are three‑year starters and each have more than 200 career tackles — with Timpf at 269 through the first eight games of the 2016 season, while King had 218. King is a vocal leader, Interdo‑ nato said, while Timpf at 6‑1 and 230 pounds is a weapon pressuring the quarterback. In a 21‑13 win over Wake Forest Oct. 29, Timpf had nine tackles, one tackle for loss and two QB hurries. "He was able to pressure Wake Forest's quarterback and make him throw on the move a bit and force him into a couple interceptions," In‑ terdonato said. The 6‑1, 242‑pound Aukerman, meanwhile, is Army's most versatile defender. He came to West Point as a 200‑pound safety, but added plenty of weight and has turned into a valu‑ able front‑seven defender. Aukerman started six games last year, but did not stay on the field much and tallied just 35 total tackles. Through eight games this season, he had 33 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. "He's just so versatile, and [defen‑ sive coordinator] Jay Bateman says they can't do a lot of the stuff they do on defense without Alex Aukerman," Interdonato said. Finally there's Brinson, one of the top recruits head coach Jeff Monken has signed in his three‑year tenure. Brinson was a three‑star prospect by Rivals and had offers to play football from Boston College, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Stanford and Utah. "He was a big‑time recruit that de‑ cided to come to Army," Interdonato said of Brinson, a native of Atlanta. During its 5‑3 start to the season, Army beat Temple, Rice, Texas‑El Paso, Lafayette (Football Champion‑ ship Subdivision) and Wake Forest, holding each opponent to two touch‑ downs or less. Even in a loss at Duke on Oct. 8 — the same day Notre Dame played in hurricane conditions at North Carolina State — the Black Knights fell only by a 13‑6 score. Army finished last season 2‑10, but with nine starters back on defense, things were building for a strong 2016 season. "This is the third year of Monken's tenure there, so this was going to be the year to do something," Interdo‑ nato said. "The schedule was tough out of the blocks, four of the first five on the road. How they came out of that was really key, and they ended up going 3‑2. That was big." Offensively, Army's triple‑option attack was ranked 50th in the coun‑ try in scoring through eight games, averaging 31.5 points per game. And typical of an option team, the Black Knights do it mostly on the ground with the No. 2‑ranked rushing of‑ fense (342.6 yards per game). The Black Knights can move the ball, when they don't turn it over. Last season, Army was one of 17 teams in the country to have a turn‑ over margin of minus‑10 or more. The Black Knights turned the ball over 22 times, which contributed to their 0‑7 record in games decided by seven points or less. "When they take care of the ball they win, it's as simple as that," In‑ terdonato said. GAME PREVIEW: ARMY Armed Force The Black Knights have one of nation's top defenses Senior linebacker Jeremy Timpf leads an Army defense that ranked No. 9 in the Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring defense (16.5 points allowed per game) through nine weeks. PHOTO COURTESY ARMY WEST POINT ATHLETICS 2016 ARMY SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 2 at Temple W, 28-13 Sept. 10 Rice W, 31-14 Sept. 17 at UTEP W, 66-14 Sept. 24 at Buffalo L, 23-20 (OT) Oct. 8 at Duke L, 13-6 Oct. 15 Lafayette W, 62-7 Oct. 22 North Texas L, 35-18 Oct. 29 at Wake Forest W, 21-13 Nov. 5 Air Force L, 31-12 Nov. 12 vs. Notre Dame* (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 19 Morgan State (CBSSN) 12 p.m. Dec. 10 vs. Navy^ (CBS) 3 p.m. * at Alamodome in San Antonio; ^ at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore 2016 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 4 at Texas L, 50-47 (2OT) Sept. 10 Nevada W, 39-10 Sept. 17 Michigan State L, 36-28 Sept. 24 Duke L, 38-35 Oct. 1 vs. Syracuse* W, 50-33 Oct. 8 at North Carolina State L, 10-3 Oct. 15 Stanford L, 17-10 Oct. 29 Miami (NBC) W, 30-27 Nov. 5 vs. Navy^ L, 28-27 Nov. 12 vs. Army# (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 19 Virginia Tech (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 26 at USC TBA * at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.; ^ at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.; # at Alamodome in San Antonio