Army will be a dangerous opponent for Ohio State coming off the Oklahoma game

Here are some things that happened the last time Army won the Commander-In-Chief’s trophy in 1996:

• The Nintendo 64 gaming system releases to worldwide acclaim (and is still better than all current gen systems, don’t @ me).
• Tupac Shakur drops his All Eyez on Me double-disc album, eventually receiving diamond certification from the RIAA.
• The network TV show Friends is in Year 2 of it’s 10 year run of actually being bad.
• One of the greatest Ohio State teams of all-time inexplicably falls to a three loss-Michigan team at home for the seventh time in nine years, costing itself a chance at the national championship.

Needless to say, a lot has changed since then. Gaming systems no longer need cartridges, CD’s are barely even in existence, most popular TV shows are now streamed, and Ohio State hasn’t lost to Michigan in nearly six years. One thing that hasn’t changed is Army football’s struggle to find solid ground.

After the Black Knights’ 10-win 1996 season, the program cratered, going 57-167 from 1997-2015, making one bowl (2010) and notching only two wins over Navy (1998, 2001). Five Army head coaches were fired within that span, and the prospects didn’t look great for third-year Head Coach Jeff Monken in 2016, until everything clicked.

The 2016 Black Knights won their most games in a season (8) since 1996, went to —and won— a bowl game for the first time in six years, and beat Navy for the first time in 15 seasons. Alas, the elusive Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy went to Air Force.

On this episode of The Hangout in the Holyland, Colton Denning chats with Army beat writer Sal Interdonato about the 2017 Black Knights, why they’ll finally win the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy, and previews their Week 3 matchup with Ohio State.

Sal breaks down who Buckeyes’ fans should look out for in Army’s triple option attack, how Monken has changed the program’s offseason conditioning regimen, whether the Black Knights’ can field another top defense in 2017, why a nine win season is on the table, and more!

(Make sure to visit Sal’s Army Football Insider blog leading up to the game to keep up with everything happening with the Black Knights this season)

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