College Football at Its Best:Air Force at Army for the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy

by John Chuhran, Editor in Chief - MetroSports Magazine November 2, 2024

West Point, N.Y. – It sits two-and-a-half feet tall and weighs 170 pounds – a majestic, three-sided silver sculpture above a slick, black base. It is an award that can only be won by three teams in the world, yet it captures the attention of the sports fans across our nation. And above all, it symbolizes excellence – in life even more than in sports.

It is the Commander-In-Chiefs’ Trophy and it is presented each year to the football team from Air Force, Army and Navy that can defeat the other two (if each wins a game, the trophy stays in possession of the team that won it the preceding year). And, just as importantly, an outright winner also earns the right to have lunch at the White House and meet the Commander-In-Chief.

Above left: The Commander-In-Chief's Trophy as presented to the Army Football team in 2021 by President Joe Biden. Photo courtesy the White House

Above right: Army Football Head Coach Jeff Monken accepting the CIC Trophy from President Donald Trump in 2019. Photo Credit John Chuhran.

Try to imagine the most intense rivalry you can possibly envision. Now, ratchet that intensity up by a factor of 1,000 and you have a rough idea of what the CIC Trophy means to the student bodies of the three military academies and to the members of the branches of military service that they represent.  

“These CIC games are always unbelievable battles,” said Army Head Coach Jeff Monken, “and I’m certain this one will be as well. They’re great rivalries – hard  games to win and hard to prepare for. The intensity, the emotion just makes it different from everything else. We just try to focus through that and have our guys ready to do their jobs. This is a one-game season right now.”

Pursuit of the CIC trophy goes back to 1972 when the three institutions played each other in the same year for the first time. Air Force, being the youngest of the academies, started training cadets and playing football in 1955. The Falcons first played Army in 1959 and Navy in 1960 and played these two opponents in alternate years through 1971. Beginning with the 1972 season, the three institutions agreed to play each other every year. The CIC Trophy – with each side honoring one of the academies – was created as an enduring record of the victors of the trophy through years (much like hockey’s Stanley Cup Trophy or the Borg-Warner Trophy for the winner of the Indianapolis 500).

Tradition dictates that the teams play at specific dates; Navy and Air Force meet on the first Saturday in October, Air Force and Army meet on the first Saturday in November, and Army and Navy meet on the second Saturday in December. This year, Navy traveled to Colorado Springs and defeated the hosts 34-7. The result left Air Force in the role of spoiler, hoping to defeat Army and for Army to defeat Navy in December to create the three-way tie.

These were the storylines that led up to the November match-up between the Falcons and the Black Knights. Air Force (1-6) was in a difficult position, struggling to find effective performances on both offense and defense. Undefeated Army (7-0) entered the game as the 21st ranked team in the nation and appeared likely to score a dominating win.

Above: As is tradition at football games between the military academies, this year's Army-Air Force game was preceded by a display of precision drills by paratroopers from both academies. Photo credit Warren Rosenberg

But that possibility was shaken up when it was announced on game day that Army starting quarterback Bryson Daily, a senior who set Army single-season records for most touchdowns scored (19) and responsible for (26) in just the first seven games this season and led the team in rushing yardage (909 yards on 138 carries -- 6.5 avg. yards per carry), would not play because of an undisclosed injury. Filling in for Daily would be junior Dewayne Colemen, who had very limited game experience.  

“It was the first real adversity that we had faced this year where we had our backs to the wall and had to fight,” Monken said. “That's good for our football team. We knew it was coming.

“You find your role and what you can do to contribute that week or that game. We had guys today that maybe didn't play as much as they have in the first seven games. And we had some guys play today that played way more than they did in the first seven games. That was just their role today. So, everybody takes on the job and the role that they have, and hopefully we do it well enough as a unit.”

“It was a good lesson for our players. They're all going to serve in the Army. Some of them will serve in units where things happen, and somebody has to step up. And if the pilot that's flying a helicopter can't fly the helicopter, you don't just take the day off – you find someone else to fly the helicopter. When you're jumping out of the helicopter, somebody turns their ankle and they can't do their job in the middle of the formation, then don't throw the white flag up and say we can't do it now. Somebody's got to step up.”

College football pre-game parking lot experiences are parties of the highest order for the fans. At West Point, especially when playing Air Force, the parties are even more elaborate. All of these “tailgate” celebrations occur under the most family-friendly conditions imaginable; there is a sense of civility and respect at an Army football game (both outside Michie Stadium and inside) that was lost at most other college games and professional games decades ago. This family-friendly environment begins early on game-day morning and continues until well after the sun goes down. It is part of the reason why Sports Illustrated once ranked watching a football game at West Point as number three on its list of “the top 10 things a sports fan must do before he dies.”

Above: Some of the pre-game tailgating celebrations taking place in the Michle Stadium parking lots. Photo credit Warren Rosenberg

This year, with sunny skies and unusually warm temperatures of 56 degrees F, the teams took to the field before a sellout crowd of 30,046 (the entire East Grandstands, originally built in 1962, that held approximately 6,000 fans have been torn down and are being replaced with a modern structure set to be finished for 2026 season).

Above: Secretary of the Army, Christine Wormuth (center) conducting the ceremonial coin toss to open the game. Photo credit Warren Rosenberg

Below: Cheering squads and mascots were on-hand to help keep the crowd engaged during breaks in play. Photo credit Warren Rosenberg

Air Force received the opening kickoff, but struggled to advance the ball and after three ineffective plays was forced to punt. All eyes shifted to Coleman. In five games earlier this season, he completed 6 of 8 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown, and ran the ball 22 times for 94 yards. Coleman started slowly against the Falcons, leading an 11-play, 57-yard drive primarily of rushes straight ahead that stalled on the Air Force 15. Trey Gronotte, who has not missed a field goal or point after all year, nailed a 30-yard field goal as Army extended its streak of scoring on every first possession of 2024 (the previous seven had all been touchdowns). Coleman finished the day with 15 carries for 42 rushing yards while completing 5-of-8 passes for 42 yards.

“Dewayne Coleman wasn't scared or apprehensive about playing – he was excited to play,” Monken said. “And he's been waiting for this opportunity. I'm just really proud of how he handled the team, handled the offense, and did his part. There will be things on film that we'll correct and tell him that he should have done this or could have done this or you might have hit this run in this seam or, you know, hugged this block a little bit more. That's an opportunity to coach him and (help him) get better.

Above: Army quarterback Dewayne Coleman (center rear) receiving the football from center and protected by the offensive line. Photo credit Warren Rosenberg

“The best thing he did all day was take care of the football. He didn't turn the football over. When we did drop it on the ground, he was wise enough to get on it and make sure we still had it. So that's the best thing he did all day.”

Army built its lead to 6-0 after Coleman advanced the offense 29 yards on seven plays and Gronotte booted a 32-yard field goal with 12:37 left on the clock in the second quarter. With halftime approaching, Air Force QB Quinn Hayes directed an 11-play, 49-yard drive that ended on the Army 8. Mathew Dapore launched a 32-yard kick that split the uprights and cut the Army lead to a precarious 6-3 a little under 2 minutes before intermission.

In the locker room at the break, Army Offensive Coordinator Cody Worley decided to simplify his game plan.

“The message at halftime was ‘I’m going to call these three plays and if they stop these three plays they deserve to win,” Worley said. “And they said ‘okay, let's go’ and they responded really well and were doing what we needed to do to win.

“Coming out of halftime, we knew what we needed to do on that first drive. Our guys were not pleased at all with the way that they had played thus far and we were fortunate to be up, but we knew what we needed to do on that first drive of the second half. I thought they responded really, really well with Kanye taking on that role and really putting the team on his back and getting better and better with every carry. But there were several carries he didn't get touched until the third level, so it was a full, all-11 (players), team effort.”

Kanye was halfback Kanye Udoh, the second most effective runner (93 rushes for 633 yards and 7 TD) on the Black Knights. Though he had only six carries for 31 yards in the first half, he became the work horse for the Black Knights after intermission, adding 15 more runs for 128 yards and both Army TD. On the first drive of the second half, he carried the ball 7 times in the 9-play drive, and gained 55 yards, culminating in a 12-yard  dash into the endzone to give Army some breathing room. He finished with 22 rushes for a personal best of 158 yards and scored the second touchdown of the day in the final quarter. It was his fourth career 100-yards-rushing game (and third of the 2024). Army leads the nation in rushing with an average of 340.1 ypg; no other team averages more than 275 ypg.

Above: The Army running game played a major role in this victory. Photo credit Warren Rosenberg

“I thought the O-line really kind of felt challenged in the second half,” Monken said, “and then they stepped up their game. Kanye ran the ball really hard. I was proud of him. He took care of the ball – that was key.”

“Having the lead helped because it forced them into having to press a little bit and they had to throw the ball some. We got them in some long yardage situations, and we were able to get some sacks in those situations.

“So I think it helped to have a lead. It does in this game because they're so closely contested. And trust me, you just feel that angst every single play of the game. And so our defense came up with a lot of plays.  I think our entire team was playing the game with very high intensity and really good effort. I think our guys were playing really hard and playing tough.

“The defense, I think, felt that responsibility, when the offense had to punt and the defense had to go out there, we had to get them off the field. They made some plays, but we came up with some plays of our own with the sacks and the interceptions. The interceptions were huge. The sacks, those were big. They had the fourth down pass on our sideline over there, and we didn't fold the tents. Nobody went and finger-pointed or anything like that. They lined up and didn't allow the play before or the disappointment of letting them stay out there affect the next play. I'm really proud of them for that. The defense just didn't flinch.” 

Afterwards, one of the key traditions of the game was held as players on the two teams shook hands and stood respectfully as the bands of the two academies played their own alma maters and the corps of cadets singing, with the winning team, Army, also following tradition and singing last.

The whole scene reminded all in attendance that, despite playing as hard as they could to beat each other for 60 minutes, six months later they might be relying on each other to survive on some battlefield. Football at a military academy is more than just a game.

With the win, Army equaled Navy in defeating Air Force in 2024, meaning the 125th Army-Navy game on December 14 at Landover, MD will determine which of the two teams will earn the right to display the CIC Trophy for 2025.

“It was a hard-fought win,” Monken said. “We knew it would be a fistfight all the way to the end. It was. I was proud of our team. I'm glad we found a way. And it takes a lot out of you emotionally because it is such a big game.

“(I’m) proud of our guys. (They have) a chance now to play for the CIC trophy in 43 days. Obviously that's a long way away, and we're not going to talk about that until the time comes, but I'm glad we at least have a chance to play for it.”

(-MetroSports-)