The NCAA’s recent rule changes have forced Army football to evolve offensively, and it’s probably the best thing to happen to the program in nearly 80 years.
Ever since their inception, the Black Knights have run a triple option-based offense and have dominated the college football landscape three years straight, winning back-to-back-to-back championships from 1944-1946.
The offensive system was basic, and everybody in the stadium knew it was coming. What made it so successful?
For Army, the strategy was simple.
Due to military weight requirements, offensive linemen weigh much less than they usually would. It’s hard to block for your quarterback for three to four seconds when the pass rushers make your offensive lineman appear much smaller.
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The Black Knights also don’t need a quarterback with a ton of arm talent, just one who can run around and make the correct read on every play.
Receivers only need to be able to catch a pass here or there, with efficient blocking being taught mostly by the coaching staff.
Opposing coordinators usually only have a week to prepare for such a unique style of offense, and it can take a physical toll on nearly any defender.
That’s how Army was for nearly its entire existence until now.
As the game of football began to focus on the pass, and athletic departments began recruiting the strongest and fastest athletes in the country to play college football at their programs, the Black Knights couldn’t keep up.
The passing game puts a team that only runs the football so far behind, forcing them to play catch up every time they have the football, but not being able to do it at an ideal pace.
It’s also more challenging to recruit the best athletes when there’s the added caveat of diving into active duty upon the completion of their studies, as well as having to meet stringent weight requirements.  
Despite this, Army continued to run its triple option-based offense, continuously struggling to be relevant in today’s ever-changing college football landscape.
Over this past offseason, the landscape changed again.
The NCAA banned blocking below the waist, often called cut blocking. This might as well have been a death sentence to Army and other service schools’ offensive systems.
It’s honestly poetic: Army refused to stop running an archaic system when it found great success nearly 80 years ago until the NCAA forced it to stop. The NCAA helped lead Army, Navy and Air Force into a college football renaissance.
But this is probably the best thing to happen to Army’s football program since its back-to-back-to-back titles all those years ago.
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Army can now compete with the best of teams, all while having a balanced offense and keeping defensive coordinators on their toes.
Still think the Black Knights’ days of competing nationally are behind them? Look at their distant cousins, Air Force, which has flown through its first six games undefeated and is ranked for the first time since 2019.
It will take time to figure out the most effective way of recruiting some of the nation’s best athletes who are also willing to serve their country, but once they do, don’t be surprised to see Army, Navy and Air Force competing with the best of the best within the next couple of years.
The Black Knights march into Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge on Saturday night to face LSU in what should be an exciting matchup.
While the Tigers’ defense has struggled all season, they’ve steadily improved over the past two weeks in victories over Missouri and Auburn. Army will face that defense with a brand-new, modernized offensive system, one that the team is still becoming familiar with. 
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