Remember last September 22, 2025? Army had a 25-23 lead on Tulsa with under two minutes to play, ball at midfield. Coach Jeff Monken decided to try and bang out one more first down, seal the deal right there. Instead, Tulsa’s defense stiffened and stuffed Army quarterback Cale Hellums on a crucial fourth-down carry. What happened next was pure heartbreak for the Black Knights: Tulsa, 61 yards from goal with just 1:36 on the clock, watched freshman quarterback Baylor Hayes complete one pass and running back Dominick Richardson churn out 37 yards on five runs, setting up a 27-yard field goal and a shocking 26-25 Golden Hurricane victory. That was just one of five one-score losses Army suffered a year ago. Now, fast forward to tonight, Friday, October 23, 2026, and these two squads are squaring off again.
Revenge? Monken Isn’t Buying It
You’d think there’d be some serious revenge energy brewing in the Army locker room after that kind of gut-punch loss. But if you ask Coach Monken, forget about it. He flat-out dismissed the notion of revenge, saying it has “nothing to do with winning.” Monken’s take? “(Tulsa is) a different team; we’re a different team. It’s a different year. So it’s just a game that we’re trying to try to do our very best to prepare and try to win. The emotion of ‘They beat u last year; we’ve got to get them back’ … emotion doesn’t win; execution wins.” He wants total focus. But can you really just *turn off* that memory for Hellums and the Black Knights? We’re about to find out.
Baylor Hayes Is The Real Problem Tonight
While Dominick Richardson has moved on from Tulsa, that freshman quarterback from last year’s heroics, Baylor Hayes, is back as a redshirt sophomore, and he is absolutely lighting it up. Hayes is currently the fourth-rated passer in the American Conference, rocking a 134.9 efficiency rating. He’s completed a stellar 62% of his throws, averaging 216 yards per game. This is where it gets troublesome for Army, because defending the pass has been a struggle for them this season. If Monken wants execution, he better have a plan for Hayes because this kid can shred a secondary.
It’s been a wild ride for both teams this season, too. Tulsa kicked things off with three straight wins, then hit a snag, losing their next three before finally bouncing back with a win against Rice. Army, on the other hand, has been all over the map, alternating wins and losses for four weeks straight before finding some rhythm and winning their last two games against Tulane and Florida Atlantic. And here’s a weird twist for you: Army and Tulsa have met three times before, and get this, the home team has *never* won. Army took a 49-7 victory in Tulsa back in 2024, their first year in the American Conference, while Tulsa has two wins at West Point, including last year’s 26-25 stunner and a 49-39 win back in 2007.
The Stage Is Set: Kickoff Details & Odds
Tonight’s game kicks off at 8:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. CT) from Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma. You can catch all the action on ESPN2 with Courtney Lyle and Rene Ingoglia on the call, or stream it on WatchESPN.com. For radio, Army fans can tune into WBNR (1260-AM, 96.5-FM), WLNA (1420-AM, 94.3-FM), WGHQ (920-AM, 92.5-FM), or The Varsity app. For satellite radio, it’s SXM 247 for Army and 262 for Tulsa.
The series record currently sits at Tulsa leading 2-1. Army’s last win was that 49-7 beatdown on October 5, 2024, at Tulsa. Tulsa’s last win was the 26-25 thriller on November 22, 2025, at West Point. Heading into tonight, the odds courtesy of CBS Sportsline have Tulsa as a slight favorite at -1.5, with the moneyline at Army +105 and Tulsa -120. The over/under is set at 54.5 points, up from its opening of 51.5. The weather for kickoff sounds perfect for football: 73 degrees dropping to 65, mostly clear conditions, and winds at 6 mph from the southeast, gusting to 13 mph.
Will Army finally get that win on their home turf, or will Tulsa continue its road magic and send the Black Knights home with another tough loss? Tonight’s game isn’t just another notch on the win-loss column, it’s a test of Monken’s “execution wins” mantra against the undeniable pull of a rivalry born from last year’s gut-wrenching finish. You won’t want to miss it.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply