"If you missed our GBK earlier promotions, you get a second shot at a deeply discounted annual subscription! Take advantage of KICKOFF2023 now before it, too, disappears."

"If you missed our GBK earlier promotions, you get a second shot at a deeply discounted annual subscription! Take advantage of KICKOFF2023 now before it, too, disappears."


New Subscribers Use This Link: https://army.rivals.com/sign_up?promo_code=KICKOFF2023

IMPORTANT DETAILS.....​

- Offer is for new subscriptions only
- The promo code offer is a LIMITED TIME OFFER and will not be around for long.





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Hey Folks … here at GBK, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate you being part of this Army West Point Football forum and platform. We also know that there are tons and tons of other Army diehards and even the casual Black Knights’ football fans and we also want them to be part of this venue. I sincerely believe that this 2023 season is going to be very exciting and fun to chat about.

So, we are really looking to push this current GBK Promo and would like to ask your assistance if possible. Meaning, if you can actively move it on any of your social media channels/platforms, but also mention it to family and friends … and again, even to the casual Army football fan and general fan base, it would greatly be appreciated. #TY

New Subscribers Use This Link: https://army.rivals.com/sign_up?promo_code=KICKOFF2023

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IMPORTANT DETAILS.....​

- Offer is for new subscriptions only
- The promo code offer is a LIMITED-TIME OFFER and will not be around for long.


P.S. We are also excited to share that from time to time this season, Maddy Daughtery will be back with us in a few different capacities. Hey and without being asked, she created this promo graphic.

I was scanning the Army Athletics website and noticed an article about the naming of this year's team captains--Charlie Peterson and Kwabena Davis.

Men's Basketball Name Charlie Peterson and Kwabena Davis Captains

They're both Firsties, nothing particularly surprising about their selection as co-captains.

However, reading over the article, I noticed the following comment about Charlie Peterson:

"His 7.9 points per game last season are the most on the team amongst returners."

I knew Peterson wasn't close to being the leading scorer, so I checked the current 2023-24 season roster, and three players who should have been returning for this season are no longer listed:

Jalen Rucker, 16.6 ppg

Ethan Roberts, 12.4 ppg

Coleton Benson, 11.6 ppg

So along with the graduation of Chris Mann, 10 ppg, they've lost the top four scorers from last season.

Appears Army is returning to the dark days of the 1990s as the perennial basement dweller in the Patriot League [Sigh . . .]

Both Roberts and Benson were coming off outstanding season performances as plebes and they clearly had sufficient talent to compete for starting positions elsewhere. I guess the lure of the transfer portal was too much to resist, especially after the coach that had recruited them, Jimmy Allen, decided not to stay at Army.

Rucker was going to be a Firstie and would already have a service obligation. Not sure why he would opt out of the program. I'll leave it at that in the absence of any knowledge of the circumstances. Wouldn't be right to speculate.

Black Knights register 1st Fall Camp Scrimmage as HC Jeff Monken chimes in after Saturday's encounter

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R.I.P. Mr. Barker

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Yes, this is a much tougher Army football schedule in 2023. But guess what Army fans? I am surprised to find myself feeling optimistic about this 2023 Army team.

I received my Phil Steele 2023 College Football Preview back in June. Much to my surprise, Phil expressed a great deal of optimism about Army. He's expecting Army to return to bowl season. That's enough for me already because Phil Steele has been publishing his review for 28 straight years and he's seen it all. He knows Army has a much tougher schedule this year. He knows Army is installing a new offense. Yet he's predicting Army goes bowling. Part of Phil Steele's analysis involves metrics he derives from looking at our returning players. But I have to believe that Phil has spoken to Coach Monken - as he does with almost every head coach - and also heard a lot of optimism. You'll never hear Coach Monken say anything like that to a reporter with a microphone, so I think this is the closest we'll get to divining a real head coach early assessment.

Despite the new offense, I'm mostly concerned about the defense this year. And yes, we have a lot of experience returning on defense - especially the back 4-5 players. I do not expect to see Kalvyn Crummie on the field this year and that's a huge hole to fill. Kalvyn has good LB size and lot of talent. So teams are going to test Army's run defense this year after watching our tape from last year. We need to be better against the run this season.

Let's talk about it!

The Athletic is a subscription site and not really in the same competitive space as Rivals.com, so I’m presuming that as long as I only cite the relevant pieces of its pre-season rankings article it’s fair use to post the info here.

https://theathletic.com/4790974/202...-preseason-fbs-rankings-georgia/?redirected=1

If you’re wondering about “The Athletic” credentials, it was founded in 2016 and has a full-time staff of 450+. It started as independently owned but was acquired by the New York Times in 2022.

Their rankings put Army at # 80 of 133 FBS teams, stating: “Army enters a new era, sort of, by moving to the shotgun for a new kind of offense.”

Ranking of Army’s 2023 FBS opponents are as follows.

ULM # 131 with no comment about them in the article.

UTSA # 24 “UTSA is 23-5 over the last two years and brings seventh-year quarterback Frank Harris back as the Roadrunners move into the AAC.”

Syracuse # 64 with no comment about them in the article.

Boston College # 82 with no comment about them in the article.

Troy # 28 “Troy’s 11-game winning streak is the second-longest in the country behind Georgia.”

LSU # 5 “After a 10-win debut season under Brian Kelly, LSU is a popular pick in the SEC West this year with Jayden Daniels and Harold Perkins back.”

U Mass # 133 “UMass has been the bottom-ranked team more than anyone else in these rankings, and that continues to start 2023.”

Air Force # 57 “Air Force must replace its quarterback and top running back from a 10-win team, but the Falcons usually figure things out.”

Coastal Carolina # 43 “Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall will try to become a four-time Sun Belt Player of the Year, but will a new coaching staff be enough to fix the Chanticleers’ defensive holes?”

Navy # 112 “Navy begins a new era with Brian Newberry stepping in as head coach, and the Midshipmen have practiced more physically than they have in years, but it always comes down to quarterback play.”

I was surprised to see Boston College ranked slightly lower than Army, and Syracuse at # 64 behind Air Force at # 57. Hard to view ACC opponents as anything but a significant challenge for Army, especially being on the road against Syracuse.

ULM’s lowly status worries me, because we all know road games are never “a gimme” for Army. Expectations will be high for Army to win the opener comfortably, but ULM will certainly be motivated given Army’s beat downs of them in recent seasons.

No question UTSA on the road was going to be a challenge, so three weeks into the season, we’ll have a good sense of where the outlook for the team stands for 2023.

Army's 13-game, Non-Patriot League schedule is now posted on the Army Athletics website. Seven home games and six away.

https://goarmywestpoint.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule

Opening at home against Marist on Mon, Nov 6.

Unlike last year, there is a game with a Power 5 team; they are traveling to Bloomington to play Indiana on Sun, 12 Nov.

Two Div III opponents are coming to Christl Arena to bookend the month of December--SUNY Maritime, Dec 1, and Merchant Marine, Dec 30--so at least they aren't likely to go winless.

They are also playing a formerly Div II team that will moving up to Div I this year -- Le Moyne -- which is a private Jesuit College of about 2,500 students that will become a Northeastern Conference member. One would think that would also be a likely win, but Army couldn't manage beat Stonehill last year, who also moved up from Div II to the NEC.

Otherwise, it's the usual cast of opponents from the northeast region: Stonehill, Quinnipiac, Albany, Binghamton, Central Conn St, Harvard, Stony Brook.

The only outlier is the UTSA game down in San Antonio, Dec 21.

Once again, for second season in a row, there’s no game against Air Force. Unfortunately, the Army – Air Force games never drew the attendance of the Army-Navy series. Likely both academies viewed the travel costs as not worth the payoff--Whereas the travel to San Antonio is to an Army-friendly city in the lucrative Texas recruiting market.

Army is playing at Harvard, Friday Dec 8, time TBA. It may have been timed to leverage the fans who will be in Boston for the Army-Navy football game.

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The 2023 Army West Point football media guide is now available.

You can view or download the guide by clicking here!

The 2023 Army West Point football media guide is now available.

You can view or download the guide by clicking here!

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