At this point, we’ve gone through all the Top 10 teams, and I know you’re eager to see the actual ranking, since I presented the list in chronological order, but I wanted to throw in some handpicked honorable mentions because we get there.
Again, these are handpicked Honorable Mentions, not necessarily the next five in the SRS rankings:
1972: 6-4 – Head Coach: Tom Cahill
Got curb-stomped 77-7 by two-time defending National Champion Nebraska in the season opener at Michie Stadium, but bounced back the next week to beat Texas A&M at Kyle Field, and got another name brand road win at Rutgers a few weeks after that.
Still the last Army team to beat a ranked opponent (#19 Air Force), and capped the season with a victory over Navy to win the first-ever Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy competition.
1986: 6-5 – Head Coach: Jim Young
The original Cardiac Cadets?
Maybe, maybe not, but they started the season with a bang, taking down Syracuse in Michie Stadium, before shocking Tennessee in Knoxville about a month later.
Oh, and they handedly beat Air Force and Navy to win Young’s 2nd CIC.
Personally, I don’t think Army fans talk about this team enough. Sure, a loss to Holy Cross seems embarrassing on the surface, but, to be fair, the Crusaders had future two-time Heisman Finalist “Gordie” Lockbaum all over the field (for real; he played offense, defense, and special teams).
1990: 6-5 – Head Coach: Jim Young
Speaking of Heisman finalists, literally the only reason I’m mentioning Jim Young’s final season is because it’s the only time in the past 50 years (actually, the only time since Pete Dawkins won it in 1958) that an Army player has earned votes for the Heisman.
The player? Mike Mayweather, running back.
I mean, the team did beat Rutgers, Vanderbilt, and Navy, so that’s not nothing, but without the Heisman consideration, I wouldn’t be mentioning it.
2010: 7-6 – Head Coach: Rich Ellerson
Surprised!?
I know this team didn’t really beat anyone with a strong pulse until the very end, but for a lot of fans under the age of, say, 35, it was our first ever taste of a winner, thanks to that victory over SMU in the Armed Forces Bowl.
No Service Academy wins, but they did beat Duke on the road, AND they beat Tulane (one of the few things the current administration has failed to do in multiple tries).
2016: 8-5 – Head Coach: Jeff Monken
What can I say? It was the team that immediately told me things were finally different when they went down to Philly and made Temple “Cry Uncle” in the season opener.
It was also the team that, in the end, turned the “Cardiac Cadets” moniker from a negative to a positive with that overtime win over North Texas in the bowl game.
Most importantly though, it was the team that said R.I.P. to “The Streak” by putting the BEAT back in BEAT NAVY (and sent Verne Lundquist out with an indelible memory at the same time).
I can’t think of a more honorable mention than that.
But, ultimately, you’re here because you want to know the actual ranking of the Top 10 Army Football Teams of the Past 50 Years, so, here it is:
Honestly, one reason why I deferred to Sports-Reference.com‘s SRS ratings is because it didn’t give me anything insane that I had to defend editorially.
I’ve already talked about how Jim Young’s ’84-’85 is the best two year run of the modern era, but you know why I myself would put 1996 as the best?
Despite 2018 having a similar resume, I give the nod to 1996 because that team STARTED 9-0. Not only that, but every one of those nine victories came by a margin of at least 16 points. I don’t care who you’re playing, that’s downright Terminator-like.
Now, I did say at the outset off all this that I had more reason for making a Top 10 list than generating clicks.
As Andy Bernard said in The Office, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”
Well, if you hadn’t noticed, Jeff Monken has 3 of the best teams of the last 50 years, and another more than worthy of honorable mention, so, as frustrated as we may get by losses to Tulane and Ball State, we’re still living in an era where Army is firmly winning more games than they’re losing, so I hope you appreciate it as we’re in it.
Finally, as a fan of now 22 years, I wanted to give a shoutout to the teams I grew up watching in the “Bad Old Days”, who may not have won many games, but gave me “heroes” to cheer for and highlights to look back on. Guys like Zac Dahman, Jared Ulekowski, Carlton Jones, Scott Wesley, Aaron Alexander, Mike Viti, Jeremy Trimble, Caleb Campbell, Cameron Craig, Tony Fusco, Pete Bier, Corey Anderson, Walter Hill, Owen Tolson, Jordan Murray, Colin Mooney, Kevin Dunn to Mike Wright, Stephen Anderson, Frank Scappaticci, Chip Bowden, Jared Hassin, Trent Steelman, Pat Mealy, Josh McNary, Andrew Rodriguez, Raymond Maples, Alex Carlton, Jon Crucitti, and the list goes on and on.
Teams come and go.
Winning ebbs and flows.
But The Long Gray Line is forever.
