Army West Point Athletics
Photo by: Danny Wild-Imagn Images
October 30, 2026 | Football
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army's defensive line knew it had to make a play.
It was late in the fourth quarter on the road at Tulsa, and the score was tied at 35-35. The Golden Hurricane lined up for a third-down play. Quarterback Baylor Hayes began the play needing only six yards for a first down to continue their drive to a potential game-winning score. As he backpedaled into position following the snap, he saw that all of his receivers were blanketed by the Army secondary.
Hayes was then swarmed under by the Army defense and sacked for a four-yard loss. That sack brought on a fourth down and hurried Tulsa's punting unit onto the field. After successfully fielding the punt, the Black Knights were back on offense. Army quarterback Cale Hellums took the reins of the team and directed a perfectly executed 51-second drive, which culminated in a 50-yard walk-off field goal by Dawson Jones to give the Black Knights a 38-35 win.
For defensive linemen Jack Bousum and Kody Harris-Miller, the sack was one of the highlight plays of the season.
For Army, the sack led to a win that moved the Black Knights closer to achieving their team goals of playing in a bowl game and in the American Conference championship game. Army enters its game at Memphis on Saturday riding a three-game winning streak, with a 5-2 overall record, and is in third place in the conference with a 4-1 conference mark.
"We obviously knew the situation going into the play and that we had to execute," said Bousum. "It was a play where we had a lot of guys on the ball, and we really made a team effort to get the stop. The guys in the secondary shut them down, and us on the defensive line made it happen; it was great to see everybody on the defense come together."
The sack came at the most opportune time for the Black Knight defense, which watched Tulsa score three third quarter touchdowns and take a 35-28 lead with 13:25 remaining in the game.
That's when the Army defense buckled down and put its offense in position to earn the come-from behind victory. In the fourth quarter the swarming Black Knight defense allowed only 56 yards on 14 plays (4.0 yards per play), forced two punts, blocked one of those punts, and forced a missed field goal while putting the Army offense in position to score the final 10 points of the game.
"I was lucky enough to be in the right spot at the right time," said Harris-Miller. "It goes back to relying on our fundamentals, relying on our keys. Jack (Bousum) saw something on the edge, Dillon (Stowers) saw something on the edge, and we had to make a call that put us in the best possible position for us to be successful on defense. I had three guys next to me with Jack, Dillon, and Noah (Nixon) all rushing together as one, and I was just lucky when the quarterback found his way to me."
Army's defensive line leads one of the most stout defenses in the American Conference as it is among leaders with 15 sacks through the first seven games of the season. The Army defense is ranked fourth in the American in rushing defense and has allowed only nine rushing touchdowns.
"Nothing was going right," said Army had coach Jeff Monken. "But through all of it, we found a way (to defeat Tulsa). I was really proud of our team because we did make some plays down the stretch. Our defense needed to make a stop. There are a lot of guys on our defense that are growing. They are getting better and we are improving."
Neither Bousum nor Harris-Miller realized the enormity of the sack until coming off the field to a near celebratory mood by each of their teammates.
"When we came off the field and everybody was celebrating. That's the moment I really knew how big the sack was," said Bousum.
Bousum is currently ranked third on the team in tackles through seven games this season.
Harris-Miller, who will start the 25th game of his career against Memphis, is among the team leaders in sacks and tackles for minus yardage in 2026.
"It was definitely a big play for the entire defense as a whole," said Harris-Miller. "Jack rushed the edge perfectly, Dillon and Noah were able to collapse the pocket, and knowing that we all came together doing four separate roles to come together to make one play for the team is the biggest thing."
Secure Your Seats
There is no setting quite like West Point. To purchase directly online now, visit GoArmyWestPoint.com/ticketsor call 1-877-TIX-ARMY.
Need other ticket options? Complete the form HERE identifying your ticket interests and an Army representative will contact you!
Army West Point Athletic Association, Inc. (AWPAA)
AWPAA is an IRS code 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established to execute the United States Military Academy's intercollegiate athletics program. AWPAA is led by a board of directors that provides guidance to the director of athletics, who serves as the primary advisor to the USMA Superintendent and the USMA leadership on all NCAA operations. The AWPAA mission is to recruit, educate, train and inspire leaders of character who are committed to the Army values through an extraordinary Division I athletic experience.
—www.goarmywestpoint.com—
It was late in the fourth quarter on the road at Tulsa, and the score was tied at 35-35. The Golden Hurricane lined up for a third-down play. Quarterback Baylor Hayes began the play needing only six yards for a first down to continue their drive to a potential game-winning score. As he backpedaled into position following the snap, he saw that all of his receivers were blanketed by the Army secondary.
Hayes was then swarmed under by the Army defense and sacked for a four-yard loss. That sack brought on a fourth down and hurried Tulsa's punting unit onto the field. After successfully fielding the punt, the Black Knights were back on offense. Army quarterback Cale Hellums took the reins of the team and directed a perfectly executed 51-second drive, which culminated in a 50-yard walk-off field goal by Dawson Jones to give the Black Knights a 38-35 win.
For defensive linemen Jack Bousum and Kody Harris-Miller, the sack was one of the highlight plays of the season.
For Army, the sack led to a win that moved the Black Knights closer to achieving their team goals of playing in a bowl game and in the American Conference championship game. Army enters its game at Memphis on Saturday riding a three-game winning streak, with a 5-2 overall record, and is in third place in the conference with a 4-1 conference mark.
"We obviously knew the situation going into the play and that we had to execute," said Bousum. "It was a play where we had a lot of guys on the ball, and we really made a team effort to get the stop. The guys in the secondary shut them down, and us on the defensive line made it happen; it was great to see everybody on the defense come together."
The sack came at the most opportune time for the Black Knight defense, which watched Tulsa score three third quarter touchdowns and take a 35-28 lead with 13:25 remaining in the game.
That's when the Army defense buckled down and put its offense in position to earn the come-from behind victory. In the fourth quarter the swarming Black Knight defense allowed only 56 yards on 14 plays (4.0 yards per play), forced two punts, blocked one of those punts, and forced a missed field goal while putting the Army offense in position to score the final 10 points of the game.
"I was lucky enough to be in the right spot at the right time," said Harris-Miller. "It goes back to relying on our fundamentals, relying on our keys. Jack (Bousum) saw something on the edge, Dillon (Stowers) saw something on the edge, and we had to make a call that put us in the best possible position for us to be successful on defense. I had three guys next to me with Jack, Dillon, and Noah (Nixon) all rushing together as one, and I was just lucky when the quarterback found his way to me."
Army's defensive line leads one of the most stout defenses in the American Conference as it is among leaders with 15 sacks through the first seven games of the season. The Army defense is ranked fourth in the American in rushing defense and has allowed only nine rushing touchdowns.
"Nothing was going right," said Army had coach Jeff Monken. "But through all of it, we found a way (to defeat Tulsa). I was really proud of our team because we did make some plays down the stretch. Our defense needed to make a stop. There are a lot of guys on our defense that are growing. They are getting better and we are improving."
Neither Bousum nor Harris-Miller realized the enormity of the sack until coming off the field to a near celebratory mood by each of their teammates.
"When we came off the field and everybody was celebrating. That's the moment I really knew how big the sack was," said Bousum.
Bousum is currently ranked third on the team in tackles through seven games this season.
Harris-Miller, who will start the 25th game of his career against Memphis, is among the team leaders in sacks and tackles for minus yardage in 2026.
"It was definitely a big play for the entire defense as a whole," said Harris-Miller. "Jack rushed the edge perfectly, Dillon and Noah were able to collapse the pocket, and knowing that we all came together doing four separate roles to come together to make one play for the team is the biggest thing."
Secure Your Seats
There is no setting quite like West Point. To purchase directly online now, visit GoArmyWestPoint.com/ticketsor call 1-877-TIX-ARMY.
Need other ticket options? Complete the form HERE identifying your ticket interests and an Army representative will contact you!
Army West Point Athletic Association, Inc. (AWPAA)
AWPAA is an IRS code 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established to execute the United States Military Academy's intercollegiate athletics program. AWPAA is led by a board of directors that provides guidance to the director of athletics, who serves as the primary advisor to the USMA Superintendent and the USMA leadership on all NCAA operations. The AWPAA mission is to recruit, educate, train and inspire leaders of character who are committed to the Army values through an extraordinary Division I athletic experience.
—www.goarmywestpoint.com—
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