Army Football Falls at Memphis, 49-22

Saturday, October 31

Memphis, Tenn.

8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. CT

Army West Point

5-3 , 4-2

Memphis

7-2 , 4-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Army West Point	7	7	8	0	22
Memphis	14	14	7	14	49

Oct 10, 2026; West Point, New York, USA; during the first half at Michie Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Photo by: Danny Wild-Imagn Images

October 31, 2026 | Football

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis scored touchdowns on seven of its 11 possessions and piled up 554 yards of total offense to defeat Army, 49-22, on Saturday night at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

Army fell to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in American Conference play and remains one win shy of bowl eligibility. Memphis improved to 7-2 and 4-1 in the conference. A crowd of 32,502 attended.

Army tied the game twice in the first half, at 7-7 and 14-14, but never led. Backup quarterback Bryson Luter drove the Black Knights 57 yards to the Memphis 18-yard line in the closing seconds, but Ellis Jr. intercepted his pass at the Memphis 2 as time expired.

Army rushed for 320 yards on 51 carries, an average of 6.3 yards per attempt, but managed just 45 passing yards on 5-of-10 passing with two interceptions. Godspower Nwawuihe led the way with 100 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. Zach Mundell added 78 yards on two carries, including a 68-yarder, and Luter ran four times for 49 yards. Cale Hellums completed 4-of-7 passes for 40 yards and a touchdown, rushed 13 times for 34 yards and scored on a 2-yard run. The Black Knights converted just 3-of-10 third downs, but scored touchdowns on three of their four trips to the red zone.

Marcus Stokes completed 29 of 35 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns without an interception for Memphis. Jermane Hayes caught nine passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns, and Hunter Tipton added five catches for 86 yards. The Tigers converted 11-of-15 third downs and scored on all six of their red zone trips. Army held a 31:55 to 28:05 edge in time of possession and limited Memphis to 183 rushing yards.

Linebacker Deion Miller led the Army defense with a career-high 10 tackles, seven of them solo. Stephen Nnadozie and Noah Nixon each added seven tackles, and Dillon Stowers had six.

Memphis won the toss and elected to defer, putting the Army offense on the field first. After a first down on the opening play from scrimmage, a chop block penalty wiped out a 30-yard run and the drive stalled, and Army punted on its opening drive for just the third time this season.

Memphis took over at its own 20-yard line after a touchback and converted three third-and-shorts on a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 13-yard pass from quarterback Marcus Stokes to wide receiver Jermane Hayes to make it 7-0 Memphis with 7:16 left in the first quarter.

On the second play of Army's ensuing drive, running back Godspower Nwawuihe broke loose for a 34-yard run into Memphis territory. Six plays later, he punched it into the end zone from 5 yards out to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:24 left in the first quarter. Nwawuihe touched the ball five times on the drive.

Memphis needed less than two minutes to answer, going 75 yards in just five plays. A 51-yard pass from Stokes to Hunter Tipton set up the score, and Stokes found Hayes again from 5 yards out to make it 14-7 Memphis with 28 seconds left in the first quarter.

Army picked up two first downs on the ensuing drive but failed to convert a third-and-6 at midfield, sending punter James Wagenseller out for the second time of the night. His 44-yard punt pinned Memphis at its own 5-yard line.

On the first play of Memphis' ensuing drive, Stokes connected on a 22-yard pass to Jemyri Davis, but linebacker Noah Nixon forced a fumble, and defensive lineman Kody Harris-Miller recovered it at the Memphis 27-yard line with 10:36 left in the second quarter.

Army turned its sixth takeaway of the season into seven points in just four plays, as slotback Samari Howard, who also had a 10-yard run on the drive, caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cale Hellums to tie the game at 14-14 with 8:40 left in the first half.

The back-and-forth affair continued on Memphis' next drive, as the Tigers needed just eight plays to regain their seven-point lead on a 1-yard run by running back Jaylin Carter, making it 21-14 Memphis with 6:14 left in the first half.

Army answered with a drive of its own, but it stalled near midfield. Zach Mundell converted a third-and-5 with a 10-yard run and caught a 16-yard pass from Hellums to the Memphis 44, but a 4-yard loss on second down and a hurried incompletion on third-and-14 forced a punt. Wagenseller's 34-yard kick was fair-caught at the Memphis 14-yard line with 2:52 left in the first half.

Memphis made the most of it, marching 86 yards in 12 plays and 2 minutes, 17 seconds. Running back Manny Covey opened the drive with a 28-yard run, the Tigers converted three third downs, and Stokes capped the series with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Davis with 35 seconds left in the half to make it 28-14 Memphis.

Army took over with 35 seconds left in the half and moved from its own 25 to its own 49-yard line on a 13-yard Hellums keeper and a 9-yard completion to Stroman Bridges. But a 15-yard block-below-the-waist penalty on running back Jake Rendina on the next play pushed Army back to its own 34-yard line, and Hellums took a knee to send the teams to the locker room with Memphis leading 28-14.

Army's defense answered right away out of the break, forcing a Memphis three-and-out after a 27-yard kickoff return gave the Tigers the ball at their own 41-yard line. Nixon stopped Carter for 1 yard, safety Caleb Williams broke up a deep pass to Tipton, and Zane Tallman tackled Carter after a 3-yard catch on third-and-9 before Memphis punted Army back to its own 3-yard line with 13:52 left in the third quarter.

Army's offense, pinned at its own 3-yard line, picked up one first down in six plays and went 16 yards before Wagenseller's 31-yard punt went out of bounds at midfield. Memphis then needed just six plays to cover the 50 yards, capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass from Stokes to Davis to make it 35-14 Memphis with 7:25 left in the third quarter.

Mundell sparked the Army response on its next possession, breaking free for a 68-yard run on the second play to the Memphis 5-yard line. Hellums then powered into the end zone from 2 yards out on third-and-goal and found Mundell for the two-point conversion to make it 35-22 Memphis with 4:46 left in the third quarter.

As rain began to fall late in the third quarter, Army's defense forced a Memphis punt, helped by a holding penalty that set the Tigers back 10 yards. The offense took over at its own 14 with 2:19 left in the quarter.

Army punted after picking up one first down, giving Memphis the ball at its own 22-yard line as the fourth quarter began in a steady rain. Army's defense then kept the deficit at 13 with a quick three-and-out, forcing Memphis to punt again.

With both defenses holding firm in the rain, Army started its next drive at its own 22-yard line but stalled when Hellums lost 8 yards and fumbled on third down, with Army recovering its own fumble. Wagenseller then launched a career-long 74-yard punt to pin Memphis at its own 8-yard line with 10:57 left in the fourth quarter, keeping the score at 35-22 Memphis.

Memphis answered with a methodical drive out of the shadow of its own goal line, running on its first six plays before Stokes hit Aidan O'Callaghan for a 46-yard gain to the Army 20. Army's defense then dug in, holding Carter to gains of 5 and 2 yards and forcing an incompletion on third-and-3, and kicker Philippe Laforge's 32-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left. But an offside penalty on Jaxon Hammond wiped out the miss and gave Memphis a first down at the Army 8, and Carter ran 7 yards to the Army 1-yard line. On second-and-goal, Stokes fumbled on a quarterback keeper in the wet conditions, but he recovered the ball himself at the Army 2 and carried it into the end zone to cap the 12-play, 92-yard drive and make it 42-22 Memphis with 5:37 left in the fourth quarter.

Army's offense went backward on its next drive. Hellums was sacked for a 3-yard loss by Joseph Head Jr. on first down and then intercepted by Chauncey Logan Jr., who returned it 5 yards to the Army 26-yard line with 5:11 left in the fourth quarter. Memphis then ran the ball on all seven plays of a 26-yard drive that took 3 minutes, 33 seconds off the clock. Army's defense held Carter to gains of 2, 2, 5 and 2 yards, but Stokes converted a third-and-6 with a 7-yard keeper and a third-and-3 from the Army 8 with a 5-yard keeper. Carter punched in from 3 yards out with 1:38 left to make it 49-22 Memphis.

Backup quarterback Bryson Luter gave Army a late spark, running for 8 and 29 yards and converting a fourth-and-1 with an 11-yard keeper to reach the Memphis 18-yard line with 2 seconds left. But Luter's pass on the final play was intercepted by Ellis Jr. at the Memphis 2 as time expired.

Division of the Game: Army honored the 3rd Infantry Division with a logo decal on the players' helmets and coaches' headsets. The 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) is a combined arms division of the U.S. Army based at Fort Stewart, Georgia. It is a subordinate unit of the XVIII Airborne Corps under U.S. Army Forces Command. The division has a distinguished history, having seen active service in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Iraq War (U.S. phase 2003–2011) and the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021). The Medal of Honor has been awarded to 61 members of the 3rd Infantry Division, making it the most honored division in the Army.

Carrying the Flag: Memphis native Jaxon Hammond led the Black Knights onto the field with the Black Flag.

Postgame Notes

Saturday's meeting was the first between Army and Memphis since 2002 and the first since Army joined the American Conference in 2024.
Harris-Miller's fumble recovery was the first of his career, as was Nixon's forced fumble.
Nwawuihe rushed for 100 yards on 19 carries (5.3 yards per carry) and a touchdown, and Army rushed for 320 yards as a team.
Mundell attempted his third pass of the season late in the third quarter.
Linebacker Deion Miller's 10 tackles were a career high.
Linebacker Noah Nixon collected a career-high 7 tackles.
Army moved to 3-for-3 on two-point conversion attempts this year.
Wagenseller's 295 punting yards on six punts Saturday were the most the senior has collected in a game over his career. His 74-yard punt was a career long, surpassing his 71-yarder at East Carolina on Sept. 25, 2025.
Army is 8-3 in the month of October since joining the American Conference in 2024.
Army has won 11 of its past 17 games dating back to Oct. 4, 2025, a season ago.

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