Army wins wild 2016 Heart of Dallas Bowl to cap its best season in years

The Heart of Dallas Bowl featured a rematch between North Texas and Army, who played each other in late October this season. The Mean Green won that game 35-18, but the Black Knights exacted some revenge from that loss with a 38-31 overtime victory on Tuesday afternoon. With the victory, Army saw its best season since 1996.

Late in the fourth quarter, North Texas got the ball back with just over two minutes to go after stopping an Army fourth-down conversion attempt. The Mean Green managed to make a 37-yard field goal on its final drive to tie things up at 31 and send the game into overtime. The drive marked the second big comeback of the day for UNT.

Army scored on a 3-yard touchdown with its first possession of overtime, and it was North Texas’ turn next. Army forced a UNT four-and-out to seal it and cap off an incredible 2016 season.

The game marked Army’s sixth bowl appearance in program history, and it was entertaining throughout — after the Black Knights scored 13 points in the first quarter, they poured it on, scoring another two scores to take a 24-7 lead.

The Mean Green came back with two consecutive touchdowns to pull within three, but Army still held a 24-21 lead at the half.

North Texas’ last score of the half came on a drive in which running back Jeffery Wilson projectile vomited twice — staying in and blocking anyway.

The third quarter was just as wild as the second, with Army striking first with a 65-yard touchdown run by Ahmad Bradshaw. The Mean Green responded with a touchdown drive of its own to stay within three. North Texas fans were highly optimistic heading into the fourth.

Army’s failure to convert on a couple of two-point conversions, as well as the missed extra point after the Black Knights’ first touchdown, was a big reason why North Texas was able to hang around throughout.

North Texas finished the season 5-7, but the team’s APR score made them eligible for this bowl game. As expected, there were some who thought a team with five wins shouldn’t be eligible for a bowl. Given how well the Mean Green hung with Army, North Texas proved it wasn’t anywhere it wasn’t supposed to be playing in a bowl as a five-win team.

For Army, not only is this win revenge for the loss to North Texas earlier in the season, it’s a testament to how well third-year head coach Jeff Monken has done at West Point. Earlier this month, his team beat Navy for the first time in 15 years, which was the culmination of a years-long, top-secret plan. But Army also won six other games in order to qualify for a bowl for the first time since 2010.