AP Top 25 Poll: Army ranked for first time since 2018

For the first time in nearly two years, Army is back in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.

After capturing their second straight blowout win of the season, the Black Knights entered the poll at No. 22 on Sunday. Jeff Monken’s men are also No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Army appeared in the AP Poll four times during its impressive 2018 season. The Black Knights finished that season 11-2 and — after beating Houston down 70-14 in the Armed Forces Bowl — finished the year ranked 19th in the final poll.

The ranking for Army this week is also a reminder of what fans will miss out on this Saturday. The Black Knights were supposed to host BYU for the first time ever, but the game was postponed due to some positive COVID-19 test results within the Cougars.

It would have been the first-ever meeting between Army and BYU, and it also would have been the first time since Nov. 16, 1996 that a ranked Army team faced another ranked team — the No. 22 Black Knights lost that day to No. 19 Syracuse, 42-17.

And a ranked Army team has not hosted another ranked team since Sept. 27, 1958, when the No. 8 Black Knights beat No. 18 South Carolina in West Point (this was so long ago that the Gamecocks were still in the ACC).

If Army is ranked after this bye week, it’ll likely be involved in another AP Top 25 match-up, as its Sept. 26 opponent — Cincinnati — is ranked No. 13 this week.