Army Upsets Kansas State 24-21 Behind Short's Dual-Threat Performance
Army defeated Kansas State 24-21 in Week 2, covering a 17-point spread in a competitive matchup that saw four lead changes. Noah Short led the Black Knights' offense, completing 52 passing yards and rushing for 61 yards. Kansas State's Brayden Loftin led receivers with 9 catches, while the Wildcats' Avery Johnson connected with Jerand Bradley early and Jaron Tibbs for a touchdown in the second quarter.
The scoring remained tight throughout, with Kansas State holding an 21-17 advantage entering the fourth quarter before Army scored 10 unanswered points to secure the victory. Army's defense generated critical stops, including a dominant sequence in the second period. Both teams exchanged momentum swings, with Kansas State mounting defensive efforts in the third quarter that limited Army's progress at times.
The game finished under the 48.5 over-under total. Army's ground game proved instrumental down the stretch, with Cale Hellums contributing key rushing plays including a 16-yard gain for a first down at midfield in the third quarter.
AI-generated recap · Aug 19, 2026
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Army | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
 Kansas State | 3 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 21 |
Scoring Timeline
Drive Chart
Box Score
| Statistic | Army | Kansas State |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | 8-12 | 15-25 |
| Pass Yards | 95 | 172 |
| Rush Yards | 237 | 74 |
| Total Yards | 332 | 246 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| 3rd Down | 10-22 | 2-9 |
| Penalties | 2-10 | 2-15 |
| Possession | 40:29 | 19:31 |
Player Leaders
Player Leaders
Play-by-Play
Anderson Britton kickoff for 58 yds , Bryce Noernberg return for 44 yds to the ARMY 49
Joe Jackson run for a loss of 1 yard to the 50 yard line
Avery Johnson pass incomplete to Joe Jackson
Avery Johnson pass complete to Jerand Bradley for 15 yds to the ARMY 35 for a 1ST down
Joe Jackson run for 11 yds to the ARMY 24 for a 1ST down
DeVon Rice run for 1 yd to the ARMY 23
Avery Johnson pass complete to Jaron Tibbs for 8 yds to the ARMY 15
Joe Jackson run for a loss of 1 yard to the ARMY 16
L. Rodriguez 34 yd FG GOOD
Cale Hellums run for 3 yds to the ARMY 28
Hayden Reed run for 2 yds to the ARMY 30
Noah Short run for 6 yds to the ARMY 36 for a 1ST down
Army Penalty, False Start (Parker Poloskey) to the ARMY 31
Cale Hellums run for a loss of 3 yards to the ARMY 28
Cale Hellums run for 4 yds to the ARMY 32
Cale Hellums run for 6 yds to the ARMY 38
James Wagenseller punt for 47 yds , Sterling Lockett returns for no gain to the KSU 15
Avery Johnson pass complete to Jerand Bradley for 16 yds to the KSU 31 for a 1ST down
Avery Johnson pass complete to Brayden Loftin for 9 yds to the KSU 40
JB Price run for 2 yds to the KSU 42 for a 1ST down
Joe Jackson run for 3 yds to the KSU 45
Avery Johnson pass incomplete to Will Anciaux
Avery Johnson pass complete to Joe Jackson for 5 yds to the 50 yard line
Simon McClannan punt for 50 yds for a touchback
Noah Short run for 1 yd to the ARMY 21
Cale Hellums pass complete to Samari Howard for 8 yds to the ARMY 29
Cale Hellums run for 2 yds to the ARMY 31 for a 1ST down
Cale Hellums run for 5 yds to the ARMY 36
Jake Rendina run for 3 yds to the ARMY 39
Cale Hellums run for 2 yds to the ARMY 41 for a 1ST down
Noah Short run for 4 yds to the ARMY 45
Cale Hellums run for 1 yd to the ARMY 46
Carson Smith run for 2 yds to the ARMY 48
Cale Hellums pass incomplete to Carson Smith
DeVon Rice run for 13 yds to the ARMY 35 for a 1ST down
Avery Johnson pass incomplete to Jerand Bradley
DeVon Rice run for 5 yds to the ARMY 30
Avery Johnson run for 4 yds to the ARMY 26 Kansas State Penalty, Offensive Holding (Jemyri Davis) to the ARMY 35
Avery Johnson pass complete to Jayce Brown for 3 yds to the ARMY 32
Avery Johnson pass complete to Jaron Tibbs for 32 yds for a TD (Luis Rodriguez KICK)
Noah Short run for 17 yds to the ARMY 42 for a 1ST down
Army Penalty, False Start (Samari Howard) to the ARMY 37
Hayden Reed run for 2 yds to the ARMY 39
Cale Hellums run for no gain to the ARMY 39
Cale Hellums pass incomplete to Parker Poloskey
James Wagenseller punt for 49 yds, fair catch by Sterling Lockett at the KSU 12
JB Price run for no gain to the KSU 12
DeVon Rice run for no gain to the KSU 12
Avery Johnson pass complete to Garrett Oakley for 21 yds to the KSU 33 for a 1ST down
Joe Jackson run for 15 yds to the KSU 48 for a 1ST down
Avery Johnson run for 7 yds to the ARMY 45
Avery Johnson pass complete to Adonis Moise for 11 yds to the ARMY 34 for a 1ST down
DeVon Rice run for 7 yds to the ARMY 27
Avery Johnson pass complete to Jayce Brown for 9 yds to the ARMY 18 for a 1ST down
DeVon Rice run for 2 yds to the ARMY 16
Joe Jackson run for 1 yd to the ARMY 15
Johnson, Avery pass complete to Tibbs, Jaron for 7 yards to the ARMY8, PENALTY KANSASST illegal formation (TEAM) 5 yards to the ARMY20, NO PLAY.
Avery Johnson pass incomplete to Brayden Loftin
Luis Rodriguez 38 yd FG GOOD
Cale Hellums run for 1 yd to the ARMY 26
Noah Short run for 7 yds to the ARMY 33
Cale Hellums run for 2 yds to the ARMY 35 for a 1ST down
Cale Hellums run for 9 yds to the ARMY 44
Cale Hellums run for 4 yds to the ARMY 48 for a 1ST down
Cale Hellums run for a loss of 3 yards to the ARMY 45
Cale Hellums pass complete to Samari Howard for 6 yds to the KSU 49
Cale Hellums pass complete to Brady Anderson for 10 yds to the KSU 39 for a 1ST down
Cale Hellums run for 11 yds to the KSU 28 for a 1ST down
Hayden Reed run for 2 yds to the KSU 26
Cale Hellums run for 3 yds to the KSU 23
Cale Hellums pass complete to Noah Short for 18 yds to the KSU 5 for a 1ST down
Cale Hellums run for 1 yd to the KSU 4
Cale Hellums pass complete to Samari Howard for 2 yds to the KSU 2
Cale Hellums pass incomplete to Parker Poloskey
Cale Hellums pass complete to Brady Anderson for 2 yds for a TD (Dawson Jones KICK)
End of 2nd Quarter
Cale Hellums run for 4 yds to the ARMY 29
Hayden Reed run for a loss of 1 yard to the ARMY 28
Cale Hellums run for 1 yd to the ARMY 29
James Wagenseller punt for 40 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the KSU 31
Avery Johnson pass complete to Jayce Brown for 17 yds to the KSU 48 for a 1ST down
Joe Jackson run for 2 yds to the 50 yard line
Avery Johnson run for 3 yds to the ARMY 47
Avery Johnson pass incomplete to Jayce Brown
Simon McClannan punt for 36 yds , Aden Self returns for no gain to the ARMY 11
Noah Short run for 3 yds to the ARMY 14
Noah Short pass complete to Brady Anderson for 52 yds to the KSU 34 for a 1ST down
Noah Short run for 3 yds to the KSU 31
Cale Hellums run for 5 yds to the KSU 26
Cale Hellums run for 3 yds to the KSU 23 for a 1ST down
Carson Smith run for 5 yds to the KSU 18
Cale Hellums run for 1 yd to the KSU 17
Noah Short run for 1 yd to the KSU 16
Hayden Reed run for 5 yds to the KSU 11 for a 1ST down
Carson Smith run for 3 yds to the KSU 8
Cale Hellums run for no gain to the KSU 8
Cale Hellums run for 4 yds to the KSU 4
Cale Hellums run for 3 yds to the KSU 1 for a 1ST down
Cale Hellums run for 1 yd for a TD (Dawson Jones KICK)
Anderson Britton kickoff for 64 yds , Bryce Noernberg return for 99 yds for a TD (Avery Johnson pass to Jaron Tibbs for Two-Point Conversion)
Carson Smith run for 2 yds to the ARMY 27
Cale Hellums run for 6 yds to the ARMY 33
Carson Smith run for 1 yd to the ARMY 34
Cale Hellums run for 16 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Carson Smith run for 2 yds to the KSU 48
Noah Short run for 2 yds to the KSU 46
Cale Hellums run for 9 yds to the KSU 37 for a 1ST down
Carson Smith run for 3 yds to the KSU 34
Noah Short run for 17 yds to the KSU 17 for a 1ST down
Briggs Bartosh run for 2 yds to the KSU 15
Cale Hellums pass complete to Noah Short for a loss of 3 yards to the KSU 18
Cale Hellums pass incomplete to Noah Short
Dawson Jones 35 yd FG GOOD
Carson Smith run for 1 yd to the ARMY 45
Cale Hellums run for 5 yds to the 50 yard line
Cale Hellums run for no gain to the 50 yard line
Cale Hellums run for 6 yds to the KSU 44 for a 1ST down
David Clerk run for 5 yds to the KSU 39
Briggs Bartosh run for 3 yds to the KSU 36
Cale Hellums run for 5 yds to the KSU 31 for a 1ST down
Carson Smith run for 4 yds to the KSU 27
Cale Hellums run for 5 yds to the KSU 22
Cale Hellums run for no gain to the KSU 22
Cale Hellums run for 2 yds to the KSU 20 for a 1ST down
Briggs Bartosh run for 6 yds to the KSU 14
Cale Hellums run for no gain to the KSU 14
Cale Hellums run for 14 yds for a TD (Dawson Jones KICK)
Avery Johnson pass complete to Jaron Tibbs for 9 yds to the KSU 34
Avery Johnson pass complete to Jaron Tibbs for 5 yds to the KSU 39 for a 1ST down
Avery Johnson pass incomplete to Jaron Tibbs
Avery Johnson pass incomplete to Jayce Brown
Avery Johnson pass complete to Jemyri Davis for 5 yds to the KSU 44
Avery Johnson pass complete to Jaron Tibbs for 7 yds to the ARMY 49 for a 1ST down
Avery Johnson pass incomplete
Avery Johnson pass incomplete to Adonis Moise
Avery Johnson pass intercepted Collin Matteson return for 8 yds to the KSU 46
Cale Hellums run for a loss of 10 yards to the ARMY 44
TEAM run for a loss of 12 yards to the ARMY 32
TEAM run for 8 yds to the ARMY 40