WEST POINT, N.Y. – Larry Dixon ran for 174 yards and two touchdowns, Raymond Maples scored on a 4-yard run and had two receptions for 69 yards, and Army held off Buffalo 47-39 on a sweltering Saturday at Michie Stadium to start the Jeff Monken era on a positive note.
Monken, who served as an assistant coach to Paul Johnson at Navy and Georgia Tech, was hired last December after a four-year stint as head coach at FCS power Georgia Southern.
Army (1-0) overcame a lost fumble on the game's second play from scrimmage and too many careless penalties to snap a five-game losing streak.
Some timely runs against a stacked Buffalo line, a conservative-but-flawless passing game that surprised the Bulls (1-1) more than once, and a defense that stiffened when it had to and forced a critical turnover helped stake Army to an 18-point halftime lead that was too much to overcome.
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