The Black Knights of the Army were college football’s biggest surprise during the 2024 season.

9-0 entering Week 12, this has a chance to be one of the most successful campaigns in program history. There have only been three seasons where they have exceeded nine wins and that is already the best they have done in conference.

In Army history, they have only nine conference victories; they already have seven this year and have two left before a potential American Athletics Conference championship game.

One of the reasons they are so successful is the performance of their quarterback, Bryson Daily. The fourth-year player has reached an incredibly high level despite some injuries.

In eight appearances, he totaled 1,062 yards on 172 attempts with an AAC leading 21 touchdowns. There was some success through the air for the one-option offense, as he completed 29 of 51 passes for 644 yards and seven touchdowns with just one interception.

His efficiency has improved a lot across the board, making this offensive attack even more difficult to plan and defend.

With just a few weeks left in the season, can Daily maintain this level of play and help the Black Knights win the College Football Playoff? He’s certainly talented enough, as ESPN’s Bill Connelly highlighted him as one of three players capable of playing the role of spoiler throughout the sequence.

“Army’s option offense moved to a new spot with Daily, only for him to get injured mid-season. After averaging more than 40 points in seven games, the Black Knights have scored just 34 total in their last two games, the first against Air Force without Daily and the second when Daily returned. The Black Knights are still undefeated, and if their QB is 100% in two weeks, they could give Notre Dame a run for their money. They could also massively frustrate someone in the first round of the CFP if they make it. But that’s only if Daily is 100 percent.

This bye week could do wonders for the Army’s chances of shaking up the CFP situation. If Daily is running at or near 100%, good luck slowing down that unit.

Their methodical play wears down their opponents, as they had a single drive against North Texas that took up almost an entire quarter of the game. Limiting possessions with a stellar running game and solid defense is a recipe for success.

A match in week 13 against the Notre Dame fighting the Irish and a possible meeting with the Tulane Green Wave in the AAC championship game could give the Black Knights enough of a boost to earn a spot in the CFP.