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It's not a hard and fast rule, but defending the triple option sometimes has one of two outcomes: a complete show of dominance by the defense or utter embarrassment. Houston's defense was utterly embarrassed in a 70-14 loss to Army, which tied the record for most points scored in a bowl game, in the Armed Forces Bowl on Saturday. 

There can be multiple reasons for this: poor coaching, poor eye discipline and angles, and/or being so freakin' done with everything. For Houston, giving up 507 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground looked like a combination of all three -- and then some. Of course, not having star defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who is preparing for the NFL Draft, hurts and he wasn't the only defensive player absent. Still, the Cougars had no answers for Army's offense for myriad reasons. 

First of all, Houston wasn't even lined up properly to defend the triple option even if it wanted to. Defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio was fired last month, so the Cougars were understaffed on that front before the game even started. But the defensive front still wasn't in position to aggressively stop the run. 

That's a lot of green in the phone booth, putting Houston at a disadvantage before the ball is even snapped. Being shorthanded without players like Oliver doesn't help because Oliver is so dominant at shooting gaps and/or occupying double-teams, but that's not even giving the defense a chance. 

When the ball was snapped, though, Houston didn't fare any better. Individual plays like this one from Army quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. are great for the highlight reel, but they also show poor fundamentals and tackling from Houston's defense. Plays like this were commonplace throughout the game. 

As far as Houston's mindset is concerned, it's unfair to simply presume no one wanted to be at this game. However, this is its fourth loss since the start of November -- all of which were by double digits. The season-ending injury to quarterback D'Eriq King coupled with Oliver's injury and absences have been brutal blows, but the guys playing Saturday didn't step up to end the season on a high note on either side of the ball. However, it was most glaring on defense, which is usually the case when the opposing team is doing one thing with a high success rate. 

Which brings us back to the original point about the triple option: sometimes, it either works or it doesn't. When it does, it can be a long, long day. There are no real halftime adjustments to the triple option. It's not something that can suddenly be defended better mid-game. If a defense struggles to stop it at first, it will likely continue to get pushed around in the second half (especially if it's worn down). 

Granted, Army is good. Very good. This is the program's first 11-win season. The Black Knights are 21-5 in the past two seasons and 29-10 since coach Jeff Monken's third season. Monken has Army where Navy used to be, maybe even better. He should be on some Power Five athletic director's short list for next year. Since Hopkins, who accounted for 240 total yards and five touchdowns, should be back for another season, this team should be a lot of fun to watch once again. 

Conversely, this is Houston's sixth double-digit loss under coach Major Applewhite and he's 15-10 in two full seasons. When you combine the disappointing late-season slide with his jacket brouhaha with Oliver last month, this has been a rough stretch for a coach who could enter 2019 on the hot seat. And if that seems foolhardy, take it from his president just a couple of years ago. 

Bowl results have no bearing on what happens the following year, but Army and Houston are very clearly headed in two different directions with the 2018 season officially behind them.