West Point, N.Y. ? Memories of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States are never far from the minds of Army football players.

Class roles with the names of the 200 or so former Black Knights who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan since the day hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania serve as a constant reminder.

Some of their ex-teammates are still in combat zones.

But coach Bobby Ross says that shouldn’t make his Army debut today, the third anniversary of the attacks, any different from season openers of the past. He expects his players will pay homage to the anniversary then get on with the game, even on a campus where genuine heroes have walked and where patriotism runs high.

Sept. 11 “touches us almost every day here at West Point,” said Ross, an Army veteran and a graduate of Virginia Military Institute. “But I think we’ll be better prepared to handle it because it does touch us all the time.

“It’s a game of emotion and game of poise. So we’ve got to have both.”

Army takes the field against Louisville (1-0) at a time when many West Point graduates are facing situations much more difficult than anything in a football game.

“It’s hard not to be thinking of it and our opening game will bring it to focus even more,” says the 67-year-old Ross, whose sons attended the Air Force and Naval academies. “It’s not something you put aside. It stands out and always will.”

West Point graduates more than 900 new officers each year, about 25 percent of the new lieutenants required by the Army.

Offensive guard Adam Wojcik, a fifth-year senior from Westerville, Ohio, will graduate next May. After graduation, he’ll head to Fort Sill, Okla., to join a field artillery unit. There is a good chance Wojcik will one day serve overseas.

Playing on Sept. 11 is “definitely going to be very emotional, knowing that once we graduate, we’re no longer going to be worried about football, we’re going out to take care of terrorists,” he said. “Just playing on the anniversary will give us a little emotional boost.”

Army players say the attacks won’t dominate their thoughts today, but Louisville coaches and players expect the Sept. 11 date to give the Black Knights a lift. Coach Bobby Petrino is hoping the Cardinals can simply focus on the game.

There is no major remembrance planned although 40 members of the New York Police Department and 40 New York Fire Department members will join 80 cadets during a flag ceremony at halftime.