#104 Army Black Knights Preview

  #104 – Army Black Knights 4-7 SU; 5-5 ATS   

 Fargo’s Take  Army has improved its win total each of the last three seasons and with a lot of returnees in 2006, the Black Knights could be on the brink of a winning season. They return eight players on each side of the ball and the young players that were forced into action their first couple years will finally start to pay off. There is experience all over the place but the problem lies at quarterback and running back where the returning leaders threw the ball 12 times and rushed the ball six times respectively. That is a huge problem and the main reason the season might not get off to a great start. The schedule helps out as it is bottom heavy so the Black Knights do have some easy games early on which will certainly give the offense some good experience in winnable contests. The defense, which was the worst unit in the nation two years ago, improved so much last season that there is optimism that this could be a top 20 defense this year. That says something about the hard work and dedication the players have given to head coach Bobby Ross in his first two seasons. He proved the skeptics wrong that he wasn’t the right choice for the job and he has Army going in the same direction that Navy traveled.

 Returning Starters on Offense – 8  The loss of Zac Dahman at quarterback and Carlton Jones at tailback is devastating to an offense that wasn’t very strong last season to begin with. Army was only 101st in the country in total offense and with the majority of that production now exited, the going could be tough. However, there is talent and even though it’s short on experience, the rest of the offense is strong. The entire offensive line returns as does the top four receivers so if a quarterback and tailback can emerge, the unit could be very productive. The problem is that it is a big if. The Black Knights were hardly a juggernaut last season even though the offense improved as the season progressed. The schedule could be the savior.

 Returning Starters on Defense – 8  Army had the most improved defense in the country last season as its jump of 80 spots were easily the biggest move in the nation. The scoring defense finished 66th and only four teams scored more than 30 points compared to eight teams running up that many points the year before. The eight starters coming back are dispersed throughout the unit so there are no big weaknesses to try and deal with. The corners are the only positions with new starters but both safeties return and that is the key to the passing defense that ranked 10th in the country. It will be up to the defense to continue its success early in the season until the offense gets its game in order which could take some time.

 Schedule  Moving from CUSA back to an Independent has helped the schedule in terms of getting more games on the slate that can be won. There is no automatic bowl bid involved but Navy proved that it isn’t necessary to be involved in a conference to be successful. There are only five home games on the schedule this season but there are also only five true road games as well. Games against Texas A&M, TCU, Notre Dame and Navy are sure losses but there is a chance in every other game. Road games at Arkansas St., Baylor and Tulane are the best chances to pick up some road wins. Army ended last season winning its final two road contests so it finally knows how to get it done away from home. A 3-3 start before facing Connecticut is not out of the question.

 You can bet on…  Army will likely improve its win total once again but getting over the .500 mark will still be a challenge. That means seven wins and that will be a difficult task. The one guarantee is that this team will play hard week in and week out since Ross has taught this team to believe in itself. Turnovers came down again last year and that is another goal to improve upon. Army has won at least five games against the number each of the last three seasons but improving upon that is going to mean more outright wins since the Black Knights are not going to be getting the same amount of points as in the past.

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