Army Football

We have another Army football Saturday at Michie Stadium as the Black Knights play Ball State before the arrival of two storms next week: one weather-related from the Caribbean, and the other a sibling rival from Colorado Springs, the Air Force Academy.

Yes for some West Point followers the Commanders-In-Chief game against Air Force in seven days is already top of mind but Army Coach Ellerson will keep his players focused on one objective and that is beating Ball State this week.  "Why" as Army Head Coach Ellerson might say, "Because it is the only game we can play this week".

In any case this looks like another offensive shootout, a 45-40 type game.  Both teams are good on offense and struggling at best on defense. 

Coach Pete Lembo's Cardinals are averaging 480 yards and 34 points per game on offense.  Their QB is Keith Wenning, has completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,236 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions.  Ball State's best running back is Jahwan Edwards, who averages just over 100 yards per game, 5.8 yards per carry and has eight touchdowns.

On defense, Ball State has given 476 yards per game, which is ten more yards per game than Army.  They are giving up 35 points per game.  The Cardinals have been beaten in the air this season and are giving up 290 yards per game.

At Rich Ellerson's Tuesday press conference I asked the coach about the prospect of a high-scoring shootout with Ball State:

"Given the nature of Ball State's offense and our defense, our offense is going to need to stay on the field and be productive. We said that last week and didn't pull it off. We weren't consistently good enough in the kicking game and on offense to win a game that was going to be like that. We know we're capable of that, but we need to take that step forward. Ball State is very dynamic on offense."

Army goes into the game owning the best running game in the country with 389 yards per game on the ground.  Last week at Eastern Michigan, Army QB Trent Steelman ran for a career high 212 yards, which moved him into fourth place on Army's all-time list with 2,781 on his notable four year career.  T

Later at the press conference I asked Coach Ellerson about the legacy that Trent Steelman is setting at Army as a four year starter and what needs to do to be successful down the stretch of the season:

"Obviously, you've heard me talk about him as a physically tough competitor. He's a team captain and what this season has served up, we need him to be all of that and have some of those games where he doesn't blink. He made some great plays on Saturday, but we need a couple more plays. We need to eliminate the negative plays. He nodded his head and knows it's on him to get it done."

 

Last week was the first full game Army played without its man in the middle of the defense, senior Nate Combs, who is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury.  Freshman Brandon Jeffires stood out last week at the free safety position, making 14 tackles, but it is generally a problem when your safety is making that many plays.  Sophomore Geoffrey Bacon at middle linebacker had 13 tackles last week and leads the team with 76 on the season.  Another plebe, Alex Meier at the "Rover" position had eight tackles against the Eagles and has 35 on the season.

Army is depending on young defensive players to hold the line and give the team a chance to win.  The Black Knights defensive lineup shows eight starters who are freshman or sophomores, two juniors and senior Zach Watts at the "quick" or outside linebacker position.  I asked Coach Ellerson about the young players asked to step up and fill in for Nate Combs,

"We didn't ask quite as much from them as we might have asked from Nate. They did ok. Holt (Zalneraitis) is out again this week after being banged up a bit.  We've expanded Zach Watts a little bit. He didn't play as well as he has played, so we have to be careful how we manage their job descriptions going forward."

 

One of the positives is the return to action of team captain Jarrett Mackey, who has moved from a down lineman spot to Combs position as the "bandit," in which the job is to fill the gaps and rush the passer.  The coach felt that Mackey is making progress building strength and playing more each week as he recovers from his leg injury suffered in the opening game last year:

 "The good news is Jarrett (Mackey) played his best game. He's certainly not back to where he was prior to his injury, but he's clearly much more comfortable playing. He's making some plays. Some of the responsibility for getting guys lined up and making those adjustments up front fell to him, and he handled it just right."

 

Okay, some of us are already looking forward to the Air Force game next week, but for the players and coaches this week it will be all about finding a way to outscore and make defensive stops on Ball State. It should be a high-scoring and entertaining game for the large crowd of over 30,000 expected at Michie Stadium.

Watch for a 45-40 game, if Bacon, Jeffries, Mackey, Meier, Watts and all can make plays, this could turn out in favor of the Black Knights.

Ken Kraetzer covers Army football for WVOX in New Rochelle, NY and Sons of the American Legion Radio. Twitter: SAL50NYRadio, Facebook: West Point Football Report

Attracting football players to enroll at West Point is different from the process at civilian universities that play Division One football.  The demands of cadet life at the US Military Academy are not for everyone.  Graduates have a commitment to serve at least five years in the US Army, with only small hopes that an exception will be granted to pursue opportunities to play in the NFL. 

Many who decide to attend West Point have family members who have served in the military, such as Army junior defensive end Holt Zalneraitis, whose grandfather was a WWII bomber flight officer and prisoner of war.

Committing to training to be a cadet and football player at the US Military Academy means accepting the rigors that go with a demanding 24/7 military lifestyle, which begins by withstanding the first six weeks at Cadet Basic Training, known as "Beast Barracks."  A strict demanding life is experienced during the plebe year that follows, along with the academic challenges of an Ivy League level educational institution with frequent testing.  West Point is listed among the top academic colleges in the country.     

Last week, I sat in on Army Head Coach Rich Ellerson's weekly radio show, hosted by Rich DeMarco, which airs on the Army Sports Network.  The discussion turned to recruiting, with Coach Ellerson and Assistant Coach John Brock describing the process that the Army uses to canvass the country to find players who have both the ability to play Division One football and the desire to undertake the training that leads to the opportunity to serve the country as officers in the US Army.

For the past two seasons, the Black Knights have thrived with ball control option offense while struggled on defense after the graduation of key players from the 2010 Armed Forces Bowl winning team.  Several young players have been forced into the lineup by injuries to veterans such as Nate Combs and Josh Jackson. The starting lineup for Army's game with Ball State this week lists eight freshmen and sophomores among the defensive starters.  I asked Coach Ellerson about recruiting for the defense:

"There are some things about playing on the defensive side of the ball; there are fewer people in the population who can do those things."

Coach Ellerson went on to describe two positions on the defense he finds very hard to find players for:

"There are fewer guys who can play corner. That might be the most discriminating skill in all of athletics, guys who can can go out on the corner, have someone run straight at them while they run backwards and try to stay inside or on top, or outside.  It is a skill-intensive, athletically demanding position and no one has too many of them; it is hard to find those guys."

The coach went on to say that the defensive line is another tough position to recruit players because of the dual role to rush the passer and stop the run:

"It is hard to find defensive linemen who can rush the passer. We have talked about how undersized we are relative to our opponent(s). To be able to be effective in that environment and physical enough to cancel gaps in the run game and still rush the passer, that is the most exhausting thing in the game of football, is rushing the passer."

Coach Ellerson went on to describe how defensive linemen are often less effective late in games:

"You see points in the fourth quarter, all of a sudden. They (the offense) didn't get any faster. They did not get smarter. They are not throwing the ball any better. What happens is the pass rush gets tired."

Army Assistant Coach John Brock described the technology tool that they use to spot and track prospects across the national recruiting effort that Army pursues.  Each of the Black Knight assistant coaches have a recruiting section of the country to visit and work on.  About half of the coaching staff travels on Thursdays and Fridays to their territories to visit high schools before heading back to the team for the game on Saturday.  

Coach Brock described how time-consuming it can be to search the Internet to find information about thousands of prospects.  Army has developed a data mining software program that searches for basic information about prospective players, including team rosters, performances in other sports (such as track team times) and even summer football camps that players may have participated in.  The program cross references data to combine information from multiple sources to produce a printout of players sorted by recruiting territory. Coach Brock described the time saving value of this technology:

"This can be a starting point, a list; it can be 3,000 guys that play football and have some of these numbers that we are looking for. It cuts down time. The coaches don't have to worry about spending time getting that information; now they have the names in front of them and we can get transcripts and move on from there.  For our coaches, it saves a lot of time on the front end in developing your suspect list and then narrowing that down to a prospect list with the information that we hold value."

Later in the program, Army head coach Rich Ellerson stated that the recruiting software Army uses was originally developed when he coached at Cal Poly, in California, a state with nearly 30 million people.  The software allowed the staff to canvass for prospects as wide as they could.  When the staff moved to West Point four years ago, they upgraded the software to cover the entire country for recruiting.  Coach Ellerson commented:

"To canvass as many folks as possible, to find those guys who belong, that can play at this level, have the character and intellect to prosper at West Point and then be in for what we are, want the destination...and can play Division One football. They have that level of athleticism and explosiveness.  Whenever you are looking at 17 year olds, the crystal ball is not always clear.  Anything we can do to validate, what we think we see when we see them play the game."

The Black Knight coach continued to describe the process of evaluating thousands of prospects to find the very few who can play and meet the requirements of the Academy:

"We have this monstrous list of suspects that we reduce over time to prospects, then the prospects come to me and I convert them to recruits; it is a progression.  To become a recruit, you have to have the intellect, character and player ability we are looking for.   Once you find that guy who belongs here—we have 15-20 guys who visit every weekend—90 percent of those who come in are saying 'this is it, exactly.'"

It is a long way from tracking years of high school play, visits to homes, visits to West Point, possibly a year at the US Military Academy Prep School, R-Day, and "Beast Barracks" before a player may have a chance to run onto Blaik Field at Michie Stadium as a Black Knight.  As far as measuring the process, Coach Ellerson commented:

 "If we have done our evaluations correct upfront, we don't receive many no's." 

Ken Kraetzer covers Army football for WVOX in New Rochelle, NY and Sons of the American Legion Radio. Facebook: Sons of the American Legion Radio.  Twitter: SAL50NYradio.

A thrilling one-point win for Navy at Annapolis Saturday, 31-30, over Indiana.

The Mids' freshman quarterback Keenan Reynolds completed a four-yard touchdown pass to junior Matt Aiken with just 2:02 left in the game. A crowd of 33,441 watched the game on Homecoming Day at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium.

The Hoosiers outgained Navy 417 to 353 on the day. Their sophomore QB Cameron Coffman threw 25 of 37 for 244 yards but was hurt by two interceptions. Navy was led by the 89 yards rushing of senior slotback Gee Gee Greene and the overall play of Keenan Reynolds, who ran for 66 yards and a touchdown while completing 8 of 13 for 96 yards.

Indiana went out to a 10-0 lead on a Mitch Ewald 25-yard field goal and a one-yard touchdown run by Stephen Houston. Navy got on the scoreboard in the second quarter on a three-yard run by Keenan Reynolds, but then Indiana came back to march down the field for a 72-yard drive culminating in a three-yard run by D'Angelo Roberts.  

Later Navy linebacker Jordan Drake made a huge defensive play, intercepting a Coffman pass and returning it 24 yards for a touchdown. Ewald kicked his second field goal from 23 yards at the end of the half to give the Hoosiers a 17-14 lead.

In the third, Navy went ahead on a 17-yard run by junior slotback Darius Staten, but Ewald's third field goal of the game from 30 yards away put Indiana ahead 23-21 after three quarters.

Early in the fourth, Indiana marched 80 yards downfield for a score recorded by Tevin Coleman on a three-yard run, taking a 30-21 lead.  Navy drove down the field and had 1st-and-goal at the Hoosier six yard line, but ground attempts by Noah Copeland and two by Reynolds left the ball on fourth down at the one. 

Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo called for a field goal, which was converted from 18 yards by freshman Nick Sloan.  Indiana led 30-24 with just 5:30 left in the game.

The Midshipmen received a big series from their defense, which forced Indiana to punt after two incomplete passes and a seven-yard gain. Navy took over on their own 28 with 4:48 left. A 21-yard pass completion by Reynolds to Greene brought the ball across midfield to the Indiana 47. 

Two plays later, Greene carried to the Indiana 21. With 3rd-and-3 at the four, Reynolds threw to junior Matt Aiken for the tying score. The PAT kick by Sloan gave Navy the 31-30 lead.

On the second play of the ensuing Indiana possession, the Navy defense came up with another huge play, as sophomore Parrish Gaines intercepted a Cameron Coffman pass to ice the win for the Mids. 

A huge victory for Navy, now 4-3 on the season, their first victory over a Big Ten team since 1979.

The Mids head next to Greenville, NC to play East Carolina (5-3) on Saturday.  The Pirates defeated UAB 42-35 in Birmingham on Saturday.

Falcon senior Wes Cobb scored three one-yard rushing touchdowns to lead Air Force (4-3) to a 28-23 win over New Mexico (4-4) at Colorado Springs. Watching at Falcon Stadium was a crowd of 29,726.

New Mexico had 409 yards rushing the football, compared with the Air Force's 291 yards on the ground. 

The Lobos, now led by former ND head coach Bob Davies, got off to a 10-0 lead on a 20-yard field goal by Justus Adams and an 82-yard drive, completed with a one-yard rush by Kasey Carrier. 

Cobbs' first touchdown run of the game capped off a 78-yard Air Force drive and got the Falcons on the board.  In the second quarter, AFA linebacker Alex Means made a huge defensive play, intercepting a B.R. Holbrook pass and returning it 65 yards for a touchdown, giving the Falcons a 14-10 lead at the half.

In the second half, New Mexico went back out in front on a 60-yard drive, resulting in Kasey Carrier's second one-yard touchdown run of the day. Later, Wes Cobb scored his second touchdown of the day to give AFA a 21-17 lead that they would not lose. Cobb scored again in the fourth to give Air Force the margin for the win.

Air Force was able to win despite the loss to injury on the first play from scrimmage of senior running back Cody Getz. The Falcons will host Nevada (6-2) next week, who lost a thriller 39-38 to San Diego State. 

Despite a career-high 212 yards rushing by Army's Trent Steelman, Eastern Michigan (1-6) won its first game of the year, defeating the Black Knights at home in Ypsilanti, MI by score of 48-38.

The Eagles were led by the passing of their quarterback, redshirt sophomore Tyler Benz, who threw for 369 yards and five touchdowns. Eastern Michigan gained 577 yards on the Army defense. 

Sophomore running back Bronson Hill, who had 283 yards rushing last week against Toledo, gained 185 yards on the ground, including 42 yards on a touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

EMU went ahead 14-0 on Army in the first 5:30 of the game on a 39-yard pass from Benz to Javonti Greene. After a three-and-out on their first drive, the Black Knights punter Chris Boldt was tackled after a bad snap, giving EMU the ball at Army 20. 

They scored five plays later on Tyler Benz's second TD pass of the day, to Garrett Hoskins. Army got on the score board with a 42-yard field goal from Dan Grochowski and 55-yard run for a TD by senior Malcolm Brown near the end of the first period.

The second period saw Benz throw two more TD passes, one for 41 yards to Bronson Hill and a one-yarder to tight end Christian Menet. Army QB Trent Steelman launched a 73-yard run for a touchdown at 10:49.

A key moment in the game, with EMU leading 21-17, was an interception by Army's Alex Meier at his own one-yard line, which he ran back 65 yards to the EMU 34. The Black Knights ran the ball to the EMU 6, but Trent Steelman lost the ball when tackled, recovered by EMU's Alex Bellfy. The Eagles led at the half 28-17.

After the Eagles' Dylan Mulder kicked a 34-yard field goal, Trent Steelman converted a second long TD run, this time for 75 yards, to close the EMU lead to 31-17 with 5:34 left in the third quarter.

In the fourth, the Eagles marched down the field twice, with Benz hitting back Ryan Brumfield for an 11-yard touchdown pass, followed less then three minutes later by Bronson Hill's touchdown run, which broke open the game 45-31 for EMU.

Army tried an onside kick after scoring on a nine-yard Trenton Turrentine TD, but the ball was recovered by the Eagles, who converted the possession into a 23-yard field goal by Dylan Mulder to take a 48-31 lead.

Army freshman AJ Schurr came into the game late, and for the second week in a row, moved Army down the field and completed a TD pass to Anthony Stephens. Army recovered an onside kick but could not move the ball.

Disappointing day for West Point who could not benefit from the career running day of their starting QB Trent Steelman. 

Next Saturday Army will continue to seek their second win of the season when they host Ball State (5-3) at Michie Stadium. The Cardinals won 41-30 playing at Central Michigan on Saturday. 

Ken Kraetzer covers Army football for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle, NY and Sons of the American Legion Radio. 

Twitter: SAL50NYRadio KGK914@aol.com.

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Navy and Air Force are both at home this week looking to improve their 3-3 records while Army takes the nation's best running game to Eastern Michigan in search of its second win of the season.  All three games are nationally televised.

Army (1-5) at Eastern Michigan (0-6, 0-3 in MAC)   

When: Saturday, Oct. 20 at 1 p.m. EDT

Where: Rynearson Stadium, Ypsilanti, Mich.

Watch: ESPN3

Listen:  WABC 770 AM in New York, N.Y.

Army Head Coach Rich Ellerson at his Thursday night radio show said of this contest, "Both teams smell blood in the water."

Yes both teams are struggling but see a chance to improve their season with a win on Saturday.  It will be "Band Day" at Ypsilanti with 12 high school bands performing together at halftime.

Army thought that their last-second win over Boston College two weeks ago might give them momentum for a run, but inconsistent play on both sides of the ball led to a 31-17 loss to Kent State. 

Eastern Michigan, under fourth-year head coach Ron English, and Eagle fans witnessed an explosion of offense last week in a 52-47 loss to Toledo when sophomore Bronson Hill ran for 238 yards and scored four touchdowns.  Hill recorded the most rushing yards by any individual player this year in the Football Bowl Subdivision. EMU has a big offensive line, with the right guard Campbell Allison standing 6'6" and weighing 324 pounds.

On defense, the Eagles give up a lot of yards—515 per game—and allow nearly 40 points per game.  They struggle to stop the run, giving up 296 yards per game, so watch for Army to play ball control and pound away with Ray Maples, Malcolm Brown and crew.   

As for the Black Knights, they are now without their defensive captain Nate Combs, who is out "for the foreseeable future" as coach Ellerson said Tuesday on his conference call. Watch for sophomore linebacker Geoffrey Bacon, who leads the team in tackles with 63, to step up into more of a pass rush role.  Also expect senior outside linebacker Zach Watts and fellow captain Jarrett Mackey, who is normally a down lineman, to step up.  

On offense, the Black Knights lead the nation in rushing, averaging 385 yards per game.  Maples, Army's senior running back, is 10th in the nation in rushing, averaging 125 yards per game.  QB Trent Steelman runs often as well, averaging 82 yards per game with eight touchdowns.  Steelman's 36 total touchdowns is a record for a QB at the Academy.  Sophomore fullback Larry Dixon averages 82 yards a game, often carrying multiple tacklers for extra yards, but he is questionable for the game with an injury.

Army could start as many as eight freshman and sophomores on defense, so the Black Knights will try to keep their offense on the field and not give Bronson Hill a chance for another big day.

Navy (3-3) hosts Indiana (2-4, 0-3 in Big Ten)

When: Saturday, Oct. 20 at 3:30 p.m. EDT

Where: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Md.

Watch: CBS Sports Network 

Listen: WBAL 1090 AM in Baltimore, Md., WNAV 1430 AM 99.9 FM in Annapolis, Md.

Navy got its season back on track last week with a 31-13 win at Central Michigan and now has a favorable stretch of games that could lead to a bowl game.  A competitive Indiana team stands in the way of a happy Homecoming Day in Annapolis.

Indiana started with wins over Indiana State and Massachusetts but has since fallen to Ball State and Northwestern and has suffered close losses to Michigan State (31-27) and Ohio State (52-49).  Kevin Wilson is the Hoosiers' second-year coach following eight years as an assistant at Oklahoma.

Navy has won three of its last four games, including a Commander-In-Chief win at Air Force two weeks ago.  The defense is playing well, having not given up more than 21 points in any of the last four games. Senior safety Travis Bush and sophomore cornerback Parrish Gaines are the leading tacklers for the Midshipmen with 38 stops a piece, just ahead of senior linebackers Brye French and Matt Warrick who have 37.

Navy is averaging 231 yards rushing per game, led by quarterback Trey Miller's 58 yards per game and three touchdowns.  Sophomore fullback Noah Copeland averages 57 yards per game, and Gee Gee Greene has an average of 48.

Miller has thrown three interceptions on the year and only averages 75 yards passing per game.  He is  being pushed by freshman Keenan Reynolds, who has completed 66 percent of his passes and thrown for three touchdowns, creating a quarterback competition in Annapolis.

Indiana can score points and likes to throw the football.  The Hoosiers scored 49 points on the Buckeyes last week and average 313 yards passing per game.   They average 473 yards per game but give up an average of 463 yards on defense.  Indiana does well on offense without a huge offensive line. All of their offensive linemen, led by center Will Matte, are less than 300 pounds.   Sophomore quarterback Cameron Coffman has completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,076 yards and six touchdowns.    

This could be a tough test for Navy, and the Mids will need a big defensive effort to stop a powerful offensive team from the Big Ten.   

Air Force (3-3, 2-1 in Mountain West) hosts New Mexico (4-3, 1-1 in Mountain West)

When: Saturday, Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. MDT

Where: Falcon Stadium, USAFA, Colo.

Watch: ROOT Sports, Comcast 261, DirecTV 683, and Dish 414

Listen: KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs, Colo., The Fan 104.3 in Denver, Colo.

The Falcons righted their season and improved to 3-3 on the year, overcoming a 13-point second-half deficit to come away with a 28-27 win at Wyoming last week.  Air Force now has two homes games before traveling to New York for its next Commander-In-Chief game at West Point.

Head coach Troy Calhoun and his Falcons have wins over Idaho State (49-21) and Colorado State (42-21) in addition to last week's win at Wyoming.  Air Force leads the series with New Mexico 19-10 and 15-8 in Mountain West.  The Falcons have won their last four matchups with the Lobos, including a 42-0 win in Albuquerque last season.

First-year New Mexico head coach and former Notre Dame coach Bob Davie is building up the program.  The Lobos have won their last two games—against Texas State (35-14) and at Hawaii (35-23). Running back Kasey Carrier ran for 161 yards and two touchdowns against the Warriors.  Quarterback Cole Gautsche also ran for 104 yards, giving New Mexico two 100-yard runners in the same game for the first time since 2008.  They also played a close game with Boise State, losing 32-29 on Sept. 29.

Air Force has one of the best rushing offenses in the country, averaging 363 yards per game on the ground with another 117 gained per game through the air.  Cody Getz, a 5'7", 175-pound senior running back from Buford, Ga., averages 154 rushing yards per game with eight touchdowns.  Senior quarterback Connor Dietz from Columbus, Ohio doesn't throw often but is very accurate with a 58 percent completion rate and no interceptions. Junior Ty McArthur is the leading receiver with 14 catches for an average of 20.4 yards per reception. 

On defense, the Falcons are giving up 424 yards on average each week—234 yards passing and 190 yards rushing.  Air Force's leading tackler is senior linebacker Austin Niklas from Fullerton, Calif. who has 62 total tackles (33 solo) on the year.

New Mexico is the seventh-best running team in the nation, averaging 280 yards and exceeding 300 yards in three games.  Like Army, the Lobos don't throw much, averaging just 59 yards through the air.  On defense, they are strong against the run, giving up just 141 yards per game but give up 2800 yards per game through the air.    

On third down conversions, Air Force has a significant edge, converting 56 percent of the time while New Mexico makes a first down on just 43 percent of their attempts. 

This could be a challenge for Air Force as the Bob Davie-led Lobos' ground attack has new energy. 

Ken Kraetzer covers Army football for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle, N.Y. and Sons of the American Legion Radio.  Twitter: SAL50NYRadio

Linebacker Nate Combs, recently named an Army football captain with Trent Steelman and Jarrett Mackey, was announced by head coach Rich Ellerson at his weekly Tuesday press conference as out for "the foreseeable future" with an injury suffered in the closing moments of the Kent State game.

During the Kent State game, I was on the sideline taking photos in the fourth quarter when Nate Combs ran by with a trainer heading to the Michie Stadium locker room, holding what looked like his right hand and arm. Army officers as a group are taught to never complain, and this is a trait the Army football players demonstrate to a fault, but Combs was obviously in pain.   

The Eastern Michigan game notes issued by Army on Monday afternoon omitted Combs' name at his usual "Bandit" position, listing junior Jarrett Mackey as the probable starter.  Mackey is normally a down lineman.  I asked about the injury during the press conference, and Coach Ellerson described the situation. The Army football Sports Information Director Brian Gunning confirmed by email to me late Tuesday,

"Nate is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury. They're not exactly sure how long, but it's not going to be anytime soon."

This status might be interpreted to indicate that Combs is out for most if not all of the rest of the season prior to the Navy game on December 8th.  The three-week break before Navy might provide an opportunity for healing and a return. We will see—Army did not release the severity of the injury.

Missing the Air Force game in two weeks will be a bitter disappointment for the senior captain.  Army has quietly been looking forward to this game all season.  It is the first of the Commander-In-Chief games, and this group of seniors has not beaten Air Force during their careers.  A home game with the Falcons is considered an opportunity to make up for disappointing losses in recent years.

Cadet Combs plays the key linebacker role called a "Bandit" in the Army "Double Eagle Flex" defensive.  The position is charged with diving into holes to stop running plays early and put heat on the opposing quarterback.   The Army defensive coaches say they want this position to play in the opposing team's backfield trying to stop plays before they hit the line of scrimmage.

The 6'1", 216-pounder is the third-leading tackler on the team after six games with 29 tackles, 17 of which were unassisted.  Most importantly, Combs leads the team with nine tackles for loss of 51 yards and generated half of the Black Knights' 12 sacks on the season with six QB tackles generating total loss of 42 yards. 

Of course, it is sacks and plays stopped for loss which can really help a defense stop drives and force punts.  On a young defense struggling to make stops, Combs had become the key senior leader in the middle of the defense, making plays and directing the young players around him, often playing side by side with the sophomore tackles up front, Michael Ugenyi and Bobby Kough.

As successor to the role played for Army in recent years by Stephen Anderson and Steve Erzinger, the loss of Nate Combs for most if not all of the rest of the season is a blow that will be hard to overcome. 

Look for middle linebacker Geoffrey Bacon and possibly outside linebacker Zach Watts to be given more responsibility along with Jarret Mackey, who is still building up his game after being out injured almost all of last year.   

The Army team often looks to its military training for direction, as they are taught if a soldier falls, another takes his place and the unit keeps fighting.  Overcoming the loss of Nate Combs for the coming games will be difficult, but the team has tremendous pride and will find ways for players to step up and try to fill the void.

Ken Kraetzer covers Army football for WVOX 1460 in New Rochelle, NY and Sons of the American Legion Radio.  Twitter: SAL50NYRadio

Last week's win over Boston College gave Army fans hope that the season could turn around and a couple of victories could be put together against Mid-America Conference opponents.

Saturday's 31-17 loss to Kent State (5-1) again showed that teams with greater size and speed can wear Army (1-5) down and make big plays.  The Black Knights played well in this one, not like the fumble-plagued loss two weeks ago to Stony Brook, an aspiring team which is building its program toward playing at higher levels one day.  Army rushed for 325 yards, out gaining the Kent offense, which was propelled by the 222 yards gained by 5'8" junior back Dri Archer, including an 87-yard run for a touchdown late in the game. 

Army amazingly even out gained the Golden Flashes in the air 132 to 84 with the freshman from Illinois A.J. Schurr coming in for the last drive and marching down the field, completing a pass to Patrick Laird.  Sophomore wideout Chevaughn Lawrence caught six passes for 88 yards.

The expected challenge for the young Army defense was the Kent State passing game.  In the second quarter, Army was surprised by a trick play in which slot back Dri Archer is handed the ball and heads right, stops, and then throws left to his wide-open quarterback Spencer Keith for an easy 24 yard TD.  Later in the second quarter Spencer Keith found senior wideout Eric Adeyemi for a 30-yard touchdown play. 

The difference was that Army could not complete its drives, much less stay on the field very long, often putting the defense quickly back on the field.  The Black Knights punted after four plays to start the game, then missed a short field goal after a 13-play, 48-yard drive down the field.  Three short possessions ending in punts gave Kent State openings to score twice in the second quarter.

In the third quarter, after each team hit field goals, Kent State broke open the game with a 48-yard run by Archer during which he found a huge hole at the line of scrimmage and then evaded tackles until he was finally dragged down by Marques Avery at the Army 7. Traylon Durham scored three plays later to give Kent State a commanding 24-3 lead with less than a minute left in the third quarter. Fans starting heading to the exits.

Malcolm Brown became the go-to back for Army, running for 46 yards in five carries that culminated in a five-yard run to make the score 24-10.  It was early enough in the fourth quarter that Army thought it might be able to get close.  The defense forced a punt. Army started moving down the field. Trent Steelman was hit out of bounds into the Army bench after a 13-yard run to the Kent 34.  Kent State was called for a personal foul on the Army quarterback who was down on his back for several minutes recovering from the hard hit out of bounds.

Schurr came in at quarterback for one play but Steelman was back in and received an ovation from  the crowd.  Army had 1st-and-10 at the Kent 19, but the drive stalled and a 4th-and-2 play resulted in a fumble by Ray Maples.  Then embarrassment for the defense was added.

On the first play after taking possession, Kent State's Archer broke through the lines and ran 87 yards for a touchdown.  Shurr was given the Army offense on the next drive and smartly led the Black Knights down the field including two completions to Chevaughn Lawrence, the first a 22-yard pass to the keny 18, and his first collegiate touchdown pass, a six-yard strike to Patrick Laird.

Afterwards in the postgame press conference, Army head coach Rich Ellerson responded to my question about why his offense struggled to build momentum and finish drives:

They clobbered us up front. At some point, you’re going to have to block some people, and we had a heck of a time controlling their back-side linebacker and safety.  Their play-side linebacker made way too many tackles. Give them credit; they were better running that defense than we were running that offense today.

The Army defense had seven tackles for loss including a sack by tackle Richard Glover but had trouble keeping up with the speed of Kent State and Dri Archer in particular.  Sophomore linebacker Geoffrey Bacon, who had 14 tackles, answered my question about the challenge created by the speed of the Kent State backs:

A lot of times, we just didn't make the play. We knew they were fast, and we expected it. It was nothing new. We just didn't make the play like we needed to when we got there.

Trent Steelman took his usual pounding while running the ball 19 times for 66 yards and took a tough shot into the bench area in the fourth quarter.  His helmet had a big mark on the front right side visible from the sidelines; I asked him afterwards how he was physically:

I'm okay; it's nothing that hasn't happened before. It's just one of those things; everyone is playing hard and playing to the end.

A nice gesture at the end of the game occurred when the Kent State players stood behind the Black Knights while the "Alma Mater" was performed, a revered tradition at West Point.  Kent State head coach Darrell Hazell was an Army assistant coach in the 1990s so he knew how important it is for his players to participate in this respectful moment, which is very much appreciated at the Academy.

Ken Kraetzer covers Army football for Sons of the American Legion Radio and WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle, NY.  Twitter: SAL50NYRadio

Three major service academy games this weekend, two of which are nationally televised.  Watch for good performances by Army and Navy as they come off wins and Air Force tries to rebound.

Navy (2-3) at Central Michigan (2-3)

Friday October 12, 8 p.m. EST

Kelly/Shorts Stadium; Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Nationally Televised by ESPN2

Navy looks to build off its win at Air Force last week by traveling for the first time to Central Michigan.  After losses to Notre Dame, Penn State, and San Jose State, the win in the Commander-In-Chief competition must have been very satisfying to Coach Ken Niumatalolo's team. 

The next couple of games could position the Midshipman for a run at another postseason bowl.

Navy is running the ball well, averaging 232 yards per game ranked 15th in NCAA Div I. They can all compete passing the ball generating 116 yards per game.  Mids are not scoring very often averaging just 17 per game, including the 41 they scored against VMI.  Defense is giving up 389 yards per game but just 24 points per game.

The Mids QB Trey Miller has completed 34 of 58 passes for 376 yards while leading the team in rushing with 291 yards. Like with Army, nine fumbles lost have hurt Navy.  On defense, Brye French leads with 36 tackles. 

Central Michigan by comparison is a passing team generating 257 yards per game in the air and 136 yards per game on the ground. CMU is struggling on defense giving up 457 yards and nearly 41 points per game. 

The Chippewas QB is Sr. Ryan Radcliff who has completed 105 of 179 passes for 1,286 yards and nine TDs 

The top running back is Jr. Zurlon Tipton who averages 6.2 yards per carry and has scored six TDs.  On defense the top tackler is So. Justin Cherocci with 47 stops made.  

Watch for a Navy win coming off of last week.

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Kent State (4-1) at Army (1-4)

Saturday October 13, 12:05 p.m. ET

Michie Stadium, West Point, NY

Televised Nationally by CBS Sports Network

Army pulled off its first win of the season last Saturday 34-31 against Boston College delighting the Corp of Cadets and the West Point faithful. 

Coach Rich Elelrson's squad won with a defensive stand in the last two minutes which forced a punt, enabling a 29 yard run by QB Trent Steelman to score the winning TD against the Atlantic Coast Conference opponent. 

Kent State has been revitalized by second-year coach Darrell Hazell, so this is not the team which Army defeated two years ago en-route to qualifying for the Armed Forces Bowl.  Hazell was once an Army assistant coach from 1997-98.  

The Golden Flashes have wins over Towson, Buffalo, Ball State, and last week at Eastern Michigan by a 41-14 margin. Their only loss was at Kentucky in week two.

The Flashes have a balanced offense averaging 201 yards per game on the ground and passing for another 200 per. They average nearly 33 points per game. 

Their best running back is Traylon Durham, averaging 92 yards per game. 

The QB is Sr. Spencer Keith, Kent State's career leader in completions with 621 yards and second in passing yards.  

Dri Archer leads the NCAA in all purpose yards per game at 230.6.  Archer was named to the Paul Hornung Award Weekly Honor Roll after his three-touchdown outing at Eastern Michigan.

On defense, Kent State is giving up 378 yards per game, 250 of that from the passing game. They have made seven interceptions and have a positive turnover margin of 1.8 per game, so Army better hold onto the ball. Linebacker Luke Batton leads the defense with 41 tackles.   

Army and their alumni serving around the wrold were ecstatic with the 516 yard rushing, clutch defensive performance last Saturday against BC.  

Noteable was the play of defense producing a vital "three and out" forcing the Eagles to punt from their own end zone and giving the offense another chance to score and win the game which they did on Trent Steelman's third TD of the day. 

The Black Knights are the number one rushing team in the country averaging 397 yards per game and have produced 15 TDs on the ground. 

Slot-back Raymond Maples is 5th in the NCAA in rushing averaging 134 yards per game. Fullback Larry Dixon is often seen dragging defenders as he accumulates yardage is averaging 92 yards per game.   

On defense, Army depends on its linebackers to make the plays.  Sr. Nate Combs dives into the holes to put pressure on opposing backs has eight tackles for loss on the season.  So. Geoffrey Bacon leads the team with 48 tackles so far in 2012.  The Army secondary is young so could be tested by the Kent State passing game.   

Watch for Army's momentum and confidence coming off the BC win to carry them through Saturday as they begin to think again about qualifying for a bowl game.

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Air Force (2-3) at Wyoming (1-4) 

Saturday  October 13, 5 p.m. MT

War Memorial Stadium; Laramie, Wyoming

Televised by Root Sports

The Air Force Academy must be reeling after its overtime home loss to Navy last week. That takes away their chance to win out right the Commander-In-Chief trophy.  Win what must be a bad taste in their mouth, they travel north to Mountain West rival Wyoming that is an opportunity to put their season back on track.

The Falcons have wins over Idaho State and Colorado State, but have lost at Michigan, UNLV, and last week the grudge match with Navy.  Lats season Wyoming marched into Falcon Stadium and won 25-17 so another reason for Air Force to look for pay back.      

AFA is scoring a lot of points 34.4 per game, 34th best in the NCAA. They are second to only Army in running the ball ranked second in the NCAA averaging 389 yards per game.

Cody Getz leads the NCAA with 177 yards per game.   QB Connor Dietz has 101 yards passing per game average. The Falcon's offensive line leads the NCAA in not giving up a sack on the season. 

On defense, Austin Niklas is averaging nearly ten tackles a game.

Wyoming will be celebrating their 88th Homecoming festivities in Laramie Saturday.  The Cowboys have lost at Texas, to Toledo, and a close loss to Cal Poly by two, and last week to Nevada in overtime.  Their lone win came at Idaho Sept. 22 in overtime.

Coach Dave Christensen's team lost 12 senors from last year. 

They have a QB to watch in sophomore Brett Smith who is ranked seventh in the NCAA Pass Efficiency at 167, a list topped by Geno Smith of West Virginia at 202 yards. 

Wyoming's Smith is averaging 295 yards passing per game, 15th best in the NCAA.  A favorite passing target for long throws is Chris McNeill who had eight catches for an average of 27. 4 yards gained against Idaho.  Brett Smith is also the leading runner with 162 yards per game. Six fumbles lost and six interceptions must be a frustration point.

On defense, Wyoming is giving up a lot of yards, 477 per game and points, 33.4, so like Army they need to outscore opponents to win.

Watch for Air Force to spoil Homecoming day for the Cowboys.

Ken Kraetzer covers Army football for WVOX in New Rochelle, NY and Sons of the American legion Radio Twitter: SAL50NYRadio

Army's remarkable 34-31 win Saturday and the effort of Quarterback Trent Steelman was recognized by a number of organizations who provide weekly college football honors.

The awards issued to Steelman are the ECAC Football Bowl Subdivision Offensive Player of the Week and the Football Subdivision Independent Player of the Week. In addition, the Bowling Green, Kentucky native received Manning Award stars and was named the Army Athletic Association player of the week.

The Army senior has played every game for Army since opening day of his freshman year, except three games last year when he was injured. He often plays through pain as was evidenced two weeks ago when he played the entire game against Stony Brook despite sore ribs suffered late in the Wake Forest game.

Against Boston College, Steelman ran 22 times and gained 141 yards. He scored three touchdowns in the game on runs of one yard and 27 yards in the first quarter and the game winner a 29 yard run through a big hole down the left side of the field with just 45 seconds left.  Throwing the football is not a big part of the Army offense which ran for 516 yards Saturday, but Steelman did complete five of 12 attempts for 79 yards.

The 595 yards of offense was the most by Army against a rival from the Bowl Championship Subdivision,

The Army quarterback is moving up towards the top of many of the Army statistical lists. The three touchdowns scored versus BC gives Steelman a career total of 36 the most of any Army quarterback, one more than Tory Crawford who played for West Point from 1984-1987. He already holds the West point QB records for most rushing attempts with 628, rushing yards at 2,503 and points scored with 218.  

Steelman's career rushing total of 2,503 yards already is ranked No. 30 all-time among running quarterbacks. He has seven games and a possible bowl game remaining in his college career barring injury. If he reaches 3,000 career rushing yards he would finish in the top 15. 

More important to Steelman, as he told me after Saturday's games, is to put a winning streak together and then prime for the two big Commander-In-Chief games against Air Force on November 3rd and Navy on December 8th.

Those are still the milestones which largely define Army football player careers. He commented to me after the game about the importance of gaining the first win of the year against Boston College,

"It is a huge momentum swing, helps us set up to get back on track, start winning some games, just exactly what we need."

Steelman is always appreciative of his teammates going over on the other side of the bench to encourage the defense. He is appreciative of the his offensive line which has matured into possibly the strongest part of the team with Ben Jebb and Michael Kime at the tackles, Frank Allen and Stephen Shumaker at the guards, and the 290 pound senior Will Wilson filling in at center for the injured Ryan Powis. 

Steelman takes a pounding in games not just on plays he rushes the ball, but by the nature of running the option offense which invovles drawing the defense, pitching out at the last moment and taking a hit himself. Coaches go to him most often in short yardage situations when then desperately need a first down or to get the ball into the end zone—that is why he has scored 36 touchdowns. 

On Saturday, Army will host the 4-1 Kent State Golden Flashes under second-year coach Darrell Hazell, start at Michie Stadium is at 12:05 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast nationally by the CBS Sports Network.

Ken Kraetzer covers Army football for WVOX in New Rochelle, NY and Sons of the American Legion Radio.

Quarterback Trent Steelman scored his third touchdown with 45 seconds left to give Army its first victory, a 34-31 decision over Boston College before a packed house Saturday at Michie Stadium. 

This was a win to savor. Army was more than a touchdown underdog, but ran for 516 yards and four touchdowns and was given a second chance to win with two vital stops by the defense in the final two minutes.

The fourth quarter was an epic. With the score tied at 24, Army fullback Larry Dixon was stopped on 3rd-and-goal at the BC 2-yard line. Daniel Grochowski, who had made 46-yard field goal and missed a 26-yarder, gave the Black Knights the lead for the third time, converting a 20-yard attempt.

BC answered, scoring on a 24-yard run on a reverse by wide receiver Alex Amidon.

With BC now ahead 31-27, Army drove back down the field before Raymond Maples failed to score with 2:30 remaining on a 4th-and-goal running play from the BC 1-yard line. 

But the Army defense prevented BC from getting a first down, holding Andre Williams, who had a 99-yard touchdown run earlier in the game, to three short gains. After a short punt, Army regained possession at the BC 38-yard line with 1:03 remaining.

Some in the capacity crowd of 39,492 who had been heading to the exits moments earlier now stopped in the aisles to watch Army's chance to pull out a victory.

A pass attempt to Malcom Brown was incomplete. Maples ran for nine yards to the 29.  Then on 3rd-and-1, Steelman ran the option to the left, a hole emerged, Malcolm Brown made a key block and the senior quarterback scored his third touchdown to give Army a 34-31 lead with 44 seconds left.

After the score, Steelman jumped joyously into the arms of his teammates while the Corps of Cadets yelled and waved their white dress caps.

BC, hoping to set up at least a tying field-goal attempt, hurt its chances by fumbling the ensuing kickoff out of bounds at its 5-yard line.  QB Chase Rettig, who threw for 234 yards and a touchdown on the day, completed two passes. But Bobby Swigert fumbled after a catch at the BC 42, and his bobble was recovered by Army's Nate Combs.

Afterward in the media conference, I asked Steelman about his decision-making on his game-winning touchdown run.

The quarterback’s job description in this type of offense is to take what the defense gives you. That’s just what I did. The corner was kind of baiting, and we’re taught that if he’s giving us inside leverage to give a pump fake and get what you can. I saw he was baiting, gave a little nod and the rest is history, I guess.

Later Steelman described to me the importance of this win.

It is a huge momentum swing, helps us set up to get back on track, start winning some games, just exactly what we need.

Steelman had 22 carries for 150 yards.  The game-winning touchdown gave the Bowling Green, Ky., native the Army career record with 36 touchdowns, one more than Tory Crawford, who played for Army from 1984 to 1987.

Last week in a loss to Stony Brook, Steelman played despite sore ribs that he injured against Wake Forest game.  I asked him how he is able to absorb the pounding, take hard hits throughout the game and still have something left to make a big play at the end.

That is the way my Dad raised me. He raised me to be a tough guy. He said, if you're injured, that is one thing. But if you are hurt, you can fight through it. That is how I have always played my game ever since, how I have always played the game of football, fight through it.

Maples had another big game, with 186 yards on 34 carries.  I asked the senior from Philadelphia, Pa.,  about his game

Honestly, I have to give credit to our offensive line. Without them I wouldn’t have gotten anything. Also, I wasn’t really thinking about how many carries I was getting. It’s kind of routine when we’re out there on the field.

The win would not have been possible without the stop forcing BC to punt in the final moments, I asked Army sophomore linebacker Geoffrey Bacon if being able to make plays is a sign the defense is maturing.

We matured a lot today. People were helping each other out, and we just stayed together. Their offensive line was big, but if they got to me, somebody else was making the play  and vice versa. I think we took a huge step today. But we still have a long way to go.

Wearing the Captain's C today was linebacker Nate Combs, who is called the "Bandit" in the Army system. He described the defensive stop his unit made in the final minutes.

That was pretty fun. I think I got into a four-point (stance) three straight plays, just doing whatever I could, grabbing who I could. I think everyone was doing that. Then we saw our offense go down and score. That’s exactly what you picture before you go to sleep. You see these images, and it finally happened.

So it became a day Army fans will remember for decades, and a day BC must have felt very disappointed about on the bus ride home. 

Army can now try to get its season on track with games against Kent State, Eastern Michigan and Ball State, three Mid-American Conference schools.

Sports Illustrated writer and West Point graduate Mark Beech will be Ken Kraetzer's guest at Monday 2:30 p.m. EST on the Sons of the American Legion Radio Report to discuss his new book about Army football in the 1950s glory years, When Saturday's Mattered Most.  On Tuesday, National Football Foundation Hall of Famer and former Army head coach Jim Young will be the guest on the West Point Football Report, to be aired at 5 p.m. EST Tuesday on WVOX in New Rochelle, NY.

Listen in on http://www.wvox.com/.

The Army football team looks for its first win of the year against Boston College on Saturday at Michie Stadium before what is expected to be a near sellout crowd of over 35,000.

Army's offense has been inconsistent. Although ranked No. 2 in the country in rushing the football and gaining 367 yards per game, Army is only converting that performance to 21.8 points per game—not enough to make up for a struggling defense.

While quarterback Trent Steelman, slot-back Ray Maples, and fullback Larry Dixon have been productive with the running game, Army has fumbled 13 times, losing the ball six times.  Last week they fumbled four times in Stony Brook territory. Two fumbles were within the ten yard line—a formula for disaster.  Not only does loss of the football end potential scoring drives, but it puts extreme pressure on the defense that has not appeared ready for prime time.

The nature of the option offense is more moving parts than in most contemporary offenses. The quarterback is running the ball himself and accumulating hits that take a toll as the games and season progress.  The pitch-outs are riskier to complete than a normal handoff, and the quarterback may already be engaged with a tackler while trying to toss the ball.  The advantage is that small but fast linemen can get a step ahead on blocks and tie up larger opponents.

Navy is having the same problem with their offense: Senior quarterback Trey Miller has committed 10 of Navy's 12 turnovers on the season. Miller was benched in last week's San Jose State game in favor of freshman Keenan Reynolds. 

In summer practice I watched as Army head coach Ellerson told his players before they ran through offensive plays, "Keep the ball off the ground!"

Of course, that's easier said than done, especially in the high speed world of top-level college football.  What has been puzzling is that Army's ball handlers are veterans, Steelman and Maples are seniors and Larry Dixon is a mature, game-hardened sophomore.

You have to believe that playing with injuries is a factor in holding onto the ball when hit.  

At Tuesday's media session Coach Ellerson did not take well to my question about how to work with players on preventing fumbles in mid-season.  In my brief football days, fumbles in games led to extremely unpleasant drills in the next practice.

Coach Ellerson described Saturday's four fumbles—which each stopped potential scoring drives—as aberrations saying:

"That's not us. I'm not going to get into what happened in each instance, but we just don't do that. You can watch us practice for days and the ball doesn't touch the ground. Those were fundamental mistakes. We drop a pitch or screw up a mesh. We've done that 10,000 times and never seen anything like what happened on that particular play. We have people trying to leave the system or do something heroic." 

A team that loses its first four games is, in many cases, in danger of losing confidence for success on the year.  At Army there are always the Air Force and Navy games in the second half of the season to look forward to and prepare for.  Coach Ellerson addressed a question on keeping the team ready to play:

"They're coming to grips with just how difficult this game is. As you know, we've got some guys playing a lot football for the first time. The only challenge that will see us not continue to play well is (1) if we can't keep the same guys on the field because of injury situations or (2) we stop having fun".

Coach Ellerson mentioned a key characteristic of life at West Point and imaginably at the other military academies: Football is the fun part of the day, which is otherwise filled, morning to night, with military drill, inspections, classes, study, marching and assigned duties for the cadets.

A loss or bad day on the football field is forgotten upon heading to study the engineering, information technologies, and leadership courses these athletes take.

The Boston College Eagles are 1-3 on the year with a win over Maine, but have suffered losses to Miami, Northwestern and last week to Clemson 45-31 at home.  This team can throw the football: Quarterback Chase Rettig is ranked No. 10 among BCS passers with 97 completions of 170 attempts, for 1,292 yards and nine touchdowns.  The Eagles average 330 yards per game in the air but just 84 yards per contest on the ground.

The priority for Army is to set up No. 22 "Bandit" linebacker Sr. Nate Combs up to run into holes and make plays in the backfield, keeping pressure on Rettig. Otherwise, the Black Knights will have their freshmen in the secondary—No. 3 Chris Carnegie, No. 30 Brandon Fusilier-Jeffries, and No. 23 Alex Meier—tested often by deep throws and first down-generating sideline patterns.  Sophomore Marques Avery has joined the backfield and looks like a player for Army.

About defending against the potent BC passing attack, Coach Ellerson said:

"This will be the most sophisticated passing attack we've seen so far. (Chase) Rettig is a practiced quarterback, who is very confident, has tremendous arm strength and go-to receivers. They are still very balanced and will run the ball and do some things in the run game that have been troublesome for us. Like a lot of people in college football, they're very creative in their sets and motions. They'll look to create match-ups and disadvantages numerically."

On defense, BC is giving up 436 yards per game and 28 points.  Sr. Linebacker Nick Clancy averages over 13 tackles per game, the second most in the BCS.  Jr. LB Kevin Pierre-Louis is another top player averaging 11 tackles per game.  BC will play Georgia Tech, another option team, in two weeks so learning to stop the option offense Army has perfected is a priority. 

About his overall approach to the game, coach Ellerson said:

"Offensively, if we can execute our offense and take care of the football, we'll create problems for them. We're just unique enough that if we operate and do all the things good football teams do, we can be competitive. We present a different enough challenge that their coaches will respect us, whether or not we deserve that. They'll see enough things on tape that will make them take pause, dig in and compete."

What is unique about the West Point football team is the people it represents in current and past military service who they meet and hear from during the season.  At any given practice or pregame meeting, you may see a senior official of the Army, alumni back from service overseas, or "Wounded Warriors."  The team knows how alumni serving overseas will do anything they can to watch their games on television.

There is also the constant pressure of being part of the Corps of Cadets. The extreme disappointment of losing was visible in the face of sophomore defensive tackle Mike Ugenyi walking off the Michie Stadium field after losing to Northern Illinois by one point.

Coach Ellerson addressed several questions about the (0-4) start to the season, the many groups the team hears from, and how he manages the expectations that comes with the high visibility of representing West Point and the Army,

"We're trying to be 1-0 this week. Period. If you try to be 1-0 this week, you might be. The record is for somebody else to think about, write about or talk about. It's a constant tug-of-war for me to make sure that my voice resonates throughout. There are a lot of voices around these guys and a lot of people pulling at them. All of them are well-meaning, but there is a disconnect between the reality of what Saturday represents and the challenge that is out there on Saturday. "

Army is almost a ten-point underdog in this game but has a chance to win if it can play ball-control offense and finish drives without turnovers.  On defense they will get burned by the BC passing attack unless they can mount a pass rush—most likely from Sr. linebacker Nate Combs.  Getting out to an early lead and avoiding giving up long running plays early in the game would help. 

Army plays tough at home and needs to remember its wins in the past two seasons at home against major conference foes Vanderbilt and Northwestern.  It could happen again this week.

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Army Notes: The Sept. 28, 2013 road matchup with Louisiana Tech has been moved to Dallas, TX and the Cotton Bowl Stadium under the banner of the Heart of Texas Kickoff Classic.

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National Football Foundation Hall of Famer and former Army head coach Jim Young will be the guest this week on the West Point Football Report, to be aired Tuesday at 5 PM EST on WVOX in New Rochelle, NY.

Listen in on www.WVOX.com.