I gotta say, folks, that Cincinnati game was hard to watch.  It was a winnable game, and the boys were out there doing their absolute best, but they were up against a superior team.  It sometimes felt like the team was banging their head against a wall just trying to get the ball moving.  Unfortunately Cincy was just better team and came out with the win — and the points.

No matter.  This week should be a big bounce back at home against Abilene Christian University.  Check out our Keys to Victory for how the Black Knights can come out with a win!

Excited to be back on our home turf. #GoArmy

Your need to know for Saturday ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/2Eihj9Buy8

— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 2, 2020

 

Run the ball

You’re all surprised that this is number one, right?  (lol not)

Despite gaining just 182 yards against Cincy last week, Army’s rushing attack is still the best in the nation.  The Fullback Dive and Quarterback Follow remain extremely effective, and the backfield is loaded with talent.  But where this offense really shines is on the outside.  QB Christian Anderson is dangerous in space and SB Tyrell Robinson has legit speed, especially turning the corner on the edge and taking it up the sideline.

The Army Team needs to get back to the basics this week running the ball inside, outside, and up the middle.

A home digital program is back this week!

Features rosters and stats as well a look at senior captain Amadeo West's journey.

? https://t.co/vYq7h0uCQh#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/bjOQgDYpHq

— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 2, 2020

 

Prioritize short throws

Army can’t throw it deep.  For better or worse, we’ve struggled.  We don’t do it often enough in games for most of our quarterbacks to get good at it, our receivers tend to be slower and shorter than the defenders they’re up against, and our O-Line struggles with pass protection.

However, we’ve been killing it this season with short throws.  QB Christian Anderson can absolutely sling it to the sidelines for 5-8 yards.  That gets us within striking distance of a 1st down.  This team needs to get away from the mindset that if we throw, we need to throw for 10+ yards.  An accurate, high probability throw to get us from 3rd and 10 to 4th and 2 is a much, much better than throwing deep and winding up with a 4th and 10 on the following play.

Wednesday work. #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/DuPn1tS45s

— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 30, 2020

 

Defense

If you have listened to the podcast, you know that the AFF Crew have had nothing but good things to say about Army’s defense.  This defense has played aggressively, forcing turnovers and negative plays on the regular.  The only area of difficulty comes on the outsides in those one-on-one match-ups.

ACU had 204 yards passing against UTEP two weeks ago, so expect to see the ball get thrown a lot.  This game should be a great opportunity for our guys to get some game experience as cornerbacks and safeties playing in space while building confidence against the pass.

Filled with 4️⃣s.

4️⃣ INTs by 4️⃣ different players for 4️⃣th in the nation.

And No. 4️⃣ tallied our 4️⃣th pick on Saturday.#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/7iUB6OUKYW

— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 30, 2020

 

Enjoy CBS Sports

I’ve been saying for a long time that CBS Sports hates Army Football. I still believe that, but the announcing crew does a great job week after week.  ESPN’s announcing crew was absolutely horrible last week at Cincy, and so I am very much looking forward to hearing from Ben Holden and Ross Tucker.  They might be quirky and talk too much about the analytics, but they will actually call the game instead of going through their SAT Vocabulary book.  They also know our players’ names.

Armed Services Saturday kicks off on @CBSSportsNet with @ACUFootball at @ArmyWP_Football and @NavyFB at @AF_Football!@benholdenpxp, @RossTuckerNFL and @TinaCervasio have the call at 1:30 PM, ET, followed by @CarterCBS, @AaronTaylorCFB and @JennyDell_ at 6 PM, ET. pic.twitter.com/sxLWTMDRr5

— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) October 1, 2020

That’s all I have this week.  Army is currently a 30.5 point favorite.  Not sure how I feel about that line.  If we play our best game, expect to make money on Army.  If we make mistakes and get away from our identity on offense, though, it  might be another long weekend.

As noted, the game is on CBS Sports.  Kick off is set for 1:30 ET.  See you there!

Beat ACU and Beat Navy!