We’ve got a big game this week against an improving Boston College team, and oh by the way, it might rain sideways throughout the contest.
Let’s talk about how the Black Knights win.
Attending Saturday's game vs. Boston College?
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 5, 2023
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Keys to Victory: 4 Ways to Beat Boston College
1. Contain QB Thomas Castellanos
Eagles QB Thomas Castellanos has completed 58% of his passes this season. That’s at best mediocre accuracy for a Power 5 quarterback, but as we’ve seen several times this year, Castellanos can often be more dangerous with his legs. He leads the Eagles in rushing with 5.3 yards/carry, and more importantly, he’s taken just 8 sacks despite playing behind an O-Line that often struggles in the running game.
Friends, this is a guy with excellent escapability. He can get outside the pocket and either extend plays or just move the chains on the ground. That’s where he’s really dangerous, especially in a game where we might see serious rain.
To win this game, Army will first and foremost have to get after Castellanos, keeping him in the pocket and forcing him to distribute the football quicker than he wants. Getting sacks would be great, but the Key here is to keep BC’s quarterback from taking over the game on the ground, thereby opening up the rest of the Eagles’ offense.
2. Don’t Get Beat Deep
Fans often get frustrated watching Army’s defense play off-coverage on the outside, thereby giving up repeated short passing plays up the sidelines. However, that is probably what we need to see again this week, especially if we get sloppy conditions. Boston College has 4 separate receivers averaging at least 14.5 yards/catch with a pair of guys averaging a whopping 22+ yards/catch in the passing game.
As we saw against UTSA, that can be real trouble.
The Army defense ought to be able to compete with Boston College in the running game — especially down in the red zone — but if they give up a bunch of deep shots over the top, it won’t matter whether or not Army’s offensive line can dominate the game and control time-of-possession on the other side of the ball. It’s hard to win when the other team scores at will from all over the field.
Saturday's look.
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 5, 2023
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3. Minimize Mental Mistakes
Boston College committed more penalties than any team in college football through the early part of the season. They lost at home to then #3 Florida State in what was a bad trap game for the Seminoles largely because BC played such sloppy ball. Thankfully for Eagles fans, BC cleaned things up last week at home versus Virginia. Even with that one game improvement, however, they remain the 3rd most penalized team in the FBS with an average 10 penalties/game for a whopping 86 total penalty yards.
Holy smokes!
By comparison, Army is the 3rd least penalized team in the FBS with an average 2.5 penalties/game for a total of 25 penalty yards/game.
As noted, the weather might very well turn ugly this weekend. Every inch will count for a lot. Penalties and turnovers will more than likely make the difference if and when this game turns into a close-quarters knife fight. Assuming Army can play clean and hold onto the football, they’ll give themselves an excellent shot at winning despite — or perhaps because of — the elements.
4. Win With Violence
How much strategy will we see in a game that promises gloomy skies, a soaked, slippery field, and potential periods of heavy rain. One site promises half an inch of rain. Another says, “Breezy with periods of rain and a thunderstorm.”
It’s probably going to suck.
The Black Knights will surely run their new shotgun/slow mesh version of the Midline Option, and we’re liable to get a double-dose of Quarterback Power, too. But we shouldn’t expect to see many pitch plays, and even outside runs might get tricky. We definitely should not expect much passing. This ain’t gonna be basketball on grass. Instead, it’s gonna be sheer, unmitigated misery.
Friends, this game is gonna be about good, old-fashioned violence. Pain, delivered by experts to those who may or may not be prepared to receive it. The Black Knights need to hit hard, and make the Eagles wonder why they came. Thankfully, Army has the dudes to play this style well. They’ve got a bunch of O-Linemen who weigh 300+ lbs., and they’ve got multiple 250+ lbs running backs. They absolutely can inflict pain, which is good because they’re gonna need to.
The psychology of this game might well be its critical factor. Boston College has won two games, having beaten an FCS team and a winless team from Virginia. They lost to a MAC team, they lost a bad trap game for FSU, and they got blown out by Louisville in their only other road game this season. This comes on the heels of a terrible 2022 season in which, among other things, they lost on the road at UConn.
I don’t care what anybody says, this team has got to be wondering who the Hell they really are. Now they’re coming into Michie Stadium to play a miserable game in the rain against an Army Team that badly wants to punch them in the mouth.
Army needs to deliver that blow.
Once doubts start to creep in, it’s hard to come back and play good football. Add in a few penalties and a few unforced mental mistakes, and God willing, this will be a long, miserable day for Boston College Football and their fans.
Army grads, we are expected to stay in the stands and support our team. Yeah, it’s gonna suck. So what? No one feels sorry for you. Nut up and cheer your team.
Final Thoughts
Army needs to win this game to keep their bowl hopes alive. Boston College needs to win it to get right and potentially turn their season around despite a tough start. And it’s gonna rain, likely turning the game itself into a hyper-physical gut-check.
Plenty of events leading into kickoff on Saturday! pic.twitter.com/j5hNH08uH9
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 5, 2023
As always, download the Varsity Network app to hear Rich DeMarco’s radio call if you can’t take the TV announcers. We’re home on CBS Sports this weekend, so hopefully they won’t be all that bad.
Go Army! Beat Boston College!!!
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