Army Black Knights College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Army Black Knights Biggest Key: Offense
Nitpicking time for a team that finished fourth in the nation in rushing, but … come up with a few more big plays on the ground.
Tearing off huge runs isn’t necessarily a key part of the overall plan. Grinding out long drives, owning third downs, and milking the clock works better for the defense and the style the team needs to do to win. However, a few more long rips wouldn’t hurt.
The 4.58 yards per carry were hardly bad, but they were the fewest since 2010 when the Knights averaged just under 4.5 yards per pop. There’s too much speed in the backfield to not do a wee bit more.
Army Black Knights Biggest Key: Defense
Third down stops. It isn’t all that hard in the overall formula for Army. Again, the offense has to crank out the clock, the defense has to get off the field as soon as possible, and the team always, always, always has to have control of the tempo.
So it’s hardly a stunner that there’s usually a problem when the Knight D can’t get enough third down stops.
It was good for the most part throughout last season, but it allowed West Virginia to connect on 50% of its third down tries, Tulane hit 46% of its chances, and Cincinnati worked at a 44% clip – those were the three losses.
Army was 6-0 when teams made 40% or fewer of their third down tries and is 20-1 in the last 21 games when doing that.
Army Black Knights Key Player To A Successful Season
DT Nolan Cockrill, Sr.
He’s not going to be an anchor on the nose, and it’s going to take a bit to find the right rotation to replace the big bodies on the inside, but the 6-3, 280-pound Cockrill has the experience, the size, and the production to be a leader on a front with several new parts.
Army Black Knights Key Game To The 2021 Season
Air Force, Nov. 6 (in Arlington)
The date at Wisconsin will be a big one for national respect, going to Liberty will be fun, and that game against Navy might get a little bit of attention, but the date with Air Force should be a turning point of some sort.
It’s possible the Knights can pull off the shocker against the Badgers or a week later against Wake Forest, but the Air Force game comes right after that.
Army won 10-7 last year and three of the last four in the series.
2020 Army Black Knights Fun Stats
– 2nd Quarter Scoring: Army 100 – Opponents 41
– Red Zone Scores: Army 90% – Opponents 65%
– Time of Possession: Army 34:08 – Opponents 25:45