Why Army Will Win The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Missouri’s able to adapt and adjust to get stronger against the run over the final month of the season – it came at the expense of the pass defense, but that’s for later. However, the defense still wasn’t a rock.
Give credit for stuffing Florida’s rushing attack, but it’s going to struggle with an Army team that should control the game even if it doesn’t tear off 300 yards on the ground.
Even with the problems in the loss to Navy, and despite the midseason run of losses, Army was still able to go on marches as it finished the season second in the nation behind Air Force in time of possession. Missouri is going to have to be patient, and that might be tough.
Missouri doesn’t do much with its downfield passing game and it would prefer to run and grind a bit, too. There should be a little bit of panic, though, if things don’t go well early on.
Forget the run defense for a moment – the Tigers were the worst in the SEC at third down D. Army will be set up with a whole slew of 3rd-and-3s, and it’ll covert on a bunch of 4th-and-2s as well.
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Why Missouri Will Win The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Missouri isn’t UMass.
It was the same analysis and concern before the Navy game. Navy didn’t face a Big Ten East-caliber schedule, but there wasn’t a whole lot of low-level fluff – high-level fluff is delicious, by the way – on the slate. Army played some big teams – and lost. It also fattened up on UConn, UMass, Bucknell, and a whole lot of Group of Five programs.
To be fair, it beat a bunch of bowl teams.
Meanwhile, Missouri played ten bowl teams and dealt with the SEC.
Of course, Army takes the snobbery out of even the best of powerhouse programs, but Missouri does have the defensive front to hold up, and it’s got the speed, athleticism, and time to prepare needed to deal with what’s coming.
Offensively, it should be able to hit on a whole slew of midrange throws. WKU and its high-powered passing offense nailed Army for 435 yards, Wake Forest went for 458, and Malik Willis and Liberty went for 305.
Army was able to beat WKU and Liberty, but its last win over a Power Five school was over Wake Forest in October of 2016.
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