EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, September 29^th, the (2-2) Army Black Knights will be on the road to take on the (4-0) Buffalo Bulls.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Buffalo 28.7 – Army 24.5 with an over/under of 53.2.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Army 27 – Buffalo 24.

Mark is predicting a final score of Buffalo 28 – Army 21.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Buffalo 265.8 YPG > Army 115.0 YPG

Rushing offense: Army 314.8 YPG > Buffalo 163.0 YPG

Scoring offense: Buffalo 40.3 PPG > Army 25.3 PPG

Scoring defense: Buffalo 20.0 PPG > Army 24.3 PPG

Passing defense: Buffalo 208.0 YPG > Army 247.5 YPG

Rushing defense: Army 131.3 YPG > Buffalo 143.0 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Army +0.2 > Buffalo 0.0

Summary:

Army is (2-2) to start the season with wins over Liberty and Hawaii.  They were defeated by Duke and nearly pulled off the upset last week against the #5 ranked Oklahoma Sooners.  The Black Knights rank 95^th in points per game (25.3) and 65^th in scoring defense (24.3 PPG).  Army obviously is obviously a very run heavy offense being one of the only teams that run the triple option flexbone.  Quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. has completed 45% of his passes for 460 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.  Hopkins Jr. is the team’s leading rusher with 308 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground.  Darnell Woolfolk has totaled 259 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on the season.  Army’s secondary has struggled against the pass allowing nearly 250 yards per game.

Buffalo is (4-0) with wins over Delaware State, Temple, Eastern Michigan, and Rutgers.  The Bulls rank 31^st in points per game (40.3) and 36^th in scoring defense (20.0 PPG).  Quarterback Tyree Jackson has completed 61% of his passes for 1,052 yards with 15 touchdowns to 3 interceptions.  Running backs Kevin Marks and Jaret Patterson have combined for 457 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns.  Buffalo has a pair of dangerous receivers in K.J. Osborne (328 yards and 5 touchdowns) and Anthony Johnson (308 yards and 3 touchdowns).  Buffalo is a well-balanced team that doesn’t have any major weaknesses.  Defensively, the Bulls have held their own against both the run and the pass.

Bottom Line:

It was shocking to see Army keep it close against #6 Oklahoma last week because the stats from that game weren’t pretty.  Still, the Black Knights proved they can play against upper level competition.  Buffalo is clicking on all cylinders right now and Tyree Jackson should be able to make splash plays against a suspect Army secondary.

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