College Football Predictions – Army West Point Black Knights 2017 NCAA Football Preview
2016 Recap
2016 Record – 8-5
2016 ATS – 7-6
Well that was fun !
We love seeing the service academies do well on the gridiron. Army started the season with a YUUUUGE road upset of Temple (28-13) in which they truly administered a SPANKING. Losing to Buffalo was a bit of a downer, but in the end, the season was made truly memorable with a triumph over Navy. They followed that up with a win in the Heart of Dallas Bowl vs North Texas. It was Army’s first winning season since 2010 (7-6).
2017 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating
Independents – #3
OFFENSE
The Black Knights were an absolute handful last season running the football cranking out an impressive 340 yards per contest (#2 FBS). All of the key players are back including senior QB Ahmad Bradshaw (824, 8 TD) and the WRECKING BALL Andy Davidson (961, 12 TD, 5.1). They have a ton of depth to throw at opponents in the run game and even have some flexibility at QB. Chris Carter has proven to be a capable backup and a more dangerous passer than Bradshaw. The offensive line returns 4/5 starters and they will be ripping people to shreds with the ground game yet again.
The only missing piece ? We wish these guys could figure out how to MATRICULATE in the passing game JUST A BIT BETTER because that would make them downright lethal. Navy has cracked that nut. Maybe Army is next ?
DEFENSE
Raise your hand if you knew that Army was #4 in total defense allowing only 291 yards per game in 2016. <crickets>
Maybe you did know that, but regardless of the easy schedule, any time you allow less than 20 points per game you are doing something right. Army will have to figure out how to replace the leadership and production of their two leading tacklers from last season LBs Jeremy Timpf and Andrew King (over 200 tackles combined).
Overall, 7 starters return on defense, and that includes LB Alex Aukerman (7.5 sacks, 15 TFL) and 3/4 starters in the secondary. It feels like they might be down a notch but still pretty good.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Yikes. Danger Danger ! Kicking FG was an adventure last season and the punting was not much better. And no spice in the return game. This unit may end up costing them a close game or two.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot
November 18 – at North Texas. GET CHO POPCONE ! It is another installment of everyone’s favorite rivalry – Army vs North Texas. These two TITANS collided twice last season and split the season series. The MEAN GREEN will be looking to avenge the bowl loss and Army may have already sewn up a bowl appearance. Game with Navy follows in two weeks.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
If (WHEN) Army makes a bowl game this season make sure you watch because they have been must-see TV in all six of their post season appearances. Margins of victory in those games ? 4,2,1,3,2,7 (OT). Yes, we dig DEEP.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 6.5
MEGALOCKS says:
Overall, we give the BLACK KNIGHTS a 6.5 ATS Value Rating (Above average) this season.
A dip into the MEGALOCKS ARCHIVES reveals this comment from our 2016 Army preview……. We can easily see one or two outright upsets as TD+ underdogs. Dare we say the Navy streak may end this season ? BAM (Temple) and BAM (Navy). However, to be honest, we thought they would finish the season with an ATS mark better than 7-6. On to 2017.
The offense should be even better this season. We do worry a bit about losing a couple of key players from the LB group. And the special teams does not look very special. What we do know is that you are going to get a solid effort from these men every single week and they deserve a regular look.
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