GAME 3 OHIO STATE v Army
September
16, 2017 Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH
Army Black Knights
Location: West Point, NY
Stadium: Blaik Field at Michie Stadium
(38,000)
Coach: Jeff Monken (4th year):
16-23 at Army/54-39 overall, 0-0 v B1G, 0-0 v OSU
Series: First Meeting
Coach Meyer (6th year): 62-7 at OSU/166-30 overall, 43-4 v
B1G, 0-0 v Army
2016 Army Black Knights (8-5) 2016
Ohio State Buckeyes (11-2)(8-1)
28 at Temple 13 77 Bowling Green 10
31 Rice 14 48 Tulsa 3
66 at Texas El Paso 14 45 at Oklahoma 24
20 at Buffalo 23 (OT) 58 Rutgers 0
6 at
Duke 13 38 Indiana 17
62 Lafayette 7 30 at Wisconsin 23 (OT)
18 North Texas 35 21 at Penn State 24
21 at Wake Forest 13 24 Northwestern 20
12 Air Force 31 62 Nebraska 3
6 Notre
Dame 44 62 at Maryland 3
60 Morgan State 3 17 at Michigan State 16
21 Navy 17 30 Michigan 27
(2OT)
38 North Texas 31 0 Clemson 31
(Heart of Dallas Bowl) (Fiesta
Bowl)
2017 Army Black Knights (2-0) 2017
Ohio State Buckeyes (1-1)
64 Fordham 6 49 at Indiana 21
21 Buffalo 17 16 Oklahoma 31
S16 at Ohio State Army
S23 at Tulane UNLV
S30 Texas El Paso at
Rutgers
O7 at Rice Maryland
O14 Eastern Michigan at Nebraska
O21 Temple idle
O28 idle Penn
State
N4 at Air Force at
Iowa
N11 Duke Michigan
State
N18 at North Texas Illinois
N25 at
Michigan
D9 Navy (Philadelphia)
Ohio State
plays host to the Army Black Knights as they start on the road back from the
debacle against Oklahoma. This is the
first time they have ever played Army; the Buckeyes are a combined 5-1 against
the other service academies.
ARMY OFFENSE v OHIO STATE DEFENSE: Herein lies the intrigue in this
game. Army and Navy are noteworthy for
the triple-option offense ,which is seen very rarely these days and can be hard
for a defense to prepare for. Not only
that, this is an Army offense that has made strides in recent seasons, going to
a bowl game last year for the first time in a while. True to their nature, the Black Knights enter
the game rushing for over 417 yards per game, good for second in the nation,
led by their senior quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw, who leads them with 324 yards
rushing in their two games and was named to the Unitas Award Watch List. FB Darnell Woolfolk and RB Kell Walker figure
to see plenty of carries in their triple option attack. Woolfolk, a short, powerful back, can run
well outside as he has this year to the tune of 186 yards and three touchdowns. Walker also has contributed 61 yards as he
has shared time with John Trainor, who has carried four times for 16
yards. Army returns an experienced offensive
line well suited for this offense, led by seniors Joshua Boylan (LG), Bryce
Holland (center) and Brett Toth (RT). Holland
is up for the Remington Trophy and Toth could be a serious candidate for the
Outland Award. Army has thrown fewer
passes and yards than probably any team in the country so far. Granted, this is an offense geared towards
the ground game and ball control, so perhaps it isn’t a surprise Bradshaw has
completed a mere two passes (out of 10) for 17 yards, Backup Jordan Asbury caught one for 18 yards,
while Calen Holt has one reception for -1.
But, experienced seniors Jermaine Adams and Cam Harrison will get the
start and both can run good routes and are good downfield blockers.
ARMY DEFENSE v OHIO STATE OFFENSE: The Army defense is a unit that has
played its best ball in the second half.
The Black Knights have shut out both opponents this year in the fourth
quarter and allowed a mere 41 points all of last year in the fourth
quarter. They will usually line up in a
3-4 and they are led up front by senior DE John Voit who comes in with seven
tackles, two TFLs and a sack. His line
mates will feature his classmate Andrew McLean at NG and junior Wunmi Oyetuga
at NT. McLean has two tackles and
recovered a fumble and very adept at rushing the passer, while Oyetuga has been
involved in three stops, including a tackle for loss, and forced the fumble
that McLean recovered. Army could have a
rising star in sophomore LB Cole Christiansen ,who is tied in the team lead in
tackles with ten, with two TFLs. Beside
him is senior Alex Aukerman, also someone to watch, with two of his nine
tackles for sacks. Senior Scott Washle
and junior Kenneth Brinson round out the linebacker corp for Army. Washle comes into Saturday’s contest with
seven tackles and a TFL and Brinson has picked up six tackles. Army’s secondary played well down the stretch
of 2016 and it has carried over, led by sophomore SS Jaylon McClinton with ten
tackles, a sack, and Army’s lone interception ,which he returned 27 yards. Junior CB Jaylon Sharp also has ten tackles
and is their top cover corner. Sophomore
Elijah Riley and senior Rhyan England round out the Black Knight’s secondary. Riley has been a special-teams contributor
and England has six tackles on the year.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Senior Blake Wilson is 1 for 2 on
his field goal attempts, making a 30-yarder in their opening win against
Fordham, while junior punter Nick Schrage has punted three times for a 31.3
yard average, with a long of 41.
SUMMARY: Service teams are fun to watch for
their unique style of play and most importantly, to watch the fine young men
who will not go on to the NFL, but on to something vastly more important,
serving our country. Ohio State will be
itching to put the Oklahoma debacle behind them, but Army won’t be so eager to
be a whipping post. Army’s football
program has made strides recently, especially last year by getting a win over
Navy, their first since 2001, and getting to a bowl game, so football is no
longer a joke at West Point. It will
take the Ohio State defense a bit to adjust to Army’s triple-option
attack. They cannot allow Army’s offense
to control the clock by going on time-consuming drives. Conversely, they need some long,
time-consuming drives on offense to control the game themselves. Ohio State has a massive advantage in
manpower and depth on both sides of the ball and should wear down the Black
Knights as the game progresses.
OHIO STATE 42, ARMY 10
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