2010 Army Black Knights Football Preview

2009 Results: 5-7, No Bowl

Head Coach: Rich Ellerson (2nd year @ Army, 5-7 Overall)

Home Venue: Michie Stadium (40,000), West Point, New York

It has been a long thirteen year bowl drought for the proud men and women of the United States Military Academy. Ironically, the bastion of American leadership has seen its football team struggle due to a serious dearth of leadership at the head coaching position. However, 2nd year coach Rich Ellerson (Army’s 5th coach in the last decade!) appears to be changing that fatal flaw and his no-nonsense style has resonated well with the Black Knights. Their five wins last season were the most in over a decade, but the question now is whether Ellerson will return Army to the postseason in 2010?

OFFENSE

Noticing the success that fellow military academies Navy and Air Force found with the option attack, Ellerson was hired away from Cal Poly to bring the same results to West Point. However, the initial transition wasn’t easy and freshman Trent Steelman ended up as the Black Knights’ starting quarterback. With that first year under his belt and the team’s general familiarity with the system, expect a big improvement over last season’s average of 204 rush yards per game.

That’s also more likely because the Black Knights don’t have a single returning player that grabbed more than four catches in 2009! Instead, their top six rushers are back and that’s a great sign for success this season. Furthermore, Army has four returning senior starters on the O-Line and that much experience is a major benefit for any team up front. Expect the O-Line to be a major difference-maker this fall.

With a year of learning under their belt and a solid senior wall up front, this should be an improved Army offense. After only averaging 15 points per game last season, the Black Knights should begin to win games in the same style as their military brethren: Using clock control and a punishing rushing attack.

DEFENSE

Perhaps the biggest reason for Army’s five wins last season was a renewed improvement on defense. The Cadets only allowed 22 points per game in 2009 and were equally effective against the pass and run. While the offense’s increased time of possession was surely a factor, this is a talented defense in its own right. Army returns eight starters from that unit, five of whom are seniors. That means that their top six tacklers, and eight of their top ten, are back in 2010!

Linebackers Stephen Anderson, Andrew Rodriguez and Steve Erzinger are the Black Knights’ biggest strength as they were the team’s top three tacklers. With the 3-4 defensive set, expect all three to make a lot of tackles in space. The other major contributor is ball-hawking safety Donovan Travis, whose four picks led the team last year and whose 71 tackles tied with Erzinger for 3rd on the team. Expect all of this veteran savvy to pay off in 2010.

With all of those pieces in place, it is entirely reasonable to expect another strong season from the Army defense. The offense should continue to improve controlling the football and will allow this unit to largely stay fresh. Furthermore, there is a lot of talent on hand and it would be surprising if the Cadets took a step back this season. Expect Army to field a fairly stout defense this fall.

> Buy Army clothing & apparel and find a great selection of college Fathead helmets online through College Sports Fans!

SCHEDULE

Part of the reason for optimism is that the toughest true road venue that Army faces this season is at lowly Duke! While their three biggest games (Rutgers, Notre Dame, Navy) are neutral site events, they do host rival Air Force and 2009 surprise Temple. However, the rest of the schedule is of the middling variety, featuring winnable games against the likes of Hawai’i, Eastern Michigan, Notre Texas, Tulane, VMI and Kent State. Army can definitely get to a bowl game against this lineup.

OUTLOOK

The bowl drought should end this year at West Point. Ellerson should see a much better showing from his offense with a returning starter at QB behind a strong offensive line. On top of that, a year adjusting to the system should equal more points and time of possession. With a defense that played really in 2009 despite the offense’ anemic showing, things look bright for a good campaign. In fact, if the Cadets just win the games that they’re favored in, they should grab six wins! When was the last time anyone could say that about the Black Knights? Expect Army to win six or seven games this fall.