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FACTS & STATS: Site: Michie Stadium (40,000) -- West Point, New York. Television: CBS College Sports Network. Home Record: Duke 0-1, Army 0-0. Away Record: Duke 0-0, Army 1-0. Neutral Record: Duke 0-0, Army 0-0. Conference Record: Duke 0-0, Army 0-0. Series Record: Duke leads, 10-9-1.

GAME NOTES: Looking for their first 2-0 start since 1996, the Army Black Knights will host the Duke Blue Devils this Saturday at Michie Stadium.

The Blue Devils struggled in their opener, as they fell to defending FCS champion Richmond, 24-16, at home. Rebounding this week could prove difficult for Duke, which has been atrocious on the road since 2000, posting a 4-46 ledger. On top of that, the Blue Devils have lost their last 10 road openers.

As for the Black Knights, they opened the Rich Ellerson era with a 27-14 victory over Eastern Michigan, snapping a 12-game slide in season openers. Army has not enjoyed much success against teams currently in the ACC, recording a 34-53-1 ledger.

This has been a tightly contested series over the years, as the Blue Devils hold a slim, 10-9-1 edge over Army.

The Blue Devils struggled throughout most of 2008 with the football, averaging just 20.1 ppg on 304.0 total ypg. The team's main problem was its inability to run, as the team averaged just 104 yards on 3.0 yards per attempt. Unfortunately that was Duke's problem in its loss to Richmond as well, as the Blue Devils were held to just 19 yards on 1.2 ypc. Luckily the passing attack was successful, as veteran Thaddeus Lewis threw for 350 yards and two scores on 34-of-55 passing. Lewis is the key to Duke's offensive success and is coming off a solid 2008 campaign in which he completed 62.0 percent of his passes. Johnny Williams and Austin Kelly were the prime targets for Lewis, as Williams hauled in seven passes for 115 yards and one score, while Kelly collected seven receptions as well, going for 80 yards and one touchdown. Last year the two wideouts combined for just 43 receptions and neither found the end zone, but they could be poised for break out campaigns in 2009.

Duke held Richmond to just 282 total yards in the loss last Saturday, but the team was unable to keep the Spiders off the scoreboard. The Blue Devils allowed two rushing touchdowns in the contest, but held the Spiders to just 125 yards on 3.1 yards per attempt. Duke was unable to make many big plays, finishing the game with no turnovers and zero sacks. One of the bright spots in the loss was the play of LB Vincent Rey, who finished 2008 with 109 tackles and 8.5 TFLs. Rey led the way against Richmond with 14 tackles, while Abraham Kromah and All-American candidate Vince Oghobaase collected nine stops apiece.

Army was a dominating force on the ground in 2008, rushing for 241.0 ypg, and the team continued its strong rushing attack in its opening win over Eastern Michigan, rushing for 300 yards on 6.1 ypc. Patrick Mealy led the way with 109 yards and scored one touchdown on just five carries, while Kingsley Ehie added 75 rushing yards and two scores. Mealy only had 18 carries in 2008, but the slot back seems ready to have a break out season for the Black Knights. Considering Army is primarily a rushing team, the offense rarely airs the ball out, which is why quarterback Trent Steelman finished the game against EMU with just eight yards on 2-of-5 passing. Steelman will not need to win games with his arm, so as long as he manages the contests, the Black Knights should remain close in most of their matchups.

Not to be out done was the defense for Army, which held Eastern Michigan to 223.0 total yards, including just 40 rushing yards on 1.4 ypc. It was a surprising performance by the Black Knights, as the team has struggled to stop the run in the past, including last year when the team allowed 145.0 rushing yards per matchups. The Black Knights also put plenty of pressure on Eastern Michigan, forcing three turnovers, while recording an impressive six sacks. Josh McNary had a strong showing in the opener, grabbing nine tackles, while recording 2.5 sacks. Donovan Travis also posted seven stops in the win, and grabbed his first interception of the season.

Considering Duke's struggles against Richmond at home, there could be more trouble for the Blue Devils this weekend on the road against Army. The Black Knights should once again lean on the run, en route to a 2-0 start.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Army 27, Duke 17