Preview: Tulane (1-2) at Army (2-2)
Posted September 30, 2009
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FACTS & STATS: Site: Michie Stadium (40,000) -- West Point, New York. Television: CBS/CSN. Home Record: Tulane 1-2, Army 1-1. Away Record: Tulane 0-0, Army 1-1. Neutral Record: Tulane 0-0, Army 0-0. Conference Record: Tulane 0-1, Army 0-0. Series Record: Tulane leads, 8-7-1.
GAME NOTES: The Green Wave will hit the road for the first time this season when Tulane invades West Point to take on the Army Black Knights in a non- conference battle at Michie Stadium.
The Green Wave storm into this matchup fresh off their first win of the season, as they outlasted McNeese State, 42-32. It was a much needed win for Tulane which opened the 2009 campaign with back-to-back losses to Tulsa (37-13) and BYU (54-3).The Green Wave only captured six wins over the two previous seasons, but four of those victories came at the opposition's house.
As for the Black Knights, they come into this weekend looking to rebound from a rough spanking by Iowa State, 31-10. It was the second setback on the year for Army, which fell to Duke, 35-19 at home back on September 12th. The Black Knights have had trouble in front of a home crowd over recent years, and since 2000 the team has just one winning record on its home field (3-2 in 2007).
This will be the 13th meeting between Army and Tulane in the last 14 seasons. Overall the two teams have collided 16 times with Tulane holding a slim, 8-7-1 edge over the Black Knights. However, Army has captured the last two showdowns, including a 44-13 decision last October.
After scoring just 16 combined points in their first two games on the season, the Green Wave exploded for 42 points this past Saturday en route to a 10- point win. Granted the outburst came against McNeese State, which is obviously not a powerhouse, but hopefully the strong play will continue into this weekend's matchup. Andre Anderson was a giant in the win for Tulane, as the tailback rumbled for 199 yards and four scores on a healthy 7.1 yards per attempt. Joe Kemp and Jeremy Williams played pitch and catch throughout the contest, as Kemp completed only 10 passes, all of which went to Williams for 222 yards and two scores. However, as mentioned before all of this production did not occur against an elite squad, so expect the Green Wave to return to earth, or at least take a few steps back this weekend. Keep in mind after three games, Tulane is averaging just 317.7 yards per contest and that has translated into a mere 19.3 ppg.
Even though the Green Wave went against a team from the FCS, the defense still struggled, so much so that McNeese State was able to rack up 32 points on 473 total yards of offense. Tulane allowed 221 yards through the air, but the real issue was the team's inability to stop the run, as the Green Wave were punished for 252 yards and three scores on 5.2 yards per carry. Stopping the run has been a problem for the Green Wave in their first three games, as the team heads into this contest with Army surrendering a whopping 219.7 ypg on 4.8 yards per attempt. Overall this unit is being embarrassed for 470.7 total ypg and that has led to an equally poor 41.0 ppg. Clearly the Green Wave have plenty of holes defensively and adding insult to injury is the fact this unit has been unable to make big plays. Coming into Saturday Tulane has collected just four turnovers and six sacks, while allowing the opposition to convert on 53 percent of its third down chances.
The Black Knights did not get much going against Iowa State on Saturday, as the team finished with only 10 points on 316 total yards of production. The majority of the team's success once again came from the ground attack, which churned out 186 yards on 48 carries. Patrick Mealy led the way with 54 yards on eight carries, while Kingsley Ehie and quarterback Chip Bowden contributed 47 and 42 yards, respectively. The passing attack was not much of help, as Bowden finished with just 97 yards on 8-of-21 efficiency. However, the signal caller did toss a touchdown in the loss, but was also intercepted once as well. Regardless of the outcome the Black Knights' gameplan is to run the ball early and often, which is why the team is currently averaging an impressive 239.8 ypg on the ground. Mealy is leading the way for Army with 290 yards on an amazing 9.7 yards per attempt, while Ehie is second on the team with 206 yards, to go along with two touchdowns.
Army held the Cyclones to just three points in the first quarter, but the defense fell apart after that surrendering 28 points over the final three frames. The Black Knights were pounded for 376 yards in the contest, but the majority of the team's problems came against the run, as Iowa State gashed Army for 203 yards and three touchdowns on 4.6 yards per attempt. It was surprisingly an all-around poor effort by a defensive unit that has held the opposition to just 302.5 total yards per matchup on the year. The inability to stop Iowa State's ground attack was dumbfounding, especially since Army is currently limiting teams to just 108.5 ypg on a mere 3.3 yards per attempt. Army has even done a solid job creating turnovers and pressure, and heads into this weekend with nine takeaways and nine sacks. Josh McNary has been outstanding thus far and is leading the team with 8.5 TFLs and 4.5 sacks.
Look for Army to get back in the win column this Saturday. The Green Wave have been terrible defensively, especially against the run, so look for the Black Knights to do what they do best and run to victory.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Army 34, Tulane 20
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