Army Black Knights vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Preview
Where: Value City Arena — Columbus, Ohio
When: Saturday, September 16, 2017 – 4:30 PM ET
Line: Army Black Knights (+30) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (-30) – total: 53.0 – view all NCAA Football lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
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Betting on the Army Black Knights (2-0)
The Black Knights come in with a 2-0 record. After thrashing Fordham in their opener, 64-6, they gutted out a hard-fought, 21-17 victory over Buffalo, where they succeeded in erasing a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.
In battling the Buckeyes, expect their bread-and-butter running attack to be there. Army’s old school brand of football, as you may know, isn’t as one-dimensional as it seems. From the backfield, to quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw, and even to its pass-catchers, the group is well-equipped in powering through defenders.
Led by Bradshaw and running back Darnell Woolfork, who collectively have six rushing touchdowns and 510 yards on 7.8 yards per carry this season, the Black Knights are putting up 417.5 yards per game on the ground.
The defense, meanwhile, will keep relying on Alex Aukerman and John Voit, two of the unit’s most active men – the former is poised to lead Army in sacks and tackles for loss for the second-straight season, while the latter is on-the-rise in the group’s pecking order. They combine for 4.5 sacks and 3.5 TFLs on the year.
That said, Aukerman and Voit will of course need all the help they can get on Saturday, as they are facing their most talented opponent this 2017.
In the last decade, Army is 2-24 when playing as an underdog for 10 or more points (10-15-1 ATS).
Betting on the Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0)
The Buckeyes are an elite team that just got embarrassed on national television. They are coming off a 31-16 home loss to Oklahoma, which saw them get outscored, 21-3, in the final 23 minutes of the contest. Pouring in salt to the wound is primary back Mike Weber’s injury, which was aggravated in the game and has made the RB questionable for Week 3.
With that, coach Urban Meyer and his men should come out extra hungry for the upcoming meeting. Consider them as bullies who are in a really bad mood, eager to take out some frustration on someone.
Look for Ohio State’s offense to pile up points quick, with dual-threat QB, JT Barrett, being able to get the engine going early. His passing YPG average went down to 243.5 due to his dismal Week 2, but we can expect him to throw for over 300 this Saturday. Parris Campbell will be the receiver to watch out for, as he will be eyed to have a performance similar to his Week 1 burst against Indiana, wherein he registered 136 yards and one TD in just six catches.
The running game will continue to be anchored by Barrett and JK Dobbins. Both have one rushing score and they combine for 82.7 percent of the team’s total rushing yards (380 of 459). Dobbins has 253 yards on 6.1 yards per carry.
As for the defense, it is an automatic that the front seven will be busiest in the unit, since Army is a super run-heavy team. The ground D – on its bad day – was able to limit Oklahoma to just 2.8 YPC this past week, so now that they are refreshed and motivated to redeem themselves, they can certainly be more destructive. Adjustments in the safety positions could also be seen, which should be interesting to see.
OSU is 27-3 in its last 30 games at home (14-16 ATS).
Writer’s Prediction
The Buckeyes (-30) win, 52-13.
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