2009 Army College Football Predictions

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Army 8409The Army Black Knights haven’t won more than four games in a season since 1996. Following a 3-9 2008 campaign, first year head coach Rich Ellerson will attempt to get the Knights over the four-win plateau and another step closer to bowl eligibility with his version of the option offense and a more aggressive defense. Bet on college football at BetUS this season and get up to 145% in sign up bonuses!

Offense – New head coach Rich Ellerson brings his triple-option attack, which was effective at Cal Poly, to town this season. Ellerson’s brother John was the captain of the 1962 team, and his father and another brother were West Point grads also, so the Army fan base will be rooting for him. Junior quarterback Chip Bowden will be the featured player in the offense. After the Knights started the season 0-4 last year, Bowden took over as the starter and led Army to all three of its wins and nearly a couple more. He finished with 282 yards and two scores through the air and 572 yards and another touchdown on the ground. Ellerson was impressed with CeDarius Williams in the spring and he figures to team with Patrick Mealy and Bryson Carl at the running back positions. The wide receiver position is mostly a blocking spot in option looks, but Army is going to give teams something to think about in 2009. 6’10” converted left tackle Ali Villanueva took snaps at wide receiver during the spring and he will pose instant matchup problems. I’m excited to see how Ellerson’s version of the option will end up looking this season.

Defense – Ellerson was the mind behind the blitz-heavy defenses that worked so well at Arizona in the late 1990’s and he is expected to employ that approach in West Point this year. The defense returns seven starters from a unit that played pretty well last season. The Knights allowed just 23.7 points per game (51st nationally) and 339.5 yards per game (48th nationally) in 2008 and these numbers likely would have been better had the defense not had to spend so much time on the field. Still, Ellerson wants to make changes to increase the speed of the unit. The biggest change appears to be moving senior Victor Ugenyi from end to tackle to take advantage of his quickness on the interior. Josh McNary will remain at end after leading the team with 12 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. The linebacker corps will need players to step up after losing a couple starters to graduation. Stephen Anderson, who finished with 82 tackles last season, will anchor the unit. The defensive backfield should be the strength of the defense with three of four starters back. Ellerson was big on cornerback Mario Hill after spring practice.

Prediction: The success of the Knights depends on how quickly the players can adapt to Ellerson’s changes. The Knights won three games last season and lost two others by four and three points respectively, including an overtime loss at MAC champ Buffalo. It appears Army will have a legit shot at getting over the four-win plateau in Ellerson’s first season on the job.

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