The Army Black Knights open their season on Saturday at Georgia State as Jeff Monken’s men look to defend the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy and at least equal their 9-3 record from one year ago.
Here are the three keys for the Week 1 clash:
1 – Find a quarterback
I am always a little on edge when a team comes into a season listing two (or more) quarterbacks at the top of the depth chart. This usually means that neither has done enough to separate from the other and the two-quarterback situation is what we have going on at Army with junior Tyhier Tyler and senior Christian Anderson having been listed as either/or as the starter. Anderson was the starter heading into last season before injuries gave Tyler a shot at the job. Anderson is seen as the better passer with Tyler the more dynamic runner. Expect to see both in this one.
2 – Attack the front seven
The Georgia State front seven is always a threat against a quarterback. They are coached to get into the backfield and cause disruption, but that can come at a cost against an Army team intent on running the ball all day. The Panthers are bedding in plenty of new starters in the front seven – especially at linebacker – and Army needs to attack that weakness with the triple-option, making inexperienced players at the college level make decisions on every play and exploit the expected mental mistakes.
3 – Control clock
It’s the Army way and so much of the offense comes back from the impressive season last year that the Black Knights should be able to keep the ball away from the Georgia State offense by controlling it for upwards of 35 minutes of the game. The Panthers have an outstanding quarterback in Cornelius Brown, but expect him to be on the sidelines for much of the game, forcing plays when he comes in that the Army defense – and its fantastic secondary – can make plays on.
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