Penn State Football Opponent Preview: Army On The Ground, Rarely Through The Air

Penn State football is in the air.

Training camp will open in just a few weeks and it won’t be long before the season gets underway.

And with James Franklin leading the Nittany Lions on his second campaign, we’re looking ahead to the opponents Penn State will be facing in 2015.

Here’s what you need to know about Army.

Offense: 

It’s perhaps the most bizarre balance Penn State will see all season. Army quarterback Angel Santiago completed only 35 passes last season while attempting only 70. That is in theory effective, but with an overall team average of 4.1 competitions per game it’s not exactly an aggressive passing attack.

As you might imagine, that opens the door for a lot of running plays and the Black Knights were sixth in the nation last year with 296 yards a game on the ground. With almost two running backs breaking the 1,000 yard mark it wasn’t a one man show either.

Service academy teams are never easy to beat, but a 4-8 mark last year goes to show the value of balance. A ranking of 93rd in the nation in points per game doesn’t help either.

Defense: 

While Army had a hard time scoring last season, the Black Knights also struggled to slow teams down. Army gave up an average of 32 point a game.

It’s one thing to have a deliberate game on the ground. It’s another to not be able to score and to struggle to stop opponents from scoring. Put simply, it’s not a recipe for success.

Biggest Game:

Army/Navy. But you already knew that. Otherwise it’s a trip to Penn State or hosting Rutgers.

Biggest Storyline:

Anytime you win four games in the previous season the biggest story the next year is simply improving. Being an independent gives Army some flexibility in terms of manufacturing wins and a few games on this schedule ought to help the Black Knights improve on last year’s mark.

Prediction:

Service academy teams are always well disciplined and hard to discourage, but Penn State’s defense will be more than happy to play a team that does nothing but run the ball.

This will be the final game before heading into the meat of Big Ten play. Penn State isn’t going to get caught sleepwalking through this one.

The game could be the last chance to get players farther down the depth chart some playing time and as such the sooner Penn State puts Army away, the better for James Franklin and his staff.

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