The Army Black Knights are fresh off of their best season in two decades. For just the second time during that stretch, they went to a bowl game and finished with an 8-5 record. Not only that, but Army beat Navy for the first time since 2001 last season. Things are looking up entering head coach Jeff Monken’s fourth year with the program and now he is looking to avenge one of his more embarrassing defeats; a season opening loss to the Fordham Rams in 2015.
Kickoff for this college football Week 1 game is set for Friday, September 1, 2017, at 6 p.m. ET at Blaik Field at Michie Stadium. The game will be broadcast on CBSSN.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Fordham +15.5
Army -15.5
Over/Under 63
Odds Analysis
Army’s surprising surge last season wasn’t as rewarding for bettors as you may think. After the Black Knights stunned Temple as a 14.5-point underdog to start the season, lines adjusted quickly and Army finished at 7-6 ATS. They were a double-digit favorite five times on the year, but only covered against their two FCS opponents, and lost outright in that situation twice.
The under was a big winner in Army games last year. Under went 8-5 in Army games as the defense was much better than expected and combined with a clock-control offense to grind out games.
Last Meeting
These two teams squared off to start the season two years ago and it was a neck and neck affair the whole way. Fordham ended up with a 37-35 win after Army was unable to convert on a two-point conversion that would have sent the game to overtime with 2:33 left in the fourth.
Fordham’s offense torched Army’s defense. The Rams used their ground game to set up the pass and ended up with 445 total yards of offense. On the stat sheet, quarterback Kevin Anderson was the star of the game, completing 15 of 23 passes for 322 yards. However, the real hero was running back Chase Edmonds.
Edmonds had 26 total touches for 250 yards and three touchdowns against the Black Knights. If you’ve followed Edmonds career, you wouldn’t say that was much of a shock. Unfortunately for Army, he is now a senior. He is on pace to smash the FCS all-time rushing record and is coming off of a 2016 campaign in which he averaged 163.5 rushing yards per game.
Matchup to Watch
Army had one of the best rushing attacks in the country last season. The Black Knights averaged 339.6 yards per game on the ground and were able to consistently move the ball and get first downs. This unit averaged 5.6 yards per carry and will be even better in 2017.
Pivot man Ahmad Bradshaw will go down as one of the best quarterbacks in school history and is an able runner. He knows how to read and make the right decision and consistently gets positive yardage.
He will also have last year’s leading rusher, Andy Davidson, to work with and four of the five starting offensive linemen from last season. All but one of the projected starters are upperclassmen and that will mean few mistakes from this unit.
They will be facing a Rams front seven that was bad last year. Fordham’s main problem was its inability to stop the run and it gave up 4.7 yards per carry and over 30 points per game. The unit lost some of its best talent from 2016 and stopping the run will once again be an issue for the Rams.
Free ATS Pick
Army easily beat Morgan State and Lafayette last year, but neither of those are good FCS teams. They combined for five wins and were miles worse than this Fordham team.
Both of these teams have very efficient offenses, but Army has a better defense than Fordham does. That won’t be enough to get the cover, but the Black Knights will get the win in a high-scoring game.
College Football Odds: Black Knights 38, Rams 30
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