Army-Wake Forest
Time: 2:30 CST
Spread: ARM -3
Total: 67
Betting Odds c/o Bovada
Army is 1-1 after a 47-39 victory over Buffalo on Sept. 6. and loss last week to then-No. 15 Stanford.
Army, as usual, is almost exclusively reliant on its running game. Accordingly, the team ranks 18th in the nation in rushing yardage per game, with 269.5 yards.
Larry Dixon has led the way with the run. On 39 attempts he has 234 yards and two TDs. Now in his senior season, he’s run for 542 yards as a freshman, 839 his sophomore season, and this year he’s bested his yards per carry, though just through two games (6.0 yards).
Terry Baggett is the No. 2 back and week 1 he rushed for 74 yards in just six carries, aided by a 41 yard run. Last season, Baggett ran for 1,113 yards with an average of 7.9 yards per carry. Indeed, Army has a strong running game, but the pass game is woefully weak. Baggett has been good 102 yards on 12 carries, for an average of 8.5 yards per carry, with one TD
QB Angel Santiago completed all eight of his passes against Buffalo for 96 yards. He’s thrown for just 109 yards on the season and Army ranks 127th in passing yardage per game (67.0)
Army’s defense is also lacking after allowing 74 points in its first two games. The Black Knights are favored over Wake Forest this week by three-points according to college football handicappers at Bovada.
Wake Forest lost to lowly UL Monroe in Week 1, 17-10. The Demon Deacons beat Garnder-Webb 23-7, but lost in Week 3 to Utah State. For these mediocre games, it makes sense that college football odds favor Army. The Demon Deacons rank low in all major offensive categories and the backfield has been an overwhelming disappointment, with the No. 1 (Reynolds)and No. 2 backs (Robinson) average just 2.2 and 1.7 yards per carry.
Freshman QB John Wolford has had his issues. He’s been sacked 14 times in three games, while throwing more INTs (6) than TDs (4). His completion ratio is just 56.4 percent, but part if this is attributed to Wake’s poor offensive line.
The OL has failed to create holes for the RBs while also allowing a lot of blitzes to have great success. In the loss to Utah State last week, Wolford competed just 40 percent of his passes and had as many INTs and TDs (2). Utah State is hardly a power house, nor is Army, but the Black Knights are a good value at -3.
