SEASON SO FAR
Buffalo opened its season with a tough 17-7 loss to Minnesota. The question running through most Army fans is “How good it Minnesota?” They should be pretty good. They won nine games last season and now have a very highly regarded coach, P.J. Fleck, running things. This Minnesota team had 17 starters returning from last year so this should be a decent Gopher team. But, yes, Army isn’t playing Minnesota, they are playing 0-1 Buffalo, a team that rallied to beat the Black Knights last year. In the game against the Gophers UB was outgained in total yardage 408-262. The Bulls had only 51 yards rushing. Passing wise, Buffalo quarterback Tyree Jackson was 22-of-42 for 211 yards, a TD and an interception. Starting running back Jonathan Hawkins had just 21 yards rushing on 10 carries (2.1 ypc). Defensively, linebacker Khalil Hodge had 20 tackles to lead both teams.
INJURIES AND SUSPENSIONS
None reported.
CHALLENGES
Buffalo will present more matchup problems for Army than Fordham. Quarterback Tyree Jackson played well in the win over the Black Knights last season completing 20 of 31 passes for 178 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. The 6-foot-7 signal caller, who is now a sophomore, has the height to easily see open receivers. The Black Knight defense must get some pressure on him or it could be a long night. It appears that the Bulls have lost several of their top receivers from a year ago, or at least the top two in catches year last against Army. In 2016 the Bull defense gave up 396 yards rushing to Army, however, UB held Army to 6 of 17 third down conversions and three of four in red zone conversions (2 TDs, 1 FG) to force overtime and eek out the win. Hopefully, the Army offense will be more efficient this weekend.
Saturday’s game at Michie Stadium kicks off at 6 pm ET (TV: CBS Sports Network).
