Army survived something of a scare against an Eastern Michigan side the Black Knights are better than. Now they get to take on a Temple squad that has fallen from the heights of a couple of years ago, but that is still very dangerous.
Here are the three keys to this one:
Ahmad Bradshaw has to get going
It is no secret that quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw is the driving force behind the Black Knights attack. Bradshaw is a skilled and dangerous runner but last season against Temple he was unable to show off his skills. The Owls defense contained Bradshaw for the most part as the quarterback was only able to gain 50 yards and a single rushing touchdown on the day.
This season Bradshaw has been electric. He has rushed for 818 yards at an average of 7.7 yards per carry while scoring seven touchdowns. His passing game though has left a lot to be desired and when Bradshaw is contained and bottled up, the Army offense struggles to move the ball with any sort of regularity. If Bradshaw can get his yardage on the ground – perhaps adding to his nine, 100-yard rushing games, then Army will have a better chance of pulling out a win.
Control time of possession
Army may have escaped Eastern Michigan given that the Black Knights had to stop a two-point conversion with less than a minute left on the clock to maintain their lead, but it wasn’t for a lack of controlling the ball. Army held the ball for over 37 minutes in the game, wearing down the Eastern Michigan defense to the point that the two late Black Knights’ scoring drives were inevitable when the ball got rolling.
Temple will undoubtedly load the box to stop the triple-option run given that Army has so much trouble passing the ball. Sustaining drives early – even if those drives don’t lead to points – will be important in wearing down the defense and making them more vulnerable to missing tackles or blowing assignments as the game moves on.
Stop Logan Marchi
Temple may have lost a head-scratcher to UConn last weekend, but it certainly wasn’t due to the play of Owls’ quarterback Logan Marchi.
Marchi threw for 351 yards against the Huskies, but the scoring output from his offense didn’t come until too late and the Owls were unable to rundown a UConn team that they vastly outgained. Marchi can be hit or miss – as can his receivers – but the fact that the passing game was working so well last week should worry Army at least a little bit. The Black Knights defense is not known for its ability to pressure the passer, so the back seven on defense will have to get their coverages right if they want to keep UConn out of the end zone.
