2011 Army Football Predictions, Odds, Picks and Schedule – 2011 Army Black Knights Football Preview

2011 Army Black Knights College Football Expert Predictions, Picks, Vegas Odds and Schedule – Army NCAA Football Preview: Winning seasons don’t happen often at Army, but last season, the Black Knights caught fire. They finished the regular season 6-6, earning them a trip to the Armed Forces Bowl. Not only did the Black Knights make a bowl game in 2010-11, they won. Coming off one of the most productive season in recent memory, Army will look to recapture the magic it found on offense last year and make back-to-back bowl appearances.

The strength of Army’s resurgence last season was the triple option offense that coach Rich Ellerson installed. It isn’t quite as run-heavy as the Navy option attack, but the Black Knights will be running on a majority of their offensive snaps. At the center of the offense will once again be quarterback Trent Steelman. He has been starting since he was a freshman, and last season as a sophomore he finished with almost 1,000 yards passing, more than 700 yards rushing, and 18 combined touchdowns. Steelman does it all for the Black Knights, and although his specialty is running the option, he has enough passing skills to keep defenses honest.

Army utilizes multiple backs in its offensive system, but three players in particular see a majority of the time in the backfield with Steelman. Fullback Jared Hassin emerged as the top option of the group last season, topping 1,000 yards and scoring nine times. Raymond Maples and Malcolm Brown will see plenty of playing time as well in the running back and slot back positions in the option attack.

Despite the talented group of players carrying the ball, the Black Knights have to be a bit concerned about their offensive line. Only one starter is back from last year’s unit, and although the triple option system has been known to make parts somewhat interchangeable, inexperience is always a potential problem. The bottom line is that the Black Knights are going nowhere in 2011-12 if the big guys up front aren’t performing well. The quicker and better this new unit comes together, the better Army will be.

Defensively, the Black Knights have plenty of question marks. Aside from a solid secondary, Army doesn’t have standouts on the defensive line or at linebacker. The unit should be kept fresh by Army’s ball-control offense, and fresh legs will always help. That being said, the Black Knights will be learning on the fly this season, which could prove too much for the offense to overcome.

The schedule alone could make a repeat of last season difficult. The season opens against two tough mid-major teams in Northern Illinois and San Diego State, followed by a visit from Northwestern. The schedule lightens up from there until a road game against Air Force in early November. The season closes with coin flip games against Rutgers, Temple and Navy that could go either way.

Despite the strides made last season and the return of Steelman at QB, the Black Knights could find last season’s success tough to match. A shaky defense and the lack of sort of passing attack is going to be more apparent against a tougher schedule. Not to mention the fact that Steelman already has durability concerns. In short, the Army football program is in better shape than it has been in a quite a while. That being said, Ellerson still has some work to do before the Black Knights are making bowl game on a consistent basis, and this year’s team will likely come up just short.

2011 Army Black Knights College Football Predictions: 5-7 Record

Preseason 2011 Army Black Knights NCAA Football Odds:
Odds to Win 2012 BCS Championship: NA/Off the Board
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2011 Army Black Knights College Football Schedule
Sat, Sep 3 at Northern Illinois 7:00 pm —
Sat, Sep 10 San Diego State 12:00 pm —
Sat, Sep 17 Northwestern 3:30 pm —
Sat, Sep 24 at Ball State 2:00 pm —
Sat, Oct 1 Tulane 12:00 pm —
Sat, Oct 8 at Miami (OH) 1:00 pm —
Sat, Oct 22 at Vanderbilt TBA —
Sat, Oct 29 Fordham 3:30 pm —
Sat, Nov 5 at Air Force 3:30 pm —
Sat, Nov 12 Rutgers 3:30 pm —
Sat, Nov 19 at Temple 1:00 pm —
Sat, Dec 10 Navy 2:30 pm —

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