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In week nine of college football Army is coming home to Michie Stadium after a devastating three game losing streak on the road. The Black Knights are hoping to redeem themselves Saturday afternoon against the San Jose State Spartans.
In the Spartans, Army is looking at a pass-heavy quarterback in Josh Love who completed 19 of his 36 attempts during the teams matchup against San Diego State last week. He’s also thrown for 2,041 yards and 12 total touchdowns thus far. That’s not to be lost on the fact however that against San Diego, along with Nevada and Air Force the past two games have been loses for this Mountain West team. That alone could mean the Spartans are coming to the Hudson with a bit of a chip on their shoulder.
Against San Diego State the Spartans lost both the possession and total offensive yards battle. They were also only 3 for 11 in completing third down conversions. Army, however, still ranked ninth in the country in rushing offense is equally hurting in the third conversion conversion category. Last week, the Black Knights struggled to keep Georgia State receivers off the field early-on which proved difficult for the team to create a large gap ahead with scores. Kelvin Hopkins Jr. managed a single 65-yard passing play but a last minute interception led to a loss for the Black Knights who were making steady scoring drives all afternoon.
Turnovers were also a factor in last week’s matchup—both a fumble and interception—a recipe for disaster when going up against a team that has totaled 13 interceptions thus far in the season.
This Army team is 2-1 at home and fans can hope with Michie packed with cadets Saturday afternoon, the Black Knights have the extra encouragement to garner a win. In this week’s press conference, Coach Monken called this particular match a “turning point” for this Army team. In the AAE podcast this week, we dubbed it a “must-win” before the team heads back on the road to take on Air Force in Colorado Springs. Can Army turnaround their season with this game?