Game Eleven Preview: Army @ Rutgers

Tyler
Scarlet Surge
Date Posted: 11/21/08

Since Thanksgiving is coming up, it reminded me of something I am truly thankful for: my awful predictions.

Last week, I predicted Rutgers losing to South Florida six points. Could I have been more wrong? Rutgers wiped USF by the final score of 49-16. So this holiday season, I'm thankful for my wrong predictions.

It was a big win for Rutgers, no doubt, but it will be meaningless if they can't finish the season with two more wins. RU has a chance to go 8-5, that'd be with a bowl victory, but the biggest thing they can do right now is beat Army, and then Louisville. That would ensure that A. They'd go to a bowl game and B. They'd be above .500 once again, which is important to continue to keep getting better as a program.

Fans must realize this has been a successful year if we can finish out 7-5, or 8-5. It may not have been that top 10 ranked, 11-2 type season we've come to expect following the 2006 campaign, but it offers hope for next year that we can continue to improve consistently each and every year, despite starting this season off 1-5.

Now onto the game preview. Army is a run first team, who has been pretty successful at doing so. Don't expect many pass attempts like the Knights of Rutgers saw last weekend versus USF. Army will only throw a few times per game. One game that they won this season they threw just 3 passes, completing NONE of them, but still came away with the W. Although Army is just 3-7 on the year, they have shown great improvement over last season, thanks to fullback Collin Mooney. Mooney has rushed for 1,173 yards and 8 touchdowns, averaging 6 yards per carry. He will be just another talented back the Scarlet Knights will have to face. Rutgers should be fine defensively as they've been able to handle most rushing attacks thrown at them this season. Don't expect RU to be able to force six turnovers like last week though, as Army won't put the ball on the ground much.

When Rutgers is on offense, they should be able to use their supperior speed to go right by the Black Knights. RU will probably show a balenced attack of run and pass, but I think if they can get Teel in a rhythem early, this game won't even be close. I expect to see a heavy dose of Joe Martinek this week, with some Young sprinkled in, as well as a few carries for Jourdan Brooks and Mason Robinson. Despite playing all four backs, I fully expect Joe Martinek seeing most of the carries after his impressive performance last week against USF. Now onto...

My Prediction:
Army 10
Rutgers 34
Game Ball: Kenny Britt. The junior from Bayonne, NJ has a huge game. 11 rec., 201 yards, 2 td.

Game Time: 12:00 PM E.T.
Site: Rutgers Stadium. Piscataway, NJ.
Weather: Mostly Sunny. COLD. High of 30 degrees. Winds 15-30 mph.

Lets hope my prediction is actually right this time. Go Scarlet Knights!