FACTS & STATS: Site: BT&T Field (31,500) — Winston Salem, North Carolina.
Television: ESPN3. Home Record: Army 1-0, Wake Forest 1-0. Away Record: Army
0-1, Wake Forest 0-2. Neutral Record: Army 0-0, Wake Forest 0-0. Conference
Record: Army 0-0, Wake Forest 0-0. Series Record: Wake Forest leads, 9-4.
GAME NOTES: After getting whitewashed by a top 25 opponent last week on the
road, the Army Black Knights take on a foe more at their level when they
travel to face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Saturday.
This should be a much easier contest for Army, which was blanked 35-0 by
then-15th-ranked Stanford last Saturday.
Quarterback Angel Santiago completed two passes for 13 yards and carried the
ball eight times for 29 yards for the Black Knights, who fell to 1-1 on the
year.
A.J. Schurr rushed for 65 yards on six carries for Army, which is in the midst
of a three-game road trip. The Black Knights will complete their road swing
next weekend at Yale.
The Army defense struggled against the high-powered Cardinal last week as
Kevin Hogan threw three of his four touchdown passes to Devon Cajuste. Hogan
completed 20-of-28 passes for 216 yards, while Cajuste caught four passes for
52 yards for the Cardinal, who racked up 415 yards of total offense.
The thumping dropped Army down the ranks nationally in team defense. Army
allows an average of 484.5 yards per game, 109th in the nation, while the 37
points per game is 110th in the nation.
Meanwhile, the Black Knights offense isn’t doing much better. After beating
Buffalo 47-39 in their opener, the total offense of 336.5 yards per game is
104th in the country and the 23.5 points per contest is 94th.
Larry Dixon leads the rushing attack for the Black Knights, going for a total
of 234 yards and two scores. Santiago, meanwhile, has also run for a
touchdown, adding only 109 yards passing through just two games.
However, passing isn’t what makes the Army offense go. Terry Baggett has added
110 yards on just 12 carries as the team has run for 539 yards in two games.
Wake Forest enters Saturday’s game coming off a 36-24 setback to Utah State
last weekend. John Wolford threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns, but
completed only 20-of-50 attempts and was intercepted twice for the Demon
Deacons, who saw the Aggies scored 29 straight first-half points to grab
control of the game.
Cam Serigne added 91 yards on seven catches for Wake, which has alternated
losses and wins against lackluster opponents to open the season.
The Demon Deacons began the season with a 17-10 loss at ULM and then beat
Gardner-Webb, 23-7 before losing to Utah State.
Offensively, the Wake offense could be considered offensive. Scoring just an
average of 19 points per game, the Demon Deacons rank 110th in the nation.
Their 237.7 yards per game is even worse at 123rd in the country.
Wolford’s arm leads the Wake offense. He has completed 56 percent of his
passes for 645 yards and four touchdowns. He’s also thrown six picks, but his
arm is needed to make this offense go.
Orville Reynolds has run for only 96 yards in three games, averaging only 2.2
yards per carry.
Defensively, the program has fared better, but the opponents aren’t top notch
either. The squad is allowing just 100 yards rushing per game, which is 26th
in the country and in total is yielding only 291.3 yards per game (17th
nationally).
Army head coach Jeff Monken and Wake head coach Dave Clawson are both in
their first year at the school so are new to this series, which Wake has
dominated over the years.
Army is looking to snap a seven-game losing streak to the Demon Deacons and
post its first win in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest holds a 9-4 lead in the
series, with a 5-0 mark at its home stadium.
The last time these schools met on September 21, 2013, the Black Knights fell
to Wake Forest 25-11 at Michie Stadium.
Expect a different result in this contest. The Army rushing game should do
enough to expose the Wake defense and allow the Black Knight to march away
with a win. Wake will likely continue to struggle against the Army defense,
but expect some numbers due to the heavy passing scheme. The Army defense
isn’t great by any means, but much better than the previous opponents of the
Demon Deacons.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Army 24, Wake Forest 17
