Army Black Knights 2009 College Football Predictions, Picks & Odds: Head Football Coach Stan Brock only lasted two years at Army, and those were two really awful years where it seemed like the only team that could not figure out their anemic offense was Tulane. Army has transformed their offense way too many times recently and finding what offensive system fits this team has been very difficult. New head football coach Rich Ellerson will instill an option running attack that will hope to throw the ball a little more often than Army did last year. Odds makers at Sportsbook.com have the Army Black Knights 200-1 odds to win the BSC 2010 National Championship.
Offensively, quarterback Chip Bowden is back and Coach Ellerson hopes to throw the ball more often. However, there is a huge hole at the receiver position. The staff addressed some of those needs with the recruiting class, but it will take a little time before those guys are ready to go. In the meantime it will be up to Damion Hunter and former 6-10 offensive tackle Ali Villaneuva to turn into reliable receiving targets. For now, Army will have no choice but to run the ball and they did pretty well last year, yet that was with the now departed Collin Mooney, who rushed for 1,339 yards last season. Bryson Carl is the likely replacement, but he will need some help from CeDarius Williams and Kingsley Ehie.
It is the defense that will have to keep this team in games. The front line has Josh McNary, Victor Ugenyi and Fritz Bentler to build around. McNary led the team with 4.5 sacks a year ago and Ugenyi and Bentler are decent run stoppers. The linebackers need to find a couple new starters, but Stephen Anderson is back in the middle of the defense and should lead the team in tackling. The secondary might be the most talented unit on the team. Corners Mario Hill and Jordan Trimble are experienced players and if Trimble can stay healthy he could emerge as a shutdown corner. Add free safety Donovan Travis to the mix and the secondary has more talent than one would think.
Matthew Campbell returns after nailing 8-of-12 field goal tries. Taking over the punting chores for the departed Andrew Rinehart could be junior Jonathan Bulls. Carter and Mealy returned kicks last season, with the latter averaging 24.2 on a dozen returns. Carter and Jones could handle punt returns.
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