College Football Betting: Rutgers at Army Preview & Picks

Rutgers Hit The Road

Rutgers has failed in its last two outings against the Big East elite, and will now take their show on the road to West Point to take on the Army Cadets. The Scarlet Knights haven’t lived up to their pre-season hype evidenced by their poor 5-4 mark, but a win here will make HC Schiano’s men Bowl eligible for the third straight season. The same can’t be said of Army who’s in the midst of going through yet another disappointing season. They have tied last years season win total at three, but they’ll have to win out against Rutgers, Tulsa, and Navy to secure a Bowl bid for the first time since 1996.

Rutgers plan of attack will be quite simple in this match-up. Army hasn’t been able to get much pressure on opposing QB’s (13 sacks in 9 games), and they come into this game allowing 200+ YPG on the ground. That means RB Ray Rice will get a heavy workload to add to the 1257 yards he’s gained this season. Then when Army decides to load the box up, QB Mike Teel should pick them apart downfield by looking to WR’s Underwood and Britt. This will be the first time in almost a month that Rutgers will get to flex its offensive muscle, and I don’t foresee Army being able to do much to stop it.

As for Army, they’ll look to get the ball into WR Jeremy Trimble’s hands as often as possible. This kid is their lone threat be it on offense or special teams, and he has the speed to hurt Rutgers. That being said, it’s highly plausible that the Rutgers coaching staff has devised a plan to limit the Cadets lone threat, so somebody else will have to step up for the home team to compete in this match-up.

Surprisingly, the Black Knights hold an 18-15 edge in the all-time series with Rutgers, but the Scarlet Knights have won the last three meetings. By way of deduction, it’s obvious that Army could contend with Rutgers when it was the laughingstock of the college football world. That’s not the case anymore, and they look to be in for a long night in this spot.