Game Notes: Army Returns Home to Face Miami (OH)

WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Black Knights are finally back at Michie Stadium after nearly a month hiatus when they host Miami (OH) on Saturday for a noon kickoff.

The contest will air live on CBS Sports Network with Ben Holden, Jay Feely and Tina Cervasio on the call. The game can also be heard on the Army Sports Network through the TuneIn app or goarmywestpoint.com.

HOW TO FOLLOW
TELEVISION • CBS Sports Network
RADIO • Army Sports Network
GAME NOTES • Army Notes • Miami (OH) Notes
LIVE STATS • GoArmyWestPoint.com
TWITTER • @ArmyWP_Football

THE OPENING KICKOFF
• Army is coming off a convincing 52-3 victory over San Jose State at Levi's Stadium last Saturday.
• The Cadets outscored their host 52-0 after allowing the Spartans to score the first points of the game.
• With that win, Army has now outscored its last two opponents by a combined score of 94-16.
• 24 of those 52 points last Saturday came in the third period, which was a season high for any quarter this season.
• The defense also caused a season-best four turnovers in the game with three strip sacks and one fumble recovery.
• Junior quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. has been leading the Black Knights' offense and rushed for a career high three touchdowns opposite the Spartans, which was the first time a quarterback did so since 2013 when A.J. Schurr had four in a game.
• Hopkins is tops on the team with 496 yards rushing, including two games with more than 100 yards racked up (Hawai'i and Oklahoma).
• Following closely behind him is senior captain Darnell Woolfolk, who has posted 363 yards.
• Hopkins Jr., leads the team with seven rushing scores, while Woolfolk and Connor Slomka have five and four, respectively.
• Army's running game has been back to form since its opener at Duke back on Aug. 21. Over the last five contests the Black Knights are averaging 342.6 rushing yards and have scored 20 of their 23 touchdowns via the ground game.
• After leading the nation in rushing just a year ago, the Black Knights are back in the Top-5 in that category after averaging 313.5 yards (second nationally) over their last six contests.
• The Army defense has been solid all year and is one of the nation's best when it comes to defending on fourth down situations. The Cadets are currently fourth in the nation in that category, allowing only one conversion in seven attempts (.143 percent). More impressively, over the last two games, the Cadets veteran defense has held its opponents to a mere 6-for-22 on third downs and 0-for-2 on fourth down attempts.
• The Black Knights have defended their home turf the last two years the only way they know how -- being undefeated (they're currently riding a nine-game home winning streak). The last Army loss at Michie Stadium was back on Nov. 5, 2016 when Air Force took down the Cadets 31-12.
• In the last three years the Black Knights are undefeated (10-0) when they don't lose the football. Over Coach Jeff Monken's tenure (five years), Army is 11-4 in that situation.

ARMY-MIAMI HISTORY
• This will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two schools and first since the 2011 season.
• Miami (OH) currently leads the series 3-2 and won the last meeting on Oct. 8, 2011, 35-28 at home.
• In that contest the Black Knights held a 21-14 lead at halftime, but saw their host outscore them 21-7 in the final two periods to steal the win.
• Raymond Maples led the Army rushing corps with 111 yards on 19 carries with one score. Trent Steelman followed closely behind with 99 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
• Steelman was also a perfect 8-for-8 on completions for 124 yards. His big target was Malcolm Brown, who caught two passes for 68 yards.
• The Black Knights and RedHawks have one common opponent during the 2018 season in Buffalo. The Cadets defeated the Bulls, 42-13, on Sept. 29, while Miami (OH) travels to Buffalo just one week after facing Army.

ABOUT THE REDHAWKS
• Miami (OH) is currently 3-4 on the year but is 3-1 in MAC play after defeating Bowling Green, Akron and most recently Kent State.
• During their game with the Golden Flashes, the RedHawks held their visitors scoreless until there were 36 seconds remaining in the contest. Miami (OH) ultimately won that meeting 31-6 after finding the end zone four times before adding a 42-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
• Miami (OH) is averaging 25.71 points per game, but is giving up nearly the same at 24.0 to its opponents.
• Two players have compiled more than 200 yards rushing on the year in running backs Alonzo Smith (342) and Kenny Young (212).
• The RedHawks also utilize the passing game with Gus Ragland under center. The redshirt senior is 130-for-211 with 1,440 yards racked up and 10 touchdowns.
• His main target is redshirt sophomore Jack Sorenson, who has recorded 424 yards on 27 catches. Luke Mayock (166 yards), James Gardner (157 yards), Kenny Young (142 yards), Dominique Robinson (136 yards), and Andrew Homer (121 yards) have all registered over 100 yards receiving.
• Homer leads the team with three receiving touchdowns followed closely by Sorenson, Young and Robinson with two each.
• On the defensive side of the ball, senior De'Andre Montgomery is tops on the team with 53 total tackles, including a team-best 30 solo shots. Brad Koenig and Junior McMullen have accumulated over 40 total tackles as well with 48 and 42, respectively. Doug Costin leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss, while his 4.0 sacks for a loss of 16 yards is also first on the team.
• Eight RedHawks have registered more than three tackles for loss, while four have posted two or more sacks.

RUSHING ATTACK
• Last season the Black Knights led FBS in rushing for the first time since 2012 as they ran for 362.3 yards per game.
• This season they are doing much of the same, despite losing their leading rusher Ahmad Bradshaw to graduation.
• Just a year ago Bradshaw set the single-season rushing record with 1,746 yards, including 265 yards against service-academy rival Air Force in a 21-0 victory last November.
• Army does however have its entire fullback corps back with Darnell Woolfolk and Andy Davidson leading the way. Woolfolk was second on the team in rushing in 2017 and had 14 rushing touchdowns, while Davidson was the team leader in touchdowns in 2016 with 12.
• The Black Knights have also relied on junior Connor Slomka and senior Calen Holt, who rushed for 216 and 214 yards just a year ago, respectively.
• In Army's opening six games of 2018, three of those four cadet-athletes are leading the Black Knights' rushing game. Woolfolk is second on the team with 363 yards and five touchdowns, while Slomka and Holt have compiled 228 and 174 yards, respectively.
• Woolfolk has added five touchdowns this season, including one last game that shifted him to sixth all-time in career rushing touchdowns with 28.

TIME OF POSSESSION
• The Black Knights are making headlines for their impressive time of possession numbers.
• Army currently leads the nation averaging 39:44 minutes of possession per game.
• In their most recent outing vs. San Jose State, the Cadets compiled a 37:17 to 22:43 advantage in possession over the Spartans.
• The Black Knights have registered over 40 minutes of possession in three of their six games this season (Liberty - 41:30, Hawai'i - 41:18 and Oklahoma - 44:41).

Army West Point Athletics

Game Notes: Army Returns Home to Face Miami (OH)

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Ahmad Bradshaw

Andy Davidson

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Kelvin Hopkins Jr.

Connor Slomka

Darnell Woolfolk

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