Black Knights Head West Saturday

WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Black Knights close out their three-game road swing on Saturday when they face off against San Jose State at Levi's Stadium with a 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time opening kick.

The contest will air live on ESPNU with Mike Corey and Rene Ingoglia 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 • ESPNU
RADIO • Army Sports Network
GAME NOTES • Army Notes • San Jose State Notes
LIVE STATS • SJSUSpartans.com
TWITTER • @ArmyWP_Football

THE OPENING KICKOFF
• The Black Knights are coming off a much needed bye week. Prior to that, Army defeated a tough Buffalo squad on Sept. 29, 42-13.
• The Cadets outscored their host 42-6 after allowing the Bulls to score on the first drive of the game.
• The Black Knights have been solid away from West Point, winning five of their last 10 road contests, dropping three of those games to No. 8 Ohio State in 2017 and #R/V Duke and No. 11 Oklahoma this season.
• Army's running game has been back to form since its opener at Duke back on Aug. 21. Over the last four contests the Black Knights are averaging 343 rushing yards and have scored 15 of their 17 touchdowns via the ground game.
• Junior quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. is currently leading the way with 397 rushing yards, including two games with more than 100 yards racked up (Hawai'i and Oklahoma).
• Following closely behind is senior captain Darnell Woolfolk, who has posted 317 yards and is tied with Hopkins and Connor Slomka for the team high four touchdowns.
• After leading the nation in rushing just a year ago, the Black Knights are back in the Top-5 in that category after averaging 308.0 yards (third nationally) over their last five contests.
• The Black Knights have also added another threat into their offensive game by utilizing the pass. Despite having an early interception during Army's opening drive in the contest with Buffalo, Hopkins rebounded and completed all four of his final throws, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to teammate Jordan Asberry in the third quarter.
• The Black Knights' veteran defense came up clutch in key situations against the high-powered offenses
of Hawai'i, Oklahoma and Buffalo during their last three games. The Rainbow Warriors came into their game with Army averaging 48 points per game, while the Sooners were averaging 50 and Bulls 40.2. On each occasion, the Black Knights held their foe to under their season minimum at 21, 28 and 13 points, respectively.
• That strong defense is also collecting praise when it comes to defending on fourth down situations. The Cadets are currently fifth in the nation in that category allowing only one conversion in seven attempts (.143 percent).

ARMY-SAN JOSE STATE HISTORY
• This will be the first all-time meeting between these two schools.
• These two teams also have one common opponent during the 2018 season in Hawai'i. The Black Knights defeated the Rainbow Warriors, 28-21, on Sept. 15, while the Spartans dropped a 44-41 five overtime contest to Hawai'i on Sept. 29.

ABOUT THE SPARTANS
• San Jose State is currently 0-5 with losses to UC Davis, Washington State, Oregon, Hawai'i and Colorado State.
• During its most recent contest against the Rams, SJSU actually took a 30-28 lead with 23 seconds left in the third quarter following its first safely since 2012. Unfortunately the visitors scored 14 unanswered points in the final period to register the come-from-behind win.
• SJSU is averaging 26.20 points per game compared to 39.20 for its opponents.
• Two players have compiled more than 100 yards rushing on the year in running backs Tyler Nevens (152) and Malike Roberson (124).
• The Spartans have also split time at the quarterback position this season, using Josh Love and Montel Aaron. Love is 74-of-149 with eight touchdowns and 1,030 yards, while Aaron is 32-of-57 with two touchdowns and 382 yards.
• Their main targets are Josh Oliver, Bailey Gaither, Tre Hartley and Roberson. Oliver leads the team with 382 receiving yards, followed by Gaither (327), Hartley (216) and Roberson (104).
• Gaither has registered a team-best three touchdowns, while Oliver and Hartley have notched two apiece.
• Leading the defensive unit is Jamal Scott, who has 57 total tackles, including 2.5 tackles for a loss of 14 yards. The senior is also tops on the team with 25 solo shots. Fellow teammates Tre Webb, Ethan Aguayo and Jesse Osuna have contributed to the Spartans' defense, notching 42, 35, and 33 total tackles, respectively. Rookie Cade Hall leads the team with 3.0 sacks for a loss of 23 yards. Senior Bryson Bridges follows close behind with 2.0 take downs for a loss of 12 yards.

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 five games of 2018, three of those four cadet-athletes are leading the Black Knights' rushing game. Woolfolk is second on the team with 317 yards and four touchdowns, while Slomka and Holt have compiled 212 and 172 yards, respectively.
• Slomka has also added four touchdowns, which ties with Woolfolk and Kelvin Hopkins Jr. for tops on the team.

Army West Point Athletics

Black Knights Head West Saturday

Players Mentioned

Jordan Asberry

Ahmad Bradshaw

Andy Davidson

Calen Holt

Kelvin Hopkins Jr.

Connor Slomka

Darnell Woolfolk

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