Game Notes: Army Turns Attention to Buffalo

WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Black Knights hit the road for the second-straight week and for the second game of a three-game road swing when they travel to Buffalo to face off against the undefeated Bulls on Saturday.

Army will be facing its fourth undefeated team in as many weeks when it heads to Buffalo this weekend.

The contest will air live on CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan and Corey Chavious 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 • Buffalo Notes
LIVE STATS • UBBulls.com
TWITTER • @ArmyWP_Football

THE OPENING KICKOFF
• The Black Knights are coming off a heartbreaking 28-21 overtime loss at No. 5 Oklahoma.
• Army hung close with its national opponent having an answer for every Sooners' score, except the overtime winner.
• The Black Knights have also 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 a currently undefeated No. 22 Duke and No. 6 Oklahoma teams this season.
• Army's running game has been back to form since its opener at Duke back on Aug. 21. Over the last three contests the Black Knights are averaging 363.7 rushing yards and have scored 11 of their 12 touchdowns via the ground game.
• Junior quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. is currently leading the way with 308 rushing yards, including back-to-back 100-yard performances opposite Hawai'i and Oklahoma.
• Following closely behind is senior captain Darnell Woolfolk, who has posted 259 yards and is one touchdown behind Hopkins for the team high. Hopkins has scored four rushing TDs, while Woolfolk has found paydirt three times.
• Despite having two late interceptions in the contest with Oklahoma, the Black Knights have been mostly able to maintain possession of the football when they have it. In the last three years the Black Knights are undefeated (9-0) when they don't lose the football. Over Coach Jeff Monken's tenure (five years), Army is 10-4 in that situation.
• The Black Knights' veteran defense came up clutch in key situations against the high-powered offenses
of Hawai'i and Oklahoma during their last two games. The Rainbow Warriors came into their game with Army averaging 48 points, while the Sooners were averaging 50 points per outing. On both occasions, the Black Knights held their foe to under their season minimum at 21 and 28 points, respectively.
• After leading the nation in rushing just a year ago, the Black Knights are back in the Top-10 in that category after averaging 314.8 yards (4th nationally) over their last four contests.

ARMY-BUFFALO HISTORY
• This will be the sixth all-time meeting between Army and Buffalo.
• The two teams are currently tied at 3-3 in the all-time series, with Army winning the most recent contest just a year ago.
• The Black Knights had taken a late 21-17 lead with just under five minutes to play. Army then proceeded to register a sack for 14 yards before breaking up a pass inbetween a small pass gain, forcing the Bulls to punt on fourth down.
• Buffalo tried to get the ball back after the Black Knights were faced with a 4th-and-5 situation during the next drive, but Nick Schrage converted on a fake punt to ultimately secure Army the win.
• These two teams have two common opponents during the 2018 season in Eastern Michigan and Miami (OH). The Black Knights have yet to face either of these two teams yet, but Buffalo has already defeated Eastern Michigan back on Sept. 15 for its first MAC victory, 35-28. The Bulls will meet up with Miami (OH) on Oct. 30 just ten days after the Red Hawks travel to West Point.

ABOUT THE BULLS
• Buffalo is currently 4-0 with two notable road wins over Temple and Rutgers. This marks the Bulls best start since the 1981 campaign.
• During their most recent contest in Piscataway, N.J., the Bulls posted their first-ever win over a team from the Big 10 conference after taking down the Scarlet Knights 42-13.
• Buffalo is averaging 40.2 points per game compared to just 20.0 for its opponents.
• This will be the third week in a row that the Black Knights are facing an opponent who will be coming into the contest averaging over 40 points per outing.
• During the game against Rutgers, junior quarterback Tyree Jackson threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns.
• He has a 61.9 passing percentage after completing 78 of his 126 attempts so far this year. The Norton Shores, Mich., native has also posted 15 passing touchdown in four games this season.
• Jaret Patterson rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns during the game opposite the Scarlet Knights, marking the rookie's first career 100-yard rushing game.
• Senior wideout Anthony Johnson registered 101 yards receiving on just two catches to go along with his one score.
• Johnson and K.J. Osborn both have over 300 yards receiving on the year, meaning they are Jackson's main two targets via the passing game.
• Leading the defensive unit against Rutgers was Khalil Hodge, who notched 15 tackles, including one tackle for a loss of two yards. The senior is also tops on the team with 27 total tackles with 19 of those being solo shots. Fellow classmate Chuck Harris has posted 21 tackles on the year and an impressive 6.0 tackles for a loss and 5.0 sacks this season.

TIME OF POSSESSION
• The Black Knights are making headlines for their impressive time of possession numbers.
• Army currently leads the nation averaging 40:53 minutes of possession per game.
• In their most recent outing at No. 5 Oklahoma, the Cadets compiled a 44:41 to 15:19 advantage in possession over the Sooners.
• Army was 1:19 away from matching the all-time FBS record for time of possession in a single game, which it set during the Armed Forces Bowl in 2017 against San Diego State. The Black Knights had the ball during that contest for 46:00.
• The Black Knights have registered over 40 minutes of possession in each of their last three outings (Hawai'i - 41:18 and Liberty - 41:30).

Army West Point Athletics

Game Notes: Army Turns Attention to Buffalo

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Kelvin Hopkins Jr.

Nick Schrage

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