Boston College 2013 Previews: Army Black Knights

We are now up to Week 5 of the upcoming Boston College 2013 football season. In Week 1 we took a look at Villanova football, a look at the history of the series, an indepth look at QB John Robertson and an interview with 'Nova Blog VUHoops.com. In May we dived into the difficult challenge of covering Michael Campanaro, and how BC can get on the right foot again against their #rivals. Earlier this month ago we looked at USC, last week we looked at Boston College Atlantic Division nemesis, the Florida State Seminoles. Today we look at a team that Boston College lost to in the most heart breaking of fashion in 2012, Army.

If you want to look at the biggest lowlight of 2012 (and believe me there were plenty), you wouldn't have to look further than BC's mind blowing 34-31 loss to the Army Black Knights in October. This game was just awful on so many levels. First off, Army hadn't won a game against an FBS level opponent since October 2011, secondly they just lost to FCS school Stony Brook, thirdly, they came into the game with one of the worst defenses in the country. And yet Boston College still found a way to lose.

BC was just a pile of red hot garbage during last year's matchup in West Point. They allowed 595 yards total, 515 on the ground, and allowed a jaw dropping eight third down conversions. The coup de grace happened after BC scored what should have been the winning touchdown. With 2:09 left, BC ran three plays, that took an astounding seven seconds off the clock, before Gerald Levano shanked his punt and gave the Black Knights the ball in prime field position. Army ran three plays in 18 seconds and scored on a twenty nine yard touchdown run by quarterback Trent Steelman. Game over.

Well thankfully that game is now in the past. The coaching staff that failed to prepare the team against defending the triple option has been sent out to pasture, and senior quarterback Trent Steelman has graduated (and is trying out as a slot receiver for the Ravens). It is now up to the new staff to get this team that has improved offensively in the past few years, but has an absolutely wretched defense.

On offense this is going to be a rebuilding year for Army. Steelman is gone, and the question remains who will be the starting quarterback going forward for the Black Knights. They have some options including sophomore A.J. Schurr, and junior Angel Santiago, neither whom have played meaningful minutes for Army. The biggest weapon returning for Army is senior running back Raymond Maples, who ran for over 1200 yards last year. Being a triple option team, they aren't going to throw the ball much, so BC will need to be prepared to play close to the line of scrimmage.

On defense Army was just marginally better than Boston College in 2012. They came in ranked 87th in the country in total defense, allowing 427 yards per game. Mind you that was against a killer schedule that included Stony Brook, Eastern Michigan, Air Force and Boston College. Army's defense even took a step back this off season when the teams leading tackler linebacker Geoffrey Bacon moved to safety, and second leading tackler Brandon Fusilier-Jeffires left the team.

Going forward Boston College needs this win desperately. If BC wants to shake the reputation of Frank Spaziani, Addazio needs to get his team out on the field and blast Army not only to show the fanbase that BC is under a new regime, but also prove to the recruits as well. If anything I have faith that new defensive coordinator Don Brown will have BC prepared for this game, and that the triple option will not be the cause of another frustrating Boston College loss.

Things You Need To Know About Army:

Head Coach: Rich Ellerson, 5th year, 17-32
Leading Returning Passer: A.J. Schurr, Sophomore, 8-18 130 yards, 2 touchdowns, 47 rushing yards
Leading Returning Rusher: Raymond Maples, SR RB, 223 rushes, 1215 yards, two touchdowns
Leading Returning Receiver: Chevaughn Lawrence, Junior Wide Receiver, 21 receptions, 357 yards, 0 touchdowns
Recent Success: Beat Boston College in 2012
Famous Alumni: Doc Blanchard, Charles Dudley Daly, Ulysses S. Grant, Dwight Eisenhower

Army Twitter Accounts To Follow:
Army Athletics: ArmyAthletics
Army Football: Army_Football
Army Beatwriter: SalInterdonato
Enemy of My Enemy Twitter: NavyBirdDog

Upcoming Schedule for Florida State Week:
Wednesday: Defending The Triple Option
Thursday: Boston College's Key To Victory
Friday: Historical Recap of BC & Army