Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Army Black Knights: How To Watch, Preview, Prediction

Location: Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, KY

Game Time: 7 PM ET

How To Watch: Watch Stadium

Series History: This is just the third meeting between these two teams. WKU won the previous two in 2013 and 2014.

Outlook

The Tops have won two straight games headed into this week. Two weeks ago, they knocked off UAB in Bowling Green and last week they had a pretty complete performance in a road win against Old Dominion.

Ty Storey has stepped up after the injury to Steven Duncan with 382 passing yards while completing 36 passes on 52 attempts. Running back Gaej Walker has also heavily contributed with 426 yards on the ground and four touchdowns.

Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images

The real story of the Tops’ season to day, however, continues to be the defense. Defensive end DeAngelo Malone may just be a legit candidate for C-USA defensive player of the year. He leads the league in sacks and tackles for loss with seven and 13 respectively. As a unit, the WKU defense has held opponents to 20.6 points per game, which is the second lowest average in C-USA. More importantly for this game, that unit is holding opposing offense to just 2.8 rushing yards per carry.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last hundred or so years, you’re aware that Army runs the triple-option. They’re averaging 4.8 yards per rushing attempt, which should present their opponents with a decent challenge. Running back Connor Slomka leads the way in that regard with 308 yards on the season.

On defense, Army seems to be vulnerable against the pass. They allow 7.3 yards per attempt, which is more than the 6.8 that WKU gains per attempt. Last week in a loss to Tulane, Army allowed 201 passing yards and 9.6 yards per attempt.

The Black Knights have a 3-2 record to start the season.

Prediction

With a combination of WKU’s run defense and a good passing day from Ty Storey, the Tops should come out with a victory.

WKU wins 24-17.