WEST POINT, N.Y. (October 2, 2015) -- The U.S. Military Academy at West Point sprint football team will face its toughest competition so far this season as the team travels to Ithaca, N.Y. for an inner-state matchup against Cornell Oct. 3, at 1 p.m.
"This will be our biggest test of the season so far," said head coach Mark West. "We are going up against a very tough opponent. Cornell has a good football team. They have 24 seniors on the team, and I believe they're looking to make their mark after starting 2-0 on the season."
The Black Knights hold a 56-16 advantage all-time in the series over Cornell that started in 1957. Recently, it has been all about the team from the Hudson Valley. Army has won the last four matchups by a combined score of 150-37. In the five years prior, however, Cornell made its push taking four of the five games. The Black Knights lone win in that stretch came on the road in 2009 by a score of 10-9.
After two blowout performances, Army leads the Collegiate Sprint Football League in 15 categories, including scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense, rushing defense, kickoff return yardage, punt return average, interceptions, punting, 1st downs gained, 3rd down conversions, 3rd down conversion percentage, time of possession, turnover margin, turnovers lost and red zone defense.
The Black Knight's top-ranked offense will be tested this week, going up against the No. three total defense of the Big Red. If West is going to lead the Cadets to a third-straight victory, he is going to need a healthy contribution from his freshmen.
"Defensively, Cornell is playing some of the best football I've seen them play in years," commented West. "They've got a scrappy, physical team, and our offense has its work cut out for it this weekend. We've got quite a number of younger players getting an opportunity to play, especially our quarterbacks who are running the show offensively. It will be a different and exciting environment for these kids, but Cornell always seems to play tough at home. We're going into a venue that is typically difficult to play in. Our freshmen are going to have to step up, but I'm not going to ask them to do anything I don't believe they can do. No one on this team has to be a superhero."
Seemingly every time the Black Knights play Cornell on the road, Mother Nature makes her presence felt. The entire coaching staff mentioned throughout the week that no matter what the weather pattern is leading up to the week of the Cornell game, you can bet it is going to rain on game day. With that being said, the conditions seem to play in Army's favor. Posting a league-best +7 in turnover margin on nine takeaways and only two giveaways, the Black Knights will be hungry defensively to get the ball back.
"You can't score without the football," said West, "so turnover margin is always a stat we look at every year. We've been fortunate so far, but given the potential for rain, it's going to be more important than ever. Offensively, we worked on ball security hard this week during practice, and we've been working on flying to the football defensively and getting as many tacklers to the ball as possible and stripping the ball if we get the chance. We want the football."
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 3, at Schoellkopf Field.
Related Links:
Army West Point Athletics website
U.S. Military Academy at West Point website
U.S. Army Garrison West Point website
Army West Point Athletics Instagram
Army West Point Athletics Facebook
Social Sharing