Army West Point Black Knights, UTSA Predictions, Insider Picks, Analysis

The Army West Point Black Knights hope to finish off their conference slate with a victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.

Nov 23, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Army Black Knights running back Lloyd Benson III (23) carries the ball against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half at Yankee Stadium. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

The Army West Point Black Knights hope to do something they've never done before when they host the UTSA Roadrunners on Saturday at Michie Stadium.

Kickoff is set for noon eastern and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

A program as history as Army (9-1, 7-0 in American) has accomplished so much on the field. But the Black Knights have never finished a conference slate undefeated, and that's what's at stake against the Roadrunners (6-5, 4-3).

To be fair, Army has been an independent football program for most of its existence. But the Black Knights did spend seven years in Conference USA and in that time they never won more than two conference games in a single season.

So winning Saturday, reaching 10 victories and carrying that momentum into their AAC title game against Tulane next week is on the Black Knights’ mind.

UTSA has clinched a bowl game and presents matchup problems for Army because of its pass-based offense and talented skill players. The Roadrunners hope to play spoiler — and stay warm. It’s expected to be sunny but only around 40 degrees.

Here are the staff predictions for Saturday’s game.

Matthew Postins, Staff Writer

Army 31, UTSA 28

This isn't going to be an easy game for Army. First, there's the obvious threat of a letdown from their blowout loss to Notre Dame. I think the Black Knights will be able to work through that pretty quickly.

Then there's the matter of the opponent. The Roadrunners love to throw the football and their head coach, Jeff Traylor, and his staff are really good at creating favorable matchup opportunities for their offensive skill position players. Quarterback Owen McCown is talented and understands how to take what looks like small plays and turn them into big ones.

Still, the game is at home, the elements will be on Army’s side and this team has proven that it can run the football almost at will against its American Athletic Conference opponents.

So while UTSA will keep this game close, Army will have the lead in the fourth quarter and salt it away with that patented rushing attack.

Nick Ziegler, Staff Writer

Army 30, UTSA 24

After one of the biggest games in the history of the program last week, this could be a bit of a letdown spot for an Army team that hoped to pull off an upset over Notre Dame. Army looked outmatched in the game, but they will have much a easier opponent coming up against UTSA. This could end up being a bounce back spot as Army looks to put the blowout loss in the rearview mirror.