Army Black Knights vs Wisconsin Badgers Game Preview and Prediction - 10/16/2021

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Saturday, October 16, 2021

Venue:  Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI

Where to Watch:  Big Ten Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Army +14, Wisconsin -14; Over/Under:  39.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Army +13.5, Wisconsin -13.5; Over/Under:  39 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Army +14, Wisconsin -14; Over/Under:  39.5 points

 

Army Black Knights:  4-1 (4th place, FBS Independents)

Wisconsin Badgers:  2-3 (4th place, Big Ten West)

 

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Army Black Knights:  lost on the road on Oct. 2 against the Ball State Cardinals 28-16.

Wisconsin Badgers:  won on the road on Oct. 9 against the Illinois Fighting Illini 24-0.

 

 

 

Army is coming into this game with a 4-1 record overall and they are 1-1 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They were handed their first loss of the season in their last game snapping a 4 game winning streak that they were on. They lost that game to Ball State 28-16 in a game where they fell behind by 21 points in the 1st quarter and never really recovered trailing the whole time in that loss. They really struggled at the quarterback position in that game as Jemel Jones completed 5/11 passes for 66 yards and 1 interceptions while Tyhier Tyler completed 0/4 passes for 0 yards and 1 interception. Tyler also led the team in rushing with 63 yards and 2 touchdowns on 24 carries while Jakobi Buchanan had 38 rushing yards on 10 carries. Isaiah Alston led the team in receiving with 36 yards on 2 receptions while Tyrell Robinson had 21 yards on 1 reception in what was a very quiet day for the receiving corps in that one. Arik Smith led the defense with 6 solo tackles and 3 assisted ones while Julian McDuffie was right behind him with 4 solo tackles and 1 assisted one. Nathaniel Smith led the defense in sacks in that game with 1 while Nolan Cockrill and Andre Carter II both combined for 1 sack. No one on the defense came away with an interception in that one. They have scored 172 points in their first 5 games averaging 34.4 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 104 points against them allowing 20.8 PPG. Their offense is averaging 387.8 YPG and their defense is allowing 276 YPG. 

 

 

Wisconsin is coming into this game with a 2-3 record overall and they are 1-2 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They will be getting a break from their conference schedule with a non-conference matchup in this one. They snapped a 2 game losing streak with their win over Illinois in their last game. They won that game 24-0 in a game that they had complete control of, not even allowing Illinois to score a single point in that game. Despite their win, Graham Mertz struggled in that game as he completed 10/19 passes for 100 yards and 1 interception. The ground game had a very nice day though as Chez Mellusi led the team in rushing with 145 yards and 1 touchdown on 21 carries while Braelon Allen was right behind him with 131 yards and 1 touchdown on 18 carries. They were basically the entire running game for them in that one. Kendric Pryor led the receivers with 47 yards on 2 receptions in what was a very quiet day for the receiving corps. Leo Chenal led the defense with 2 solo tackles and 3 assisted ones while Travian Blaylock had 2 solo tackles and 1 assisted one and Caesar Williams had 2 solo tackles. Chenal and Noah Burks both combined for 1 sack in that game but no one on the defense was able to come away with an interception. They have scored 98 points in their first 5 games averaging 19.6 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 102 points against them allowing 20.4 PPG. Their offense is averaging 378.4 YPG while their defense is allowing 217.8 YPG. 

 

Army is coming into this game as a 14 point underdog with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Army has been playing very well this year, they have just the 1 loss but their offense and defense are both playing well in their games. Their offense has been averaging almost 30 points scored per game while their defense is only allowing less than 3 touchdowns each game. Wisconsin is also playing great on defense this year allowing less than 3 touchdowns in each game on average but their offense has not been playing well at all. Their offense is averaging less points scored per game than they are allowing points on average. Wisconsin will not be able to pull away from a good Army side with the way their offense is running this season. The best bet to place in this game is Army to cover the spread here as this will be a low scoring game that Army stays close in. 

 

Army Wisconsin Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 16, 2021 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Wisconsin 20 Army 14.

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Army Black Knights: 32-45 ATS as an underdog of 10.5 to 21 points. 143-164 ATS in all games. 104-110 ATS as an underdog. 60-69 ATS in road games. 

Wisconsin Badgers: 190-166 ATS in all games. 136-128 ATS as a favorite. 82-76 ATS as a home favorite. 96-81 ATS in home games. 125-111 ATS after playing a conference game.

 

 

Army Black Knights:  T. Riley (RB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. C. Bishop (OL) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. C. Anderson (QB) Ques Sat - Shoulder injury.

Wisconsin Badgers:  Q. Easterling (FB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. T. Mais (S) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. L. Bruss (OL) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury.

 

 

Army Black Knights: Tyhier Tyler is one player to watch in this contest. He is coming off of a game where he led the team in rushing and had 2 touchdowns but did not get over 100 yards rushing. As a team that does not throw the ball a lot they will need their running game on point for this game so look for him to play better in this game and find the end zone some more.

 

Wisconsin Badgers: Chez Mellusi is one player to watch here. He leads his team in rushing yards and in touchdowns scored this season. He is coming off of a game where he had over 100 rushing yards and he will be looking to continue that here. Wisconsin loves to run the ball so look for him to get a lot of touches in this game and find the end zone yet again.

 

 

“They haven't played anybody that's like us but it doesn't seem to matter who they play. They do a great job stopping the run, the tackles for loss. That's a huge factor in winning football games. They do a great job of setting people back and we're going to have to work really, really hard to not allow that to happen.’’ - Jeff Monken on their upcoming Wisconsin opponents in this game.

 

 

"Our defensive coaches put together a good plan to counter the running game. But the kids bring it to life." Paul Chryst on his team’s defense in their shutout win over Illinois.

 

 

 

WR Donaldson, Reikan 

TE Lingenfelter, Joshua 

QB Tyler, Tyhier 

RB Riley, Tyson 

SB Robinson, Tyrell 

SB Walters, Brandon 

 

WR Pryor, Kendric 

WR Davis III, Danny 

TE Ferguson, Jake 

QB Mertz, Graham 

RB Mellusi, Chez 

FB Chenal, John 

 

Passing: C. Anderson (187)

Rushing: C. Anderson (431)

Receiving: I. Alston (75)

Touchdowns: C. Anderson (5)

Sacks: A. Carter II (6)

Tackles: A. Smith (15)

 

Passing: G. Mertz (781)

Rushing: C. Mellusi (477)

Receiving: K. Pryor (206)

Touchdowns: C. Mellusi (3)

Sacks: N. Herbig (3.5)

Tackles: J. Sanborn (17)

 

Coaches:

Army Black Knights: Jeff Monken (8th season)

Wisconsin Badgers: Paul Chryst (7th season)

 

58 degrees F mostly sunny, 56% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 16 mph wind speeds NW.