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Black Knights vs. Scarlet Knights NCAA Football Pick / Gambling Preview (Sept. 16)

Poolside rants weighs in with some picks for Week 7 Saturday football gambling action…NCAA Football style. The Army Black Knights vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights will both be trying to pick up a win on Saturday when they meet at the Meadowlands Stadium…

College Football – Saturday Preview – Army vs Tulane

Before College Football Gambling fans turn their attention to other sports betting events this week, we have the Thursday NCAA game of the day pick for you. It’s time for our weekly Football picks for online ncaa football betting action.

Team records:
Army: 4-2 SU, 3-3 ATS
Rutgers: 3-2 SU, 1-3 ATS

Army vs Rutgers – Army’s Triple Option Will Test Rutgers

The Army Black Knights are becoming a more consistent offensive team. Rutgers might have found its answer at quarterback. An interesting game awaits this Saturday.

NCAA football betting: Army Black Knights @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Online Betting Odds: Rutgers -7

Why To Bet On Army

Occasionally brilliant last year but limited by inconsistency, Army quarterback Trent Steelman is rapidly becoming a dependable pilot for the Black Knights’ triple-option offense under coach Rich Ellerson. Steelman presided over a third-straight outing this past weekend in which the Black Knights posted at least 35 points. They scored 35 points against Duke on Sept. 25 and then rang up 35 more against Temple on Oct. 2. Then, this past Saturday, the sturdy Steelman led his offense to 41 points in an 18-point whacking of Tulane.

Steelman is generating almost metronomic consistency for a well-oiled machine that isn’t losing its level of lubrication. Whereas Army petered out and tallied just 196 rushing yards last year against Tulane, this year’s triple option cranked out 312 yards on the ground against the very same Green Wave. Whereas Army lost to Tulane last season by a 17-16 count, this year’s game against the New Orleans-based school turned out quite differently: 41-23 Black Knights, to be exact.

Steelman and the rest of his teammates kept pushing forward to the finish line against Tulane. Indeed, Army scored 17 more second-half points to complement its 24-point first-half output. Last year, Army played one and a half solid quarters. This year, Army played three really good quarters before the defense casually greeted a 31-7 lead by allowing 16 fourth-quarter points to the Green Wave in garbage time.

Army hasn’t had a winning season since 1996, but at the midpoint of this season, the Black Knights are 4-2. They’ve definitely become a better team in Ellerson’s second season as head coach. If they execute the triple option well and keep Rutgers’ defense guessing, they’ll not only stay close, but win this game outright. Rutgers has struggled markedly in 2010, losing at home to a depleted North Carolina team and to the very same Tulane squad Army just vanquished. The Black Knights have languished in the bottom tier of college football over the past decade, but they might be ready to turn the corner as a program.

Why To Bet On Rutgers

The Scarlet Knights were abysmal through the first five weeks of the season, but in week six, they might have found the spark that will carry them through the rest of 2010. Rutgers began the year with Tom Savage struggling at quarterback, but when Savage went down against Tulane on Oct. 2, the Scarlet Knights were plunged into a state of even deeper uncertainty. Backup quarterback Chas Dodd took over and was unsuccessful in his attempt to lead coach Greg Schiano’s club past Tulane. The freshman could only muster one second-half touchdown in a 17-14 Rutgers loss. People throughout the program wondered if a nightmarish 2010 had any chance of improving.

The answer emerged soon enough on Friday, Oct. 8.

Dodd looked like a new man against Connecticut. He averaged 18 yards per completion, throwing for 322 yards and hitting touchdown strikes of 52 and 46 yards in a vertical-passing showcase. Dodd breathed fresh life into a Rutgers offense that scored 10 points in the final four minutes of regulation, enabling RU to knock off Connecticut, 27-24, in the Big East Conference opener for both schools. If Dodd plays with the same verve and confidence he displayed against Connecticut, you can expect the Scarlet Knights to post a solid point total. Army’s defense is sound but not imposing. Rutgers should be able to score big if Dodd is on his game.

How The Game Will Play Out

Rutgers certainly got a boost last week against Connecticut, but it’s worth pointing out that Connecticut is a mediocre team that also lost to Temple and did nothing on offense against a Michigan squad that plays no defense at all. One should not overestimate the value Rutgers’ win against UConn. Army has been playing much more consistently than Rutgers has this season, and the Black Knights are poised to walk into Piscataway, New Jersey, and knock off the Scarlet Knights this weekend. Army is a great pick to cover the number at the very least. The triple option used by Rich Ellerson will cause Rutgers problems.

Army Rutgers Betting Pick: Army +7

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Poolside Rants hails from beautiful Bozeman Montana by way of Toronto, Canada. (Blame his wife for the move). He’s a Dallas Cowboys football honk. But please….don’t hold that against him. The man knows his sports and has uncanny knowledge when it comes to picking games.