No. 23 Army is off to 5-0 start in inaugural AAC season, with conference rival East Carolina up next

Oct 17, 2024, 05:14 pm

East Carolina (3-3, 1-1 AAC) at No. 23 Army (6-0, 5-0), Saturday, noon ET (ESPN2)

College Football Odds: Army by 15 1/2.

Series record: East Carolina leads 8-0.

What's at stake?

Army, ranked for the first time since September 2020, puts its nation-leading 10-game winning streak on the line. The undefeated Black Knights have won their first five American Athletic Conference games in their inaugural season in the league. An Army win would increase its chances to reach the AAC championship with two conference games left against North Texas (Nov. 9) and UTSA (Nov. 30). East Carolina has lost three of four since a 2-0 start and is coming off 55-24 loss at in-state foe Charlotte before entering an open date.

Key matchup

Army’s top-ranked rushing attack has yet to be slowed down. Quarterback Bryson Daily has operated the Black Knights’ under-center option to near perfection. leading them to an average of 369.8 rushing yards per game. Can East Carolina contain Daily, who has scored nine rushing touchdowns in his last three games? East Carolina’s No. 76-ranked run defense has allowed 148.5 per game and nine rushing touchdowns, and coming off an outing in which it allowed 311 yards rushing.

Players to watch

ECU: RB Rahjai Harris. The graduate senior leads the team with 397 yards on 100 carries, while no other player has more than 40 rushing attempts. Harris has three touchdowns this year.

Army: RB Kanye Udoh has come on strong in his last three games, running for 362 yards and four touchdowns. With defenses having to focus on Daily, Udoh is poised for his third 100-yard rushing game of the season.

Facts & figures

Army is the nation's only team to score a touchdown on its opening drive in every game this season. ... The Black Knights and Indiana are the nation's two FBS teams yet to trail in a game. ... Army has defeated its first five AAC opponents by an average of 26.8 points. ... ECU has won all eight meetings in the series history, though the teams haven’t met in 20 years. ECU won the first meeting at Army in November 1995, then took a 38-28 win at home in October 2004 in the most recent meeting. … The Pirates have lost 13 of 18 games going back to the start of the 2023 season, including going 2-8 against AAC competition.

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