W8: Army Hosts Miami, Navy Hosts Houston, Air Force at UNLV

Army, Navy Seek Homecoming Victories;

Air Force Tries to Spoil Festivities at UNLV

In College Football Week 8

by John Chuhran



White Plains, N.Y., October 19 -- This is Homecoming Weekend for many college football teams and Army and Navy expect strong fan turnouts as they host formidable opponents. Air Force looks to play "spoiler" as it travels to UNLV. Here is a preview of each contest from Sons of the American Legion Radio.



AIR FORCE (2-4) @ UNLV (2-4), Fri, Oct 19, 10 p.m. ET (TV: CBS Sports Network)



After a hard-fought battle that saw four lead changes and Air Force take the lead in the fourth quarter before falling 21-17 against San Diego State, the Falcons look to rebound at UNLV Friday night. Air Force had to make adjustments quickly after starting quarterback D.J. Hammond suffered a leg injury in the first quarter and left the game. Isaiah Sanders did a solid job as replacement signal caller, completing 7 of 15 passes for 51 yards and rushed for 49 yards. Under his direction, Air Force amassed 274 total offensive yards for the game. The Falcons' running game, which posted 214 yards for the game, was led by Cole Fagen who logged a career-best 90 yards on the ground. Ronald Cleveland added two touchdown runs and Kadin Remsberg broke free for a season-long 27-yard dash on his first carry. Defensively, Junior linebacker Kyle Johnson led the Falcons with a career-high nine tackles while defensive back Jeremy Fejedelem grabbed his first career interception.



UNLV is riding a three-game losing streak and now has given up more than 50 points in two straight games. The Rebels are also dealing with the loss of their starting QB; Armani Rogers, who was having a stellar season averaging 122 rushing yards per game, is out indefinitely with a foot injury. His replacement, sophomore Max Gilliam, came out throwing and completed 18-of-36 pass attempts for 250 yards and an interception. He made touchdown tosses to Darren Woods Jr., Drew Tejchman and Tyleek Collins. The UNLV running attack is led by Lexington "Lightning" Thomas, who sat out the second half of last week's loss because of his own injury. He is the Rebels key player, averaging 92 yards rushing per game and totaling 552 yards for the season, and is expected back against the Falcons. On Defense, defensive end Roger Mann is a threat to blitz with 3.5 quarterback sacks. Linebacker Gabe McCoy has logged 9.0 tackles-for-loss to rank in the 25 nationally.



Miami (Ohio) (3-4) @ ARMY (4-2), Sat, Oct 20, 12 p.m. ET (TV: CBS Sports Network)



Army returns home after a three-game road trip that saw the Black Knights get better with each game. Coming off a 52-3 win over winless San Jose State, Army knows that the Redhawks will be a stronger challenger. But junior quarterback Kelvin Hopkins has been exceptionally effective. He rushed for a career-high three touchdowns in a game a against the Aztecs, he leads Army with 496 rushing yards. Running backs Darnell Woolfolk (363 yards, five TDs), Connor Slomka ( 228 yards, four TDs), Calen Holt (174 yards, two TDs), and Kell Walker (189 yards) have seen action in all six games this year and give multiple options to the Black Knights, ranked second in the nation with a per-game average of 313.5 yards on the ground. That grind-it-out running attack has enabled Army to lead the nation in time of possession, an average of 39:44 per game. Hopkins has also given Army its best passing threat in years, going 27-for-56 for 605 yards with four TD tosses. Walker (seven catches for 130 yards), Cam Harrison (four for 129 with a TD), Jordan Asberry (four for 88 with 2 TDs), and Glen Coates (four for 52) have been the most successful receivers. The stingy Army defense has been a balanced unit led by James Nachitgal (36 tackles, five QB sacks, 1 forced fumble), Elijah Riley (31 tackles ), Cole Christiansen (29 tackles), Jaylon McClinton (27 tackles, 1 forced fumble), Max Regan (21 tackles, 1 forced fumble), Ken Brinson (14 tackles, 3 QB sacks, 1 forced fumble), and James Gibson (13 tackles, 2.5 QB sacks, 1 forced fumble).




Miami lost four of its first five contests but is riding a two-game winning streak. In last week's 31-6 win over Kent State, the RedHawks displayed an impressive running game that finished with 295 yards. Seven different RedHawks carried the ball, led by Kenny Young (10 carries for 90 yards), Alonzo Smith (7 for 52), Davion Johnson (4 for 52) and Jaylon Bester (8 for 51). Senior QB Gus Ragland has demonstrated a strong throwing arm completing 130 of 211 pass attempts for 1,440 yards and 10 TDs. Top receivers are wide receiver Jack Sorenson (team-leading 27 grabs for 424 yards), tight end Andrew Homer team-leading three touchdown catches), and the hottest receiver over the last three games, Dominique Robinson (nine catches for 136 yards two TDs in the last three weeks). The Miami defense is led by De'Andre Montgomery (53 tackles, 1 QB sack), the intense Brad Koenig (46 tackles, 3 QB sacks, 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble), and Junior McMullen (41 tackles).



Houston (5-1) @ NAVY (2-4), Sat, Oct 20, 3:30 p.m. ET (TV: CBS Sports Network)



The Midshipmen are coming off a 24-17 home loss to Temple. Navy switched starting quarterbacks, giving Senior Garret Lewis got his second career start and shifting Malcolm Perry back to slotback. Lewis completed 3 of 11 pass attempts for 14 yards, and ran for 56 yards with a 1-yard touchdown. Sophomore fullback Nelson Smith had 18 carries -- including a career-high 45-yard run -- for a career-high 108 yards and his first career touchdown run; he has 286 ground yards on the year. Perry (12 carries for 48 yards against the Owls) still leads Navy with 117 carries for 702 yards and six TDs. C.J Williams (six catches for 148 yards) and Taylor Jackson (six for 78) are Navy's top receivers. Hudson Sullivan (42 tackles), Taylor Heflin (40 tackles and 1 forced fumble), and Sean Williams (23 tackles and 2 forced fumbles) anchor the Navy defense.



Houston has one of the top offenses in the country (number 3 in scoring (an average of 48.7 points per game), number four in total yards (552.8 per game)). Quarterback D’Eriq King is sixth in the country in passing touchdowns with 20, while averaging 261.8 yards per game. He can also run, as his 273 yards and eight rushing touchdowns on 50 carries attest. Junior Patrick Carr leads Houston with 58 carries for 362 yards and a TD. King’s favorite passing targets have been Marquez Stevenson (472 receiving yards) and Keith Corbin (394), both with six receptions. The Cougars' defensive has held opponents to just 116.0 yards per game. Senior defensive tackle Ed Oliver, expected to be a top 3 selection in the 2019 NFL draft, has 11.5 tackles for a loss in 2018, including five last Saturday against East Carolina. His 1.9 tackles for loss per game ranks third in the country. Oliver had 14 tackles against Navy last year. Emeke Ebule leads the nation with three fumble recoveries.