Army's next goal is a bowl game

NCAA Football Betting Lines

08/24/2010 -

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) -Rich Ellerson's first season at Army was successful in several ways. The Cadets won five games and were more competitive than they had been in years.

The goal now for Ellerson will be building on the accomplishments of the first year.

Ellerson installed a triple-option attack similar to the one Jim Young used with great success at Army in the 1980s, and the Black Knights responded by going 5-7, a season-ending loss to Navy depriving them of their first bowl berth since 1996.

Ellerson expects more this season, and he's not alone.

``The offense in general has made leaps and bounds since last year,'' senior offensive tackle Jason Johnson said. ``The cohesion level is much better than it was last year. It feels like everyone is on the same page and knows what they're doing. There is a lot more trust in the huddle.''

It starts with quarterback Trent Steelman, who last season became just the second plebe to start at quarterback for the Black Knights against Navy and the first Army quarterback, regardless of class, to start 12 games in a season.

The Black Knights averaged just more than 200 yards rushing behind Steelman, who ran for a team-high 706 yards and five touchdowns and threw for 637 yards and three TDs with two interceptions.

One of the biggest questions of the offseason was how effective senior quarterback Chip Bowden would be after recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee.

So far in preseason camp, Bowden, the backup to Steelman for seven games in 2009, has not displayed any ill effects from the surgery.

Bowden has shared reps with the first string with junior Max Jenkins while Steelman nursed a minor knee injury.

Freshman wide receiver Anthony Stephens, a walk-on from Greenville, S.C., also has impressed the coaches and will be called on to help fill the void left by wideout Alejandro Villanueva, who at 6 feet 10 was the tallest player in Army football history.

Villanueva had 34 catches for 522 yards and five touchdowns in 2009 after playing offensive tackle the previous year.

``Anthony has been a pleasant surprise,'' offensive coordinator Ian Shields said. ``He just kind of showed up here. His dad went to school here. We knew about him, but he's been better than advertised.''

Pat Mealy, who averaged 6.1 yards per carry and scored three times last season, is the top returning running back. Freshman Raymond Maples, Malcolm Brown, Brian Cobbs and fullback Jared Hassin round out the group.

``It has a chance to be an explosive group,'' Ellerson said.

Kicker Alex Carlton is back after he tied a single-season academy record with 18 field goals in 2009. Though he missed twice against Navy in the season finale and twice more in the annual spring game.

``He got rid of the shanks and went right back to work,'' Ellerson said. ``It looks like he's grown from last year.''

The past eight seasons have ended with losses to Navy, which has won 11 of 13 to take a 54-49-7 advantage in the rivalry.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.