Buffalo Bulls Football Game By Game Preview - Army

If the Buffalo Bulls want to return to bowl play for this first time since 2013 then this is probably a game that they need to win.

As always the question against Army is going to be how wall the defense deals with Army's option offense. That said, expected starter Ahmad Bradshaw abruptly quit the team this month, which could put a damper on the Black Knights' attack.

This is the third meeting for the FBS era between these two teams and the fourth meeting overall.

They first played in 1960 and most recently in 2014. Each of the last two games have come down to the wire, with the 2008 meeting featuring a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback and ending on Army's missed field goal in overtime.

Buffalo surged late offensively but the game ended with a 47-39 Army victory over the Bulls after a disastrous Buffalo first half. They let Larry Dixon ran for a career-high 174 yards and two touchdowns, but he was just one of six Army players to score as the Black Knights gained 341 yards rushing and snapped a five-game losing streak.

Defense: Senior linebackers Andrew King and Jeremy Timph tied for the team lead in tackles (92) a year ago, and King racked up 16.5 tackles for a loss.

Offense: Army's offense is a mostly ground based committee attack. Edgar Poe’s six touchdown catches were the most by a Black Knights receiver in eight years. Impressively he had 6 touchdowns on 16 total receptions.

• Bulls Defense vs Army Running Game: It was a different regime the last time these two teams played. In that game UB's defense overpursued the running game all day and Army made them pay big. The UB offense should get some points here, the question is, "Can this defense stop Army's ground game?"