College Football

Ball State vs Army 10/2/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions

Army Black Knights (4-0) vs. Ball State Cardinals (1-3)
October 2, 2021 5:00 pm EDT
The Line: Ball State Cardinals +6.5 / Army Black Knights -6.5; Over/Under: 47.5
(Get latest betting odds)

The Ball State Cardinals meet the Army Black Knights Saturday in week 5 college football action at Scheumann Stadium. The Army Black Knights look for their second road win to improve to 5-0 on the season. The Ball State Cardinals need a win here to snap a three-game losing streak.

The Army Black Knights have split their last four road games. Christian Anderson is completing 53.3 percent of his passes for 187 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Braheam Murphy and Tyrell Robinson have combined for 117 receiving yards and three touchdowns while Isaiah Alston has one reception. The Army Black Knights ground game is averaging 344.5 yards per contest, and Anderson leads the way with 431 yards and five touchdowns. Defensively, Army is allowing 19 points and 277.8 yards per game. Spencer Jones leads the Army Black Knights with 18 tackles, Andre Carter II has 5.5 sacks and Marquel Broughton has two interceptions.

The Ball State Cardinals have won four of their last five home games. Drew Plitt is completing 61.2 percent of his passes for 614 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Justin Hall and Jayshon Jackson have combined for 472 receiving yards and two touchdowns while Yo’Heinz Tyler has nine receptions. The Ball State Cardinals ground game is averaging 132 yards per contest, and Carson Steele leads the way with 183 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, Ball State is allowing 33 points and 438 yards per game. Jaylin Thomas leads the Ball State Cardinals with 30 tackles, Tavion Woodard has 4.5 sacks and Nic Jones has one interception.

The Black Knights are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Cardinals are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall. The over is 4-1 in Black Knights last 5 games overall. The under is 6-1 in Cardinals last 7 games overall. The Black Knights are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 meetings.

The Army Black Knights haven’t had the toughest schedule through four games, but they’ve been dominant this season and are elite at both offensive rushing and rush defense. The Ball State Cardinals are just a bad football team that’s watching their season fall apart quickly and there’s not much they’ve done well up to this point. Ball State is truly one of the worst teams in college football on both sides of the ball. The only option here is to side with Army and the chalk.

Randy Chambers's Free Pick: Army Black Knights -6.5

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Randy Chambers

Randy has covered sports betting since 2014 and writes about everything from NFL to WNBA. Follow Randy Chambers on Twitter.

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