Army vs Lehigh prediction, game preview, how to watch Week 1, Friday, August 30
Army plays its first game as a member of the American Athletic Conference before diving into league play against Florida Atlantic next week.
First it has to get by a Lehigh team looking to start the season with something positive after a rough 2-9 2023.
Year 11 of the Jeff Monken era is set to commence, though it’s going to look a lot different. For the first time since 2004, when they were members of Conference USA, the Black Knights are ditching their independence and will compete in the AAC. It will be a big adjustment for Army, which hasn’t made a bowl game since 2021 despite back-to-back six-win seasons. Army is also hoping to hold on to the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy — which it has won in three of the past four years (counting shared titles) — against Navy and Air Force. A convincing win against Lehigh would be a good start to a year filled with intrigue.
Here is everything you need to know in order to watch Friday’s week 1 game between the Lehigh vs. Army college football game.
Gameday Details:
WHAT: Lehigh @ Army
WHEN: 6:00 PM EDT on Aug. 30.
WHERE: Blaik Field at Michie Stadium
TV: CBS
ONLINE STREAMING: FuboTV (Try for free.)
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Why Lehigh Will Win
Once again, the Mountain Hawks should be good in pass protection.
The offensive line didn’t exactly blast away for the ground game, but it was great at keeping defenses out of the backfield. Army is in desperate need of a pass rush after doing next to nothing for long stretches last season.
There’s quickness on the Knight defensive front, but everyone has to be more disruptive.
Why Army Will Win
Can Lehigh stop the run this year? Short answer … probably not.
It struggled against decent power teams last year and didn’t do nearly enough to get into the backfield to stop big plays before they could get going.
This season, Army has to take its ground game up a few notches – it was good, but not at the level needed – and it should work behind an improved offensive front. That means …
Army vs Lehigh: Who Will Win
Army should have the ball for about 40 minutes.
Lehigh had a big problem cranking up the third down conversions and doing anything to control the clock last season – that’s about to continue.
The Mountain Hawks will get a few points of a couple of nice drives, but in the first game against an FCS team since losing to Navy by 30 in 2018, they won’t hold up against the Army ground attack.
Army opens its season against Lehigh on Friday. The Black Knights are heavy favorites as they try to end a recent postseason drought. This will also mark Army’s first game as a member of the American Athletic Conference. The program found a suitable league home during the latest wave of conference realignment after years as an independent.
Saturday brings a double-header featuring Navy and Air Force. The Midshipmen are set to host Bucknell, while Air Force plays Merrimack within the friendly confines of Falcon Stadium. Navy and Air Force are both hoping to rapidly tune up before both squads start conference play in Week 2.