Dave Cokin’s Hardcore Football 11/20/09

post from Dave Cokin's Hardcore Football on 20 November 2009 04:47:00 AM. © Dave Cokin's Hardcore Football

I’ve been on a big roll lately, sparked by a great start to the college basketball campaign. But Thursday night was a bad one for me, my first losing night of the new season. The Friday slate looks solid, though, so I’m very confident of the rapid rebound.

On the football front, my 30th Annual College Game of the Year goes tomorrow. Anyone wishing to purchase this game should leave contact info, and I’ll get back to you with the details.

This week’s free opinion in college is on the Army-North Texas game. The Mean Green are the home team, but the crowd may actually be 50-50. The Cadets have a load of Texans on their roster, and they will also garner support from nearby military bases. Army has four wins, so they still have a chance to win their last two games and get bowl eligible, although they would have to upset Navy to accomplish that feat.

Fundamentally, this is an ideal opponent for Army. They run the option, which will be pretty unfamiliar to North Texas, and the Mean Green are not good against the run at any rate.

Army has been a major money burner all season, but North Texas is favored for just the third time in three seasons, and teams that are rarely chalk frequently struggle in that role. I’m impressed with the strides the Mean Green have made on offense this year, but they remain one of the weaker defensive entries in the land.

This figures to be pretty tight as neither team is very good. But the physical matchup appears to favor Army, and I make the Cadets the right side as small underdogs.

Back on Saturday sometime with my free NFL play.