Army @ Stanford preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 14, 2013 ) Stanford 34, Army 20

Stanford’s shot at the new college football playoff took a big hit last week with a loss to Southern Cal, but the Cardinal remain a dangerous team. Stanford will try to bounce back from that tight loss when it hosts Army on Saturday. The Cardinal have not lost back-to-back games since 2009 and are taking on a Black Knights team under the guidance of first-year coach Jeff Monken, who added a touch more passing to the triple-option offense.

Stanford recovered from losses to win the Pac-12 in each of the past two seasons and believes it is capable of the same in 2014. “The charge is to our guys, our coaches and players, to be better,” coach David Shaw told reporters after the loss to USC. “Not to scrap what we’ve done, not at all, but to be better than we were (against the Trojans).” Stanford struggled in the red zone in the loss and gave up 156 yards rushing, something the team will need to focus on against Army.

TV: 5 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network. LINE: Stanford -28

ABOUT ARMY (1-0): The Black Knights used their running game to keep the Buffalo offense off the field in a 47-39 opening win and ended up with 341 yards on the ground. Always one of the better rushing teams in the nation, Army under Monken is picking its spots to throw the ball and Angel Santiago completed all six of his attempts against the Bulls to keep drives alive. “We can’t masquerade what we’re trying to do very much,” Monken told reporters. “We want to run the football. They know that, we know that, and if we hope to have any success we’re going to have to be able to run the ball successfully.”

ABOUT STANFORD (1-1): The Cardinal did better than most at controlling the triple option when the teams met last season, holding the Black Knights to 284 yards rushing in a 34-20 road win. Stanford outgained USC 413-291 but turned the ball over twice in a scoreless second half and missed a pair of field goals in the 13-10 setback. Quarterback Kevin Hogan, who threw three scoring passes at Army last season, was the bright spot for the offense against the Trojans, going 22-for-30 for 285 yards.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Stanford has not lost consecutive games since 2009.

2. Army RB Larry Dixon led the team with 174 yards on 20 attempts against Buffalo.

3. The Cardinal have recorded at least one sack in 35 of the last 36 games, with the 2013 matchup against the Black Knights the exception.

PREDICTION: Stanford 41, Army 20