College football game capsules
Duke (4-1) at Army (1-4)
Kickoff: noon, Michie Stadium, West Point, N.Y.
TV/Radio: CBS Sports Network, 620-AM, 96.5-FM
Army’s strength: Like Georgia Tech, the Black Knights run the spread-option, run-oriented offense, using the triple-option formation most of the time. Fortunately for Duke, the Blue Devils have played against a bigger, faster stronger version of that offense in the Yellow Jackets.
Key theme: Duke gets a reprieve from Power Five-level competition this week, and the offense should take advantage of that opportunity to rediscover its mojo. According to ESPN’s David Hale, the Blue Devils are only averaging 1.29 points per drive against FBS competition – 13th in the ACC and 109th out of 128 FBS teams.
Laura Keeley
Wake Forest (2-3) at Boston College (3-2)
Kickoff: 3 p.m., Alumni Stadium, Chesnut Hill, Mass.
TV/Radio: Fox Sports Carolinas, 1490-WRMT
Boston College’s strength: The Eagles have one of the best defenses in the ACC. They rank No. 1 in the country in rushing defense (43.4 yards per game) and No. 3 in scoring (8.0 points per game).
Key theme: While Boston College’s defense has done its part, the offense has struggled in ACC play, getting shut out by Florida State and scoring only seven points against Duke last week. Wake Forest’s defense held Florida State to 24 points last week and should have some confidence against a BC offense that is playing without its top quarterback or top running back.
Joe Giglio
East Carolina (3-2) at Brigham Young (3-2)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m., Edwards Stadium, Provo, Utah
TV/Radio: ESPNU, 570-WFNL
BYU’s strength: Freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum has stepped in for the injured Taysom Hill and thrown a Hail Mary on the last play to beat Nebraska and thrown for more than 300 yards in wins over Boise State and Connecticut. Senior receiver Mitch Mathews, who was on the receiving end of the Hail Mary, leads the Cougars with five touchdown catches.
Key theme: How tired is ECU? After an emotional win over Virginia Tech on Sept. 26, the Pirates flew to Dallas for a 49-23 American Athletic Conference win at SMU. Now the Pirates are taking the second-longest regular season road trip (2,235 miles) in school history to Provo, Utah. ECU is 8-3 outside conference play since the start of the 2013 season.
Joe Giglio
Other area games
N.C. Central (1-3) at Florida A&M (0-5 ), 5 p.m., NCCUEaglePride.com, Bragg Memorial Stadium, Tallahassee, Fla.: NCCU looks for its first win since the opener while the Rattlers are struggling. They are coming off of a 37-27 conference loss to Savannah State. That was Savannah’s first MEAC win since 2011 and it snapped its 24-game losing streak.
This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 10:28 AM with the headline "College football game capsules."