Army hosts Ball State looking to end 3-game slide

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) After three straight road losses, Army returns home to Michie Stadium to face Ball State on Saturday.

Both teams are 1-3, but at least the Cardinals, who also have lost three straight, had an extra week to get ready for Army's triple option offense. Ball State is coming off a bye week.

The Black Knights are coming off losses to No. 14 Stanford (35-0), Wake Forest (24-21), and Yale (49-43 in OT). But their lone victory this season is over another Mid-American Conference team, Buffalo.

Army coach Jeff Monken says the Black Knights need to do several things better: tackle, handle assignments and play with better fundamentals. He says those elements are magnified because his team is slower and less athletic than its opponents.