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FACTS & STATS: Site: Vanderbilt Stadium (41,600) -- Nashville, Tennessee. Television: ESPNU. Home Record: Army 2-1, Vanderbilt 3-1. Away Record: Army 0-3, Vanderbilt 0-2. Neutral Record: Army 0-0, Vanderbilt 0-0. Conference Record: Army 0-0, Vanderbilt 1-3. Series Record: Series is tied, 4-4.

GAME NOTES: The Vanderbilt Commodores take a break from SEC play to tangle with the Army Black Knights, who are an FBS Independent, on Saturday night in Nashville.

Army has lost two of its last three outings to fall to 2-4 overall. The Black Knights were certainly competitive on the road against Miami-Ohio last weekend, but the defense simply didn't make enough stops in a 35-28 defeat. Army is 0-3 on the road this season, and has yielded at least 35 points in all three bouts.

As for Vanderbilt, is began 3-0 under first-year head coach James Franklin, a truly notable start considering the program mustered only two victories all of last season. Unfortunately for Franklin and his troops, things have gone down hill over the last three outings, as all have resulted in a defeat. Last weekend, the 'Dores suffered their first home loss of the season to Georgia by a 33-28 final.

Whichever team emerges victorious on Saturday will take a 5-4 edge in the all- time series between the two squads.

Army has only attempted 46 passes this season, a far cry from the 401 rushing attempts posted to date. Despite the fact that opponents know a run is coming on almost every play, few have slowed down the Black Knights, who are racking up a staggering 361.3 rushing ypg at a clip of 5.4 yards per carry. Quarterback Trent Steelman, a capable passer when called upon, leads the club in rushing with 536 yards and 11 touchdowns. Raymond Maples is a solid tailback who has provided 534 yards and four touchdowns. Army has scored touchdowns on 76 percent of its trips to the red zone, impressive and imperative considering the team lacks a reliable placekicker.

Against Miami-Ohio last time out, Army ran for 326 yards and got a tremendous performance from Maples, who ran for 111 yards and a score. Steelman was impressive as well, rushing for 99 yards and two touchdowns while completing all eight of his passes. Unfortunately for the Black Knights, they fumbled the ball away twice and lost despite a time of possession advantage of more than 10 minutes.

While the run-oriented offense of Army has been strong, the team's defense has struggled in most games, especially on the road. The Black Knights are surrendering 29.2 ppg and 392.8 total ypg, as they have struggled against both the run and the pass. Opposing quarterbacks are racking up 13.6 yards per completion and have surrendered 15 passing scores while notching a mere three interceptions. The run defense has been suspect as well, as foes are averaging 4.9 ypc against Army. Steve Erzinger has been a bright spot for the defense, however, as he has already posted 64 total tackles, including 7.5 TFL.

The Black Knights permitted 503 total yards to Miami-Ohio last week, and a performance like that is almost always going to result in defeat. Army surrendered 4.9 yards per rushing attempt and 14.2 yards per pass completion.

Switching focus to Vanderbilt, it hasn't gotten poor play at the quarterback position this season. Both Larry Smith and Jordan Rodgers saw time under center against Georgia last week, and neither was all that impressive. Smith was intercepted twice and averaged fewer than five yards per pass completion. As for Rodgers, he connected on a mere 4-of-19 attempts for 47 yards with one interception. Zac Stacy ran for 97 yards and a touchdown, while Rodgers rushed for 80 yards, but the Commodores killed their chances of winning the game by committing four turnovers.

The good news for the Vandy defense is that it permitted just 3.4 yards per rushing attempt to Georgia last weekend. On a down note, the Commodores were victimized for 326 passing yards at a clip of 14.8 yards per completion, and three passing scores were scored against Franklin's team.

It is certainly surprising to see that Vanderbilt owns the exact same average of points scored (21.7 ppg) and points allowed thus far, but that does help explain the 3-3 record. The Commodores don't run the ball well by most standards, but the team is tremendous at stopping the run, permitting a low 3.0 yards per carry. And while Vanderbilt has committed a high total of 15 turnovers thus far, the coaches and players can be proud of the 17 takeaways, including 15 interceptions, it has achieved.

Stacy has run for 381 yards, but the passing game has been brutal, severely lacking a receiver capable of making plays and a QB worthy of starting for another SEC team. On the defensive side of the ball, Chris Marve continues to shine with 46 total tackles. Casey Hayward has five picks, while Tim Fugger and Rob Lohr have three sacks apiece.

Vanderbilt will get the job done at home this weekend despite the struggles of the offense. The Commodores do a great job of stopping the run and will hawk the ball every time Steelman attempts a pass, which won't be often.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Vanderbilt 20, Army 17