Army Football

The Big 12 has provided a great deal of exciting sports moments for fans all over the country.  I think in football that conference is really the only competition for SEC football in terms of excitement.  Womens' sports?  Look no further than Baylor basketball.  Baseball?  You have got to be kidding.  The Big 12 has terrific baseball programs.  And how about some competition for Kentucky basketball?  No problem.

I have a simple solution for the Big 12 South - become the SEC west.  LSU and it's playmates would become the SEC Central, and of course the SEC East remains as is.  Folks, this would be a killer conference that could probably declare its conference winner the National Champion of (pick your sport), and probably wouldn't hear a lot of argument about it on ESPN.

All the Big 12 South rivalries would remain intact.  All non-division games would be rotated among teams in the other two divisions.  A conference championship could be decided from among the three division winners and the top non-winner.

A side benefit would be a renewal of Texas-Arkansas, along with some other nice match ups.  Who doesn't want to watch Red Raider football?  And how would you like to see Tennessee-Baylor women's basketball?  There are so many possibilities one article couldn't fully discuss the subject.

I would feel bad for the Kansas, Missouri and Iowa schools, but it kind of seems like Missouri has been shaking its tail for the Big Ten anyway.  At the very least Kansas could make Mountain West basketball nationally prominent.

So that's my solution for the Big 12 South division.  I'm sure everyone would agree this is ideal for the SEC as well.  The only question would be how to spend all the money, but I'm sure they would put it to good use.

Navy beat Army once again on Saturday in Philadelphia. These teams have played 110 times. This game, unlike the rest of college football is so very unique.

That is because it belongs to all of us.

Those were our Midshipmen and our Cadets facing each other at Lincoln Financial Field.

Those were our Midshipmen beating our Cadets, 17-3.

It has been an honor to watch more than 50 of these meetings between the team from Annapolis and the team from West Point. It becomes part of your being when you spend your formative years in Annapolis and log more than a couple of thousand hours at the Academy, watching sports, mingling with the middies, absorbing all that is so very good about a service academy.

Army fought its heart out and held a 3-0 hafltime lead. But Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs, a special player, led his team to an opening drive touchdown to start the third quarter and Navy never looked back.

What was so different about this game is that the commercials were great to watch. Commercials for the Army and the Navy. Good enough to make any young person want to perhaps explore a future in the service. And that is an honorable undertaking.

This wasn't the most exciting game you'd ever see, but there was great spirit on the field and in those stands.

The spirit of future warriors was there for us all to see. For many, it was their final football game, ever.

They'll go on to be military leaders, soldiers and sailors who will serve us, all of us. They will fight for us, protect the freedom and interests of this great country.

From those 50 games these eyes have seen, some of those players have died serving this country.

Hopefully, none of these players will have to make the ultimate sacrifice. Hopefully they will serve, survive then grow old to tell their children and grandchildren about those wonderful days when they played at Annapolis or West Point.

Those who played and those in the stands who are classmates, are our nation's finest.

Today we honor them. All of them.

Go Navy! Go Army! 

  "The first day at Annapolis you get your head shaved and get an orientation by the superintendent and at the end you say 'Beat Army,' so right away you know that this is a big deal." - Roger Staubach, Navy.

That pretty much says it all and don't think for one second the same message isn't mentioned to every incoming cadet at West Point,  “Go Army, Beat Navy.”    

As I sit here at my computer, the 110th meeting between the two services academies is just half an hour away. The two teams meeting in Philadelphia for the 82nd time in the storied rivalry. The action on the field is no different from any other college football game, but the pageantry surrounding the event is second to none.  From the march of cadets to the fly over to the presentation of the Commander in Chiefs Trophy, it's a smorgasbord for the senses. 

The first ever game in this series was played in 1890 at West Point with the mid shipmen blanking the Black Knights 24-0.  As a matter of fact heading into today’s game, Navy holds a 53-49-7 edge in the series and currently riding a six game win streak. At 5-6, Army needs a win to become bowl eligible. A win would mean a December 29^th trip to the Eagle Bank Bowl, December 29^th against Temple University, who ironically play their home games at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. If the Black Knights fail in their bid to beat Navy, Temple will play UCLA in the Eagle Bank Bowl. The outcome of today’s game has no bearing on 8-4 Navy’s bowl plans, win or lose they have a New Years Eve day rendezvous with Missouri in the
Texas Bowl. Bowl Bowl Bowl Bowl Bowl Bowl Bowl Bowl Bowl Bowl Bowl Bowl Bowl.

Since moving to Philadelphia 19 years ago, the Army-Navy game has always been one of my favorite events to cover, check out the youtube snippet below. Just me having fun while doing one of my many preview stories for television.  so three minutes until kick-off, thanks for your time, hey maybe we can watch the game together.

The Army-Navy football game is rarely loaded with potential NFL prospects, and is known more for the character, sacrifice and overall pride exemplified by each player taking part in the historic rivalry. However, if there’s one guy in this year’s game who’s definitely worth a look, and who has drawn some interest from NFL scouts, it’s Army wide receiver Alejandro Villanueva.

Villanueva is a 6'10," 283-pound wideout (that’s not a typo) who currently leads the Black Knights in receptions (29) and receiving yards (460), and is the only player on the team to catch a touchdown pass this season (he has five). He’s caught four or more passes in five games and had the first 100-yard receiving game of his career against Virginia Military Institute, finishing with seven receptions for 119 yards and one touchdown.

I know what you’re thinking: How much upside can a wideout as big as Villanueva, who’s caught only 460 yards worth of passes this season, have in the NFL?

Well, as a wide receiver, not much.

But given that this is his first season playing the position after making the transition from left tackle (that’s no typo either), there is definitely some intrigue in a player with his combination of size and overall athletic ability.

I mean, how many NCAA left tackles are there who have the kind of athletic skill set to make a transition to wide receiver? Not many.

Before we break down Villanueva’s potential at the next level, let me say this: He’s not considered a legitimate wide receiver prospect in the NFL. However, what’s gaining him attention from so many scouts is his overall coordination, body control, and grace for a player his size, and his potential to develop at any number of positions.

Villanueva is a former high school football/basketball star who came to Army more as an athlete than as any kind of technically sound football player. He saw spot duty as a defensive lineman in 2006 and 2007 before making the transition to offensive tackle midway through the ‘07 season.

In 2008, he started all 12 games for the Black Nights at left tackle, and displayed the type of size and agility to open eyes as a potential NFL offensive lineman. He was still very raw, played too high, and lacked ideal power in his lower half, but he looked natural in space and was a fluid athlete.

This season, under new head coach Rich Ellerson, Villanueva made the move to wide receiver in order to utilize his athleticism and big frame as a threat in the Army pass game. After displaying the ability to not only block down the field, but the body control to go up and "high-point" the football in the pass game, NFL officials started to take notice.

Villanueva recently received an invitation to the 2010 East-West Shrine Game, filling out the roster as a tight end prospect.

And why not? The guy certainly has the size to hold his own at the point of attack, the body control to hit/seal defenders at the second level and the overall athleticism to pluck the ball and make the occasional play in the pass game.

There’s just one problem: Army’s policy doesn’t allow cadets to pursue professional sports immediately after graduation, requiring them to serve at least two years of active duty before applying for a release to pursue careers in sports.

So although we won’t be seeing Villanueva in an NFL training camp next year, it will be hard to forget about a kid with his type of athletic ability and overall size. And you can bet he’ll be one name highlighted by NFL officials for future reference as an intriguing developmental free agent, someone who might be able to fill out a roster spot as a team’s No. 2 or No. 3 tight end blocking specialist—and might occasionally slip into the flat to make plays in the red zone.

Either way, he’s the kind of athlete who is definitely worth a look at the next level.

Follow me on Twitter: WesBunting

Rutgers (-10.5) 21 ARMY 14

Rutgers is not a good team and certainly don't deserve to be favored by double-digits on the road tonight. In 4 games against Division 1A opposition the Scarlet Knights have been out-gained 4.7 yards per play to 5.8 yppl despite facing a schedule that is just average in difficulty with two good opponents (Cincy and Pitt) and two bad opponents (Maryland and FIU). Rutgers did beat their two sub-par opponents by an average score of 28.5 to 14, but they weren't that impressive in doing so, out-gaining Florida International and Maryland just 5.0 yppl to 4.5 yppl.

The reason they beat those bad teams by an average of 14.5 points is because they were a fortunate +8 in turnovers in those two games. The fact that they were an average of +4 in turnovers against two bad teams and only beat those teams by an average of 14.5 points really tells the story - Rutgers is a bad team.

Army is a bad team too, getting out-gained 4.4 yppl to 4.9 yppl by an easy schedule of opponents that would combine to get out-gained 6.0 yppl to 4.7 yppl by an average team. However, my math model only favors Rutgers by 7 points in this game and I'll lean with Army plus the points.

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Kickoff is less than 48 hours away.

To gain some perspective and insight, I talked to the good folks at The Birddog about the Navy squad appearing in Ohio Stadium on Saturday. They let us know the players we need to watch and gave us some additional information on the Commander-in-Chief Trophy holder for the last six years.

Where does this year’s Navy team rank in the last five years?

Defensively, it’s probably going to be the best. A few of these guys will be starting for their third straight year. They came on strong in 2008, with back-to-back shutouts to end the regular season. Offensively, nobody knows. On one hand, not having to juggle three quarterbacks like last season is a plus. On the other hand, they lost a lot of proven performers to graduation. I think most people are confident in the offense’s ability, but it’s one of those things you don’t really know until they play actual games.

Give us the positions of strength/weakness?

Strength—Linebacker, without a doubt. They’re all seniors, they’ve all played a ton, and they all have ability. Ross Pospisil was the team’s leading tackler a year ago. Clint Sovie was moved from inside to outside LB to take advantage of his speed; he’ll be the team’s main pass rusher.

Weakness—I don’t know if I’d call it a weakness quite yet, but some last-minute shuffling on the offensive line depth chart isn’t exactly good for the nerves.

Best/worst-case scenario for this season?

The goal of every Navy football team is to 1) win the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy, and 2) get to a bowl game. Anything above and beyond that is gravy; anything less is a disappointment. With Navy’s schedule and a lot of unproven talent on offense, it’s going to be a challenge.

Who is Navy’s best player?

DE Jabaree Tuani. He was the ECAC Rookie of the Year last year, and led the team in tackles for loss as a freshman. It’s very unusual for any lineman to play much as a freshman at the Naval Academy; the first year at the school tends to lead to tired legs and weight loss. As good as Tuani was last year, it’s exciting to think of how good he can be without plebe burdens weighing him down.

Nate Frazier’s loss is huge for the Midshipmen but Navy still returns the other key defensive lineman, including Jabaree Tuani. Can the line, and defense overall, absorb the loss of Frazier?

I think so. Chase Burge, the nose guard stepping in for Frazier, had played well enough in practice that the coaches had already planned on giving him more playing time anyway. That doesn’t mean that losing Nate doesn’t hurt; Nate is a special kind of player that we don’t usually see at the Naval Academy. But it probably means the defensive line just goes from being elite (by Navy standards) to really, really good.

Navy played three quarterbacks last season, but two have now departed leaving junior Ricky Dobbs to run the show. At times last season, he looked like Navy’s best QB. Is the position in better hands now that he is not sharing the job?

The best quarterback that Navy has ever had when it comes to mastery of this offense was Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada…When he was healthy. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for most of last year. Ricky Dobbs isn’t at that level yet, and probably never will be. But he has improved, and is probably the best passer Navy has had in at least 15 years. There’s plenty to work with there. Having some stability at the position for a change can only help matters.

The hiring of Coach Niumatalolo seemed to provide continuity for one of the hottest programs in the country. Does the Navy fan base feel confident Niumatalolo can maintain the momentum the program was experiencing under Paul Johnson?

I can’t speak for Navy fans in general, but if they aren’t confident in Coach Niumat, then they aren’t paying attention. He seemed to be a little uncomfortable being the face of the program at first, but man has that changed. I’m not sure you’ll find a more open and candid coach in the country, including Paul Johnson. I think he’s comfortable with being so open because he’s just that confident in what he’s doing. He has every reason to be; he was here for the last seven years. He knows what it took to build this program, as do his assistants, many of whom raised a few eyebrows by choosing to stay in Annapolis rather than follow Paul Johnson to Georgia Tech.

The straw that stirs the service academy football drink is recruiting. Service academies have such a limited pool of players to recruit from that it’s crucial to consistently beat out your two biggest rivals if you want to be competitive. Coach Niumatalolo and the Navy staff were able to win most of the head-to-head recruiting battles with Air Force and Army last year, which bodes well for a first-year coach.

Ohio State does not play the return game in this series until 2014. Are Navy fans disappointed with the delay?

Again, I can’t really speak for all Navy fans, but I haven’t given it a second thought.

Navy has 51 wins over the last six seasons, the fourth most of any non-BCS conference program. Are the last six years the best extended run for Navy since the late 50's and early 60's?

George Welsh had a particularly good stretch from 1978-1981, but the longer Navy maintains their current run of success, the harder it gets to disagree with that opinion.

Finally, the schedule is front loaded for Navy with road trips to Ohio State and Pittsburgh sandwiching a home game versus Louisiana Tech. How will Navy’s start affect the team and will they make another bowl game this season?

Don’t sleep on Louisiana Tech, either. They were a bowl team last season, one of eight on Navy’s schedule. It might not be a schedule that will make anyone in the Big Ten sit up and take notice, but for a service academy it’s extremely challenging. The Mids started 1-2 last year before rebounding with back-to-back wins over Rutgers and #16 Wake Forest. It’s going to be a tall order not to have to repeat that scenario. The back half of the schedule really isn’t any easier, with Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and a trip out to Hawaii, which is always difficult.

Navy is playing 13 games this season, which means they’ll need seven wins to qualify for the Texas Bowl. They can do it, but there really isn’t any margin for error. The Mids will probably have to win a few games they won’t be favored in.

One of the most popular college football rivalries, is that of the annual Army/Navy game. Since 1890, the Midshipmen (Navy) and the Black Knights (formerly the Cadets of Army) have been battling on the gridiron.

Both former and current military members will set aside their duties to watch this one football game, over all others. What are they fighting for? It's bragging rights!

In 1894, an incident between a Rear Admiral and a Brigadier General, which nearly led to a duel after the 1893 Navy victory. President Cleveland called a Cabinet meeting in late February 1894.

At the end of the meeting, Secretary of the Navy Hillary A. Herbert and Secretary of War, Daniel S. Lamont issued general orders that each Academy would be allowed to visit each other, for football games, but its cadets were “prohibited in engaging in games elsewhere.“

The series would not resume until 1899, when it was played in “neutral” locations, respectively Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

The 1909 game was played when Army cancelled its entire schedule after the death of Cadet Eugene Byrne, from a game with Harvard. Navy would suffer a loss of Midshipman Earl Wilson, sustaining a broken neck against Villanova, and died six months later.

When the United States entered World War I, the War Department ordered the annual Army/Navy game suspended for the duration of the war. No games were played between 1917 and 1918.

The 1926 Army/Navy game was the first event to be held at Chicago’s “Soldier Field,” which was dedicated as a monument to American servicemen who had fought in World War I. Over 100,000 spectators attended, as Navy entered undefeated and Army had lost only to Notre Dame.

This game would also decide the National Championship. The game lived up to the hype with a 21-21 tie. Navy was awarded the National Championship that year.

During the 1928 and 1929 seasons, the annual game was once again interrupted. A failure to reach an agreement of player eligibility forced the cancellation. An agreement was reached by the two academies, and play would resume in 1930. The annual contest has been uninterrupted ever since.
 
In 1941, the Army/Navy game program featured the U.S.S. Arizona, just nine days before the attack on Pearl Harbor. “A bow on view of the U.S.S. Arizona as she plows into a huge swell. It is significant that despite the claims of air enthusiasts no battleship has yet been sunk by bombs.” Lest we forget.

In 1944, Army and Navy were ranked 1 and 2 in all the 1944 polls, and once again playing for the National Championship. Originally scheduled to play at Thompson Stadium in Annapolis, the game was switched to Baltimore, to accommodate the demand for tickets to benefit the Sixth War Loan Drive. Army won its first National Championship 23-7.

Though the Army/Navy game is met with its spender, there have been some practical jokes played on the unsuspecting. Prior to the 1967 game, General Ward Le Hardy, USMA Ret., USMA Class of 1956, (then Major Le Hardy) was serving as Company Officer for the 22nd Company at USNA when the Midshipmen of his company moved his entire office to Tecumseh Court during the Army/Navy Week. Major Le Hardy’s car was returned after he explained that his wife needed the car, to shop for groceries.

In 1983, the game was first played west of the Mississippi, to Pasadena, CA's Rose Bowl, where Navy beat Army 42-13.

From 1988 to 1998, eight of the eleven games were decided by five points or less, seven were decided in the final two minutes, and when Army won five straight from ‘92-’96, they were decided by a total of 10 points.

In 2000, the Cadets of Army changed their mascot to the Black Knights. Replacing the Kicking Mule and the letter A, with a Black Knight astride a horse, as its mascot. In the late 1920’s the Cadets of Army were dubbed the Black Knights of the Hudson. So the name came back around and was chosen to represent the Army.

The game itself embodies the spirit of the inter-service rivalry of the U.S. Armed Forces.  Both teams and the Air Force Academy vie for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, given to the winner of the triangular series each year. The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy has been won by Army six times, Navy 11 times, Air Force 16 times, and has been shared four times.

Of the Army/Navy record, Navy has won the series 53-49-7. Historically played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the game is now played on the first Saturday in December and is traditionally the last game of the season for both teams.

It is the last regular-season game played in Division I-A football. However, starting in 2009, the game will be moved to the first Saturday in December to the second Saturday. This years game will be on Dec. 12 in Philadelphia.

At the end of each game the Alma-maters of the losing team, then the winning teams are played and sung. The winning teams stands alongside the losing team and faces the losing academy, then the losing team accompanies the winning team, facing their students. This is done in a show of mutual respect and solidarity.

This classic rivalry can be seen during all competitions between each academy. Navy ends many ceremonies, including the wedding ceremony with “Go Navy!” or “Beat Army.” While Army states “Beat Navy!” The rivalry is also used at the close of informal letters by graduates of both academies.


That reminds me, “Beat Navy!”

Lately, there hasn't been much to cheer about Army's football team. The Black Knights have not won more than three games since 2005.

Army fans have suffered through 12 consecutive losing seasons. In the past 11 years, Army has had six head coaches.

Head coach Rich Ellerson is bringing his triple option from Cal Poly in hopes of turning the fortunes of Army football around. Although there is hope in the air, there is much skepticism that Army football will ever return to its glory days.

For those of you who end up in West Point, N.Y. with nothing else to, you may wish to visit Michie Stadium and see what the new era of Army football is all about. However, before making the trip, one should know a few things that might be heard at Michie so not to be caught off guard.

1. Go Army, Beat Somebody!

2. Two, four, six, eight, we're only down by 28.

3. We're not good, we're not great. Army should schedule Utah State.

4. If Army scores today, remember to bring your ticket stub to a local MCDonald's for a free hamburger.

5. Now we know for sure that the Department of Defense is located in Virginia and not New York.

6. We have no hope, we don't believe. All for Army, get up and leave.

7. That's alright, that's okay. We have cannons to blow you away.

8. Instead of "Mr. Inside" and "Mr. Outside", this year we have "Mr. No Gain" and "Mr. Tackled for a Loss".

9. We like to thank you all for coming although some of you were forced at gunpoint.

10. Go Army, Almost Beat Navy!

Now that you are aware of what you can expect at an Army football game, your experience should be enjoyable... or at least tolerable.

This is round two in the Commander-in-Chief trophy for Air Force, and the way Navy has dominated Air Force, the Falcons have done the same to the Army, with with an 18-2 record over the past twenty years.

Another fun fact is that the last time Army won two games in a row was in 1977 and 1978.

The Black Knights have not had recent success, and in 2009 they bring in a new coach, Rich Ellerson, who comes from Cal Poly from the FCS level.

The one thing that Army has going for them is that according to football czar Phil Steele, the Black Knights will be the eight most experienced team. Experience will lead to success, so we will see how much Army will improve off its three win 2008 campaign.

While at Cal Poly, Ellerson put up a record of 56-34, which included two trips to the playoffs, and seven winning seasons.

Coach Ellerson looks to be a good fit because at Cal Poly his team was a running team and averaged over 300 yards per game.

This might be able to translate to West Point, because Army is traditionally a running team, which makes Rich Ellerson a good coach for the Black Knights.

If you get a chance, check out his bio, but be sure to take a nap beforehand, because it is lengthy.

Looking at the Army depth chart there are ten spots that list the OR next to a position.

The biggest loss comes for the running back, as the Black Knights need to replace Collin Mooney who had just over 1,300 yards.

The biggest battle comes at quarterback between Chip Bowden and Carson Williams and below is their stats along with the other top returnees

Passing	Com%	YPG	TD	INT
Chip Bowden	43.1	25.64	2	3
Carson Williams	49.1	39	1	3
Rushing	Carries	Yards	Yards Per Carry	TD
Patrick Mealy	18	97	5.4	2
Chip Bowden	194	572	2.9	1
Receiving	Catches	Yards	Yards Per Catch	TD
Jameson Carter	11	157	14.2	0
Damion Hunter	11	134	12.2	1

The edge may go to Williams because he has the better arm, and in 2007 passed for 1,770 yards, but the answer will not be presented until fall camp.

So far this offseason, the Black Knights have been noticed for moving Ali Villanueva 6-10 and 283 pound offensive line to wide receiver.

The height-to-weight ratio is not common for offensive linemen, which makes him athletic enough to play wide out without having his weight be an issue.

While this move may be a head scratcher, but while at Cal Poly Ellerson had a wide out in Ramses Barden who was 6'6". Coach Ellerson hopes to catch lightning twice with Villanueva a turn him into a playmaker as a receiver.

The offense will need all the help it can get, because it must improve of its 117th rate scoring offense that put up a paltry 14.8 points per game.

The defense for the Black Knights is not pretty. Last year the defense was just above the middle of the pack, with Army being ranked 51st in points allowed at 23.7 per game.

As mentioned above, this Army team has experienced players and on this defense Army has only one sophomore listed as a started, plus another is listed as a probable starter.

Well what does this mean?

Army hopes to improve off of its turnover margin (which was a minus 14 or 1.17 per game). That puts Army at 116th in the country, with the worst teams in college football, which Army was last year.

The Black Knights can only hope that experience will win out on this team for improvement, but experience may not always welcome success.

Just because a player has experience does not mean he is good, and Army could really just have a bunch of experienced bad players on their team.

Success will not be immediate for Army, but the team's schedule is not that tough and a jump to a five-win season is not out of the question for Army in 2009.

Notre Dame has expressed interest in playing football at Yankee Stadium, and athletic director Jack Swarbrick said a possible opponent is Army. Seems the Irish are not the only ones feeling that way.

In a report in Newsday, Army officials say they have been talking to the Yankees since March about playing football games at the new Bronx facility.

"We've had preliminary discussions with the Yankees about playing there, and we do have interest in playing a game or games in Yankee Stadium," Bob Beretta, the academy's associate athletic director for communications, told Newsday. "We met with them on a couple different occasions, toured the new facility. There's significant interest in forming a partnership to play there."

Beretta said Army has not had discussions with Notre Dame about playing a game at Yankee Stadium.

"It's a big part of the tradition of college football to have Army games at Yankee Stadium," Beretta told Newsday. "We can't say right now that it's going to happen. But we would like it to happen, and we hope the Yankees feel the same way."

The Yankees have said nothing about hosting college football games.

Earlier this week, Army and Hawaii agreed to a four-game series starting in 2010 with two games in West Point and two games in Honolulu. The schools are nearly 5,000 miles apart. Army coach Rich Ellerson is a former Hawaii player and assistant coach.

And some links for a Friday morning:

-- The New York Times continues its countdown of all 120 Football Championship Subdivision teams with Southern Methodist at No. 102.

-- A chance meeting in Phoenix by Rutgers AD Tim Pernetti and UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel was the impetus for a possible home-and-home series between the two schools, the Newark Star-Ledger reports.

-- Tennessee could be losing Mark Smith, the team's strength and conditioning coach.

For more on Army football at Yankee Stadium