Win over Black Knights could alter perspective
It’s odd to hear Navy players and coaches talk with resignation about their season. Service academy teams with 8-3 records usually are hailed as overachievers. But this fall, there are gnawing regrets for the Midshipmen, who know they were a few plays from perfection.
With a win Saturday in the 111th edition of the Army-Navy game, however, the Mids can close the regular season on a perfect note. In Annapolis, beating Army is an overarching principle, even when it has happened eight straight times.
“It never changes,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “At the Naval Academy, you know that from an athletic standpoint, your No. 1 goal is to beat Army.”
Beating Army (6-5) this season would be especially satisfying. The Black Knights, bowl bound for the first time in 14 years, enter with swagger. This is their best senior class in a decade, and second-year coach Rich Ellerson has been a difference-maker.
| Up Next |
| Army vs. Navy |
| When » Saturday, 2:30 p.m. |
| Where » Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia |
| TV » CBS |
“Last year we experienced it a little bit and had a few guys get hurt towards the end of the season,” linebacker Stephen Anderson said. “This year we said, ‘Look, this is our senior year. This is our year to put our fingerprints on the program, our year to leave something beyond that people can take and say Hey, this was the 2010 season.’?”
Saturday’s game also will be about the legacy of Navy’s extraordinary senior class, led by quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who struggled at times this year with a troublesome knee injury and the burden of expectations after being named as a possible Heisman Trophy candidate in the preseason.
With exactly 2,000 yards rushing and passing combined this season, Dobbs is on pace to exceed last year’s total of 2,223. But he has not been as effective this season in the red zone, scoring half as many touchdowns (13) as last year.
In losses to two ACC teams by three points each, Navy had the ball in the closing minutes with a chance to win. In a 14-6 defeat at Air Force, Navy got only six points on seven trips into Falcons territory.
“The highs have been high, and the lows have been low,” Niumatalolo said.
The low point came in Colorado Springs, where Navy relinquished its seven-year hold on the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
Dobbs was asked last week what it would be like to lose to both service academies in the same year.
“That would be like swallowing a baseball — tough,” he said. “That will definitely be in the forefront.”
Army-Navy game preview
KEY MATCHUPS
| Army | Navy | |
|
RB Jared Hassin » Army’s 6-3, 235-pound sophomore, a transfer from Air Force, has rushed for 881 yards and nine touchdowns. |
vs. | LB Tyler Simmons » Navy’s leader in tackles (111) will key the Mids’ ability to stop Army’s potent inside rushing attack. |
| LB Stephen Anderson » Army’s top tackler (82) missed last year’s game (torn ACL) and will be counted on to stuff the middle. | vs. | FB Alexander Teich » Teich and Vince Murray combined for 1,160 yards rushing out of the Navy fullback slot. |
| QB Trent Steelman » Army sophomore (837 yards passing) will be forced into passing situations against a stellar Navy secondary. | vs. | S Wyatt Middleton » Perhaps the only NFL prospect on the field, the four-year starter plays a big role for Navy in run support and coverage. |
STATE OF THE TEAMS
NAVY » The Mids (8-3), bound for the Poinsettia Bowl, can reach 10 wins for the second straight year, a feat the program has never accomplished. Navy has averaged 420 yards rushing and 7.2 yards a carry in winning its last three games.
ARMY » After 13 straight losing seasons and a series-record eight straight losses to Navy, Army (6-5) is bowl eligible for the first time since 1996. The Black Knights have taken major strides under second-year coach Rich Ellerson.
EXAMINER PREDICTS …
This is the best Army team in more than a decade. The Black Knights have a stellar senior class and a potent rushing attack that ranks ninth in the nation. Army will cross the goal line in this rivalry for the first time since 2006, but that won’t be enough.
Navy 31, Army 14
