Gary Danielson has been one of the premier college football analysts for the last decade, first at ABC and now at CBS. He has done all the big championship games. But this weekend in Philadelphia, along with the other members of the CBS lead broadcast team — Verne Lundquist and Tracy Wolfson — he will do his first Army-Navy game.
JW » Why is doing the Army-Navy game so important to you?
Danielson » Tradition. We do rivalry games every year like Florida-Georgia, Ohio State-Michigan, Texas-Oklahoma and USC-UCLA to name a few. But this one is really special. The passion that both sides bring to this game every year, without a conference championship or a national championship on the line, is unmatched. These two service academies engender the best qualities that come along with the term student-athlete. They will play this game and then work together to serve our country. I can honestly say that it is an honor to be able to broadcast this game.
JW » Navy has been successful in recent years because of the option. Why is it so tough to defend?
Danielson » Actually, in college, at Purdue, I was an option QB. I have been watching tape on Navy and they do so many things off the option and they are so disciplined it really is a joy to watch. Army will need to hold their lanes and be just as disciplined. But really, they know Navy and I am sure this will just be another classic. I can’t wait.
JW » You have watched the SEC this season. Is Alabama the best team in the country?
Danielson » I think they are the most complete team. They did not start out that way, but each week they seemed to get better on both sides of the ball. But you take Mark Ingram, who has done a fine job both running and catching passes out of the backfield. He may be the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy with his performance against Florida. Then you add to the mix the most improved player — QB Greg McElroy, who has become a real leader of this team — and they truly are a complete team. So yes, Alabama is good, but no team is unbeatable, and so the matchup with Texas should be a good one. Alabama has to be the favorite, but you can never count Texas out.
Army-Navy will air on CBS this Saturday starting with the pregame at 2 p.m. Kickoff is at 2:30.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on washingtonexaminer.com.
