It’s not going to happen.
That?s what officials at the Naval Academy and the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl said on Monday regarding the possibility of a rematch between Navy and Air Force in the postseason.
Air Force, which plays in the Mountain West Conference, qualified for a bowl game Saturday after defeating conference rival Wyoming, 20-12. The Poinsettia Bowl plans on matching a Mountain West Conference team against Navy as long as the Midshipmen win at least six games. If Navy, which is 4-3 after Saturday’s 44-24 loss to Wake Forest, doesn’t qualify, then an at-large team would take its place in the game scheduled at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego on Dec. 20.
Air Force (6-2) lost to Navy, 31-20, in Annapolis on Sept. 29 and is 5-1 in conference play. Brigham Young (5-2, 3-0) is in first place in the conference and already has defeated Air Force this year. Typically, the Poinsettia Bowl gets the second choice among Mountain West teams, as the league champion usually accepts an invitation to play in the Las Vegas Bowl.
“We have no interest in a rematch with Air Force in a bowl game,” Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuck said. “Navy plays Air Force once a year and that is an important focal point for each team’s schedule. Once is enough for us. There’s no rationale that would make sense for me to have Navy and Air Force play twice in a season. It would take away from the pursuit of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.”
Poinsettia Bowl Executive Director Bruce Binkowski said even if Navy qualifies for a bowl and Air Force finishes second in its league, his bowl would invite another conference team, with New Mexico (5-2), Utah (5-3) and Wyoming (4-3) currently among the top choices.
“Our policy is that we don’t want to take teams that played each other in the regular season,” Binkowski said. “If Navy qualifies, which we are confident they will, we will not pick Air Force as their opponent.”
Navy coach Paul Johnson said he?s not concerned about bowl games ? he?s too busy preparing the Midshipmen to face Delaware (6-1) on Saturday afternoon at 1 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
“We don’t have enough wins yet to even start talking about a bowl game,” Johnson said.
In other Navy football news, Gladchuck said he and Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow are making progress toward reaching an agreement for the two schools to play in 2010, likely at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
“We’re pretty close at this time,” Gladchuck said. “We’re working out the details right now, but I’m confident we can get it done.”
