The Navy football team has experienced success at an historic rate the last four seasons under coach Paul Johnson, including going 31-12 overall while winning seven straight games against fellow service academies following last Saturday?s 24-17 win at Air Force.
Still, there are still some out there who think the success of Navy, which is 5-1 and can clinch a fourth straight bowl bid with a win Saturday against No. 24 Rutgers, is a fluke. Last Friday, one day before Navy played Air Force, Falcons defensive end Noah Garguile told the Colorado Springs Gazette that Air Force?s recent losing streak to Navy is an “embarrassment.”
Navy quarterback Brian Hampton said hopefully all of Air Force?s players will now give the Midshipmen respect after they beat the Falcons for the fourth straight time overall and the second straight time in Colorado Springs. Both streaks are firsts for Navy against Air Force.
“We beat them three times in row coming into this year, and some of them thought it was a fluke,” Hampton said. “Is beating them a fourth time a fluke again?”
For Johnson, the Air Force win represents thenext step toward accomplishing Navy?s goals for the year: another winning record, qualify for a bowl game and win the Commander?s-in-Chief Trophy for a school-record fourth straight year.
“It?s exciting that we have a chance to continue to play for the Commander-In-Chief?s Trophy, but we have to put that on the back burner,” Johnson said. “All Saturday did was put us in position to win the trophy, and that will come down the line. Right now, the biggest thing is Rutgers and getting ready for them. They have a tremendous football team.”
Despite all of the success during Johnson?s five-year tenure, a win over Rutgers would represent a rarity for Navy, which has beaten just nine ranked opponents in the last four years. Still, Johnson said he is unconcerned about the rest of the country?s opinion of his program, as well as the possibility of Navy becoming a ranked team themselves.
“I?m not worried about the rest of the nation,” Johnson said. “We are just trying to play the teams on our schedule.”
NAVY NOTES
» Navy?s 5-1 start to the season is the second such start in three years for the Midshipmen. Prior to 2004, the last 5-1 start came in 1996. This year is only the seventh time since 1960 and the 29th time in school history that Navy has started 5-1.
» Although Navy is unranked in the Associated Press and the USA Today/Coaches poll, the Midshipmen did receive 11 votes this week in the Harris Interactive Poll.
