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Need to get your football fix on
all things Army, Navy and Air Force.

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This is Yards and Stripes Service Academy
Football. Now Here are your hosts,

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Pryce Atkinson, Steve Carney and Mike
Loveall the Army Navy game has come

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and gone, and we'll get into
all of it here on this episode of

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Yards and Stripes your home for Service
Academy Football, episode seventeen. As we

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are recording here on Thursday December the
watch the fourteenth but I'm Pryce Atkinson and

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he is Steve Carney, and congratulations
to the Army Black Knight sport capturing the

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Commander in Chief Trophy for the first
time since twenty twenty. Black Knights back

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atop Service Academy Football with the win
over the Naval Academy in America's game last

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weekend and another thriller literally down to
the almost the last second, the last

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inch line. We're gonna get into
all of it this on this episode of

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Yards and Stripes. We're gonna preview
the Lackeed Martin Armed Forces Bowl the Air

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Force Academy gonna be taken on number
twenty four. James Madison coming up just

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before Christmas. We got a lot
of news and notes to go through,

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especially a huge congratulations to Trey Taylor, the senior defensive back from the Air

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Force Academy winning the Jim Thorpe Award, just the second major award winner from

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the Air Force Academy. So congratulates, congratulations out to him. We've got

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our Travis Manden Foundation Honor Roll segment, segment, we got Coaches on the

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Move, we got the American Athletics
schedule format for both Army and Navy next

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year. Man, Steve, we
are loaded on this episode of Yards and

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Strikes as we are part of the
college football excuse me, the College Gridiron

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Coast to Coast podcast network, so
much football to talk about, Steven As

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I'm getting tongue tied, because boy, it was one hell of a weekend.

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Yeah, it was an amazing weekend. Price And you know, I

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think it's funny because we all predicted
that Army was going to win this game

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in last week's show, in what
I call the best show that we do

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every year, the Army Navy Preview. It was funny because I expected Steve

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Anderson to take Army. I kind
of expected Bill Wagner to take Army.

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But for both you and I to
take Army as well, and you know,

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for me being a Navy veteran,
it was really difficult to say.

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You know, Army is the better
team, and I thought that Army was

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going to win. We all took
the over. So if you did get

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if you did get the total over
twenty seven and a half, you're welcome,

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especially for the last play in the
game, because that gave you over

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twenty seven and a half. I
thought it was going to be I thought

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it was going to be very close
to that number, and it turned out

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it was extremely close. But it
was You know, this game is always

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an exciting nail bier to watch,
and it doesn't matter, you know it.

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You know, one one of these
teams could be nine and two,

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in the other two and nine,
and this game was going to be exciting.

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But for them both to be five
and six and both to be so

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evenly matched, where you know,
what they do well, what one team

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did well, the other team defended
well. And to see how that game

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finished was it. You know,
I don't have any fingernails left because I've

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bitten them all off. I pulled
all my hair out, and so it

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was it was an incredible way to
finish the Service Academy football season for both

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of these teams. And it it
was just awesome. It's why it's why

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we do this show. It's why
we watched college football. Uh it was.

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It was just wonderful all around,
and h so many people got a

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chance to witness what we get to
witness every week. And I just love

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that, you know, Yeah,
and you want it to come down to

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the very end. That's what you
always want, these kind of rivalry games.

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But something you mentioned just real quickly, you know, somebody asked me

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or mentioned to me Saturday afternoon,
you know, before kickoff, and asked

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me if I saw the you know, college Game Day. I said no,

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And you know, I didn't see
any of it. I was out

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and about doing some stuff before you
know, an afternoon of football in college

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sports and everything in college basketball.
I was at a Christmas parade with my

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son's scout troop. But somebody mentioned
to me that the College Game Day crew.

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I don't know if this is one
hundred percent, but somebody told me

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that they all picked Navy. I
was like, that's funny because I told

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them. When my buddy told me
that, I said, that's funny because

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we had a clean sweep on Yards
and Stripes this week. Everybody pick an

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Army and he goes, oh wow, he goes, you know, talk

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about a contrast and styles. I
said, well, well, I think

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probably on the show, you obviously
had Corso coached at Navy, and then

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you had Belichick who was a guest
picker, so I kind of understand,

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but I don't know if it was
a clean sweep. My what I just

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left him with was, well,
that's why if you want to know and

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talk about Service Academy football, you
should listen to the Yards and Stripes versus

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those Yay who's on TV and Herb
Street and Reece Davis. Because all four

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of us we nailed it. We
had Army as our winners team. Yeah,

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we all had Army. We all
had the over, and we all

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took it. As my old friend
the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes would say

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to the pay Winda, you had
Army fifteen to fourteen. I had Army

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seventeen to thirteen. So yeah,
we were both on the over, which

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I kind of regretted that pick a
little bit, not picking Army, but

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kind of regretted going over because I
think I saw the spread numbers in like

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the last fifty Army Navy games,
like forty something were on the hit the

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under, So I was like,
yeah, it was, it was,

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it was the Yeah, it was. It was ten of the last eleven

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and going into last last the last
week's game, And the only reason that

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last year's game didn't hit the under
is because they went to overtime. So

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if they all the others had gone
the previous ten in a row had all

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gone under, and so you know, the under is usually the smarter play

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in this game. But I had
a feeling that it you know, that

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that number has come has come down
significantly over the last decade. I think

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when when the the understreak started,
it was at like thirty six and a

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half, and last week's game was
twenty seven and a half. So obviously

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there's it's going to be normally a
close fought, you know, a very

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low scoring type of game. And
so I was lucky to get twenty seven

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and a half. I know at
kickoff, ESPN BET had it at twenty

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eight and a half. So at
that point, you if you were able

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to get twenty eight and a half
and you took the under you took it

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to the pay window. But if
you got twenty seven and a half,

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you needed the over to hit.
And I got twenty seven and a half.

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And when Bryson Daily stepped out of
the back of the end zone at

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the end of the game to make
it seventeen and eleven, I was happy.

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Well, there were a lot of
happy Army Black Knight fans and there

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still are. Steven is let's get
you know, kind of get into the

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minutia of the game. Is Army
gets a seventeen to eleven win. The

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Black Knights finished six and six on
the season, Navy five and seven.

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But more importantly than those records,
the one that counts as Army two and

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zero against its Service Academy rivals.
They capture that Commander in Chief trophy for

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the first time since twenty and in
the fourth time outright in the last seven

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seasons, as they end the season
on a four game winning streak that started

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in Denver when they shocked Air Force, then undefeated Air Force and nationally ranked

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Falcons, you know, twenty three
to three, and they hadn't looked back.

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They have been a different team since. So congratulations to Jeff Mounkins Black

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Knights, and certainly Mike Buddy,
their athletic director, somebody I know from

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his time at Furman University. But
boy, Steven, this was not one

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you know is Army jumped out and
we thought, boy, when they got

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up seventeen to three, you know, game set match. In this one,

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it was anything but especially after Army
linebacker Caleb Fortner strip sack and fumble

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recovery, he takes it the other
way forty four yards for that touchdown to

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make it seventeen to three with four
forty nine left. But boy, yeah,

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it comes down right to the wire. Ty Lavatai, who came into

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the game for Xavier ar line in
the second quarter. Down seventeen to three,

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they ride his arm all the way
down. They get a touchdown to

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narrow the gap going for two,
and then they hold Army to three and

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out, and boy, Navy comes
storming back down the field without timeouts,

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and you know, they get down
to the two yard line before they're stopped

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with what three seconds left, and
then Army with that safety taking out of

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the back of the end zone with
three seconds left and that's it. But

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boy, in a game that we
thought was over, there with about five

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minutes to go. It turned out
to be anything. But we saved in

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certainly Foxborough hosting the game for the
first time in the state of Massachusetts,

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they saved all the fireworks, it
seemed like, really for the end.

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Yeah, the fourth quarter was just
wild, going back and forth. You

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know, you look at it,
it seemed like the final quarter of each

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half was the one where we saw
all of the action take place. I

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look at with the interception by Max
d. Domenico of Xavier r Line that

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led to Army's only offensive touchdown.
You look at it. Navy was marching

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its way down the field, the
Domenico makes that interception inside the red zone.

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In fact, it was I believe
inside the five that he actually made

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the interception and brought it back out
to around the forty. But I was

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like, okay, this is absolutely
wild. That we talked about all of

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the small almost intangibles that you know, was going to decide what happened in

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this game. Turnover margin Navy was
minus two, and both of the turnovers

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led to touchdowns. The interception by
the Dominico, obviously, Army goes down

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and scores its only touchdown, and
then the stripsack as you mentioned by Caleb

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Fordner directly, Uh a touchdown.
Uh. You know, the the little

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lapses uh in concentration and the lack
of attention to detail on on very small

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events. Uh. Because even after
the uh, after the interception, you

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know, they they get to a
point, they get down there and all

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of a sudden, Tyson Riley is
out wide to the right and nobody is

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out there and they're going somebody get
on him, and Daily is able to

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snap the ball, get the ball
over there. He misses there. There's

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a pass deflection that misses by like
the width of a finger. Uh.

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You know, we went too far
and the ball goes underneath the hand and

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into the gut of Tyson Riley for
that first touchdown. You know that,

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you know that's a that's a play
that you know, that's a that's a

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lapse of concentration. Navy has a
a drive going and they get called for

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a penalty on third down on third
and short where they got the first down

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and ends up going from I think
third and two to third and nine or

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third and seven or third and three
to third and eight and the d up

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having to pump the ball after that
and that and that next drive I believe

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led to Quinn Moretzky's field goal at
the end of the half. So it

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was just these really small things that
is attention to detail that that Navy had

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problems with and then unfortunately led to
their defeat in this game. Yeah,

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and you know, the it started, you know, the one of the

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biggest mistakes was, you know,
when Tyson Riley was not covered and as

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you mentioned, the ball was tipped
and you know it maybe it was another

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half step that could have been a
pick six goingred, you know, one

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hundred yards the other way. It
wasn't it was. It was also the

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first touchdown pass for Army against Navy
since two and fifteen. And it also

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marked ironically and kind of strangely,
the eighth straight game that in eight straight

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Army Navy game at least where Army
has scored the game's first touchdown. Now,

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as you mentioned, it was the
their first and only offensive touchdown,

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but you know that's all they needed
in the game. And you know,

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you know it kind of no doubt
about Army, without a doubt, outplayed

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Navy in the first half. You
know, I think that you saw the

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spark that ty Lavatai, the senior, came in when he relieved Xavier r.

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Line his you know fellow senior you
know under center at quarterback because I

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think that first drive, you know, they couldn't get anything going. But

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it was right after that where they
really got on the move and you saw,

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okay, this team is just better
suited but you know with our line.

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And he went the rest of the
way, including almost taking them down

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and winning you know, the game. You know there at the end or

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at least almost you know, a
chance to potentially tie it. But still

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it's just incredible. You know again
again they you know, Navy fights back,

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makes a game of it. You
know, we mentioned Quinn Moretsky last

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week. Still has not missed a
kick. What Service Academy game, right,

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Steven, I believe now I think
eight for eight. So that was

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a big field goal there late in
the half to go up ten oh for

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the Black Knights at halftime. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, And I know

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that there were certain members of the
Moretzki family that thought I was trying to

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jinx their son. Shout out to
the Maretzkis. I know they they listen

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to Yards and Stripes. They're one
of the great families that do, and

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you know it helped. You know, it's nice that that you know their

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son was able to get, you
know, to stay perfect in these games.

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Missus Maretski, I'm not trying to
jinx your son. I actually did

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think he was going to kick five
field goals to win the game for the

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Black Knights, but uh, you
know, he he's been so solid as

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a kicker for this Black Knights team. And you know, going from forty

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seven with the half ending, knowing
that you're gonna have an opportunity for a

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two for one at that point because
Army was going to get the ball to

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start the third quarter, and to
be able to put Army in that position

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where they could go two for one. They ended up not being able to

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go two for one, but they
had the opportunity. Really, if they're

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able to get a touchdown at that
point and make it seventeen to nothing in

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the third quarter, I think Army
runs away with this one. I think

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it's like twenty four or even like
twenty seven nothing at that point. I

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think they really could have stepped on
Navy's throat. So that's a credit to

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the defense of the midshipman that they
were able to get the three and out

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there kind of get back, get
back in the swing of things, so

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to speak, and keep that game
at ten to nothing and then finally get

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on the board at the beginning of
the fourth quarter to make it ten to

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three and make it a one score
game and really set up the fireworks in

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the fourth Yeah, no question,
you know, just like the first quarter,

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the third quarter obviously was a scoreless
period. But then you know,

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Navy gets on the board with a
field goal. Nathan Kirkwood knocks one home

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00:16:21,399 --> 00:16:25,320
there with twelve forty five to go
to make it ten to three. You

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00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:30,000
know, you mentioned the false start
penalty because Navy did have a false start

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00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,960
penalty on that drive. I believe
it was second and four, and then

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00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:37,960
you know, a false start penalty
on Trey Cummings, you know, moved

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00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,840
it back and you know those are
you know, we know, watching academy

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00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:44,440
football for so long, those kind
of five yard penalties can be drive killers,

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00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:48,279
and pre snap penalties are killers.
Yep, and Navy had a lot

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of pre snap issues. And speaking
of Trey Cummings, I don't know if

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if you saw it, but the
feature story on Trey Cummings during the pregame.

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00:16:56,879 --> 00:17:00,159
You know that lasted obviously a long
time on CBS Sports Network, then

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00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:03,920
on CBS where they they profile the
Cummings family, was just incredible with his

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mom, you know, tragically shot
in Annapolis, you know, the day

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of I Day when he was starting
at the Academy. Really really tragic story

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00:17:12,279 --> 00:17:15,240
and your heart goes out to him. But it was a really well done

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00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:18,400
piece. But he was the false
start penalty on that play. But you

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know, maybe still finds a way
to gets points on the on the Kirkwood

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00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:26,000
field goal and then three and out. Navy gets the ball back and you

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know they you know, exchange some
three and outs, but then the midshipman

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there, you know, trying to
get back in the football game, can't

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00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:41,079
do it. Caleb Portner strips ty
Lavata as that his Navy had driven inside,

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00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:45,079
just inside Army territory. He stepped
up to avoid the rush there,

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but did not secure the football,
and Fortner you know, strips it and

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00:17:51,839 --> 00:17:55,079
then turns right around. It kind
of bounces right to him. Steve and

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00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:57,440
you know, almost in stride,
bounces up, takes it and goes forty

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00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:02,480
four yards the other way. And
that's what we thought would be the you

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know, the end, the nail
and the coffin, but it was anything

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00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:10,119
but I mean, it's just unbelievable. When everybody I was on you know,

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I started flipping around like Okay,
I'm gonna, you know, take

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00:18:11,759 --> 00:18:15,039
a look and see what else is
out there, you know, to go,

242
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you know, go back, you
know, for to see the Alma

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00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,200
maters, just because you know the
game was probably over, but you know,

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00:18:21,519 --> 00:18:23,839
go back, and boy, Navy's
right back in this thing, you

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00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:29,400
know behind you know, a senior
ty Lavati with that that will to win.

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00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,079
You know that you don't want to
go out that way, and you

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00:18:32,119 --> 00:18:36,359
know, Navy driving down and you
know, getting the touchdown pass to to

248
00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:40,759
Jade Umbarger before the two point conversion
failed because some people were wondering, why

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00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:45,599
go for two at that point?
Why would uh Navy head coach Brian Newberry

250
00:18:45,599 --> 00:18:48,480
go for two? You know,
it didn't really come up in the postgame

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00:18:48,519 --> 00:18:52,240
press conference from my understanding, just
because from what I saw, because it

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00:18:52,279 --> 00:18:53,920
really was you know, moot point
at that point. But you know,

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00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:56,920
they were going for the win.
You know, if they could have gotten

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00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:02,319
another score, you know, stop
and score. So you know, lavatai

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00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:04,960
drives him down and you know,
Umbarger was really the man of that drive.

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00:19:06,279 --> 00:19:07,880
You know, fifteen yard catch,
a fourteen yard catch down to the

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00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:14,440
Army fourteen and then you know the
touchdown pass out of the shotgun to Umbarger

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00:19:15,079 --> 00:19:18,839
to make it what's seventeen to nine
there late in the game, steam giving

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00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:23,000
them a chance after they force another
Army three and out. Yeah. Yeah,

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00:19:23,079 --> 00:19:30,119
the strip sack and fumble recovery by
Fortners was just a really brilliant play

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00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:34,039
by him. He had seen that
Lavata stepping up and he had tried to

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00:19:34,119 --> 00:19:37,000
tuck the ball down by his waist, but he didn't get it all the

263
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,559
way down, and he was able
to get his hand in there and kind

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00:19:40,559 --> 00:19:44,440
of punch the ball out and yeah, it bounced right up to him like

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00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:47,480
like it was rugby, and it
was off to the races for him.

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00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:49,119
And at that point I was with
you. I was like, oh God,

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00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:55,480
this game's over. You know,
it's it's now a fourteen point deficit.

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00:19:55,599 --> 00:19:59,839
Where here in the fourth quarter,
you know what's gonna happen. You

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00:19:59,839 --> 00:20:04,400
know, Lavatah leads the team down, he gets the the score, they

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00:20:04,559 --> 00:20:08,240
they go for two and they and
they fail. Uh. At that point,

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00:20:08,319 --> 00:20:12,319
and and I knew that at some
point they were gonna have to go

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00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:17,079
for two if they didn't want to
go to overtime for a second consecutive year.

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00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:19,839
And I think that Brian Newberry was
smart that, you know, if

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00:20:19,839 --> 00:20:25,039
you let's go for it now,
uh, because that gives us a point

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00:20:25,039 --> 00:20:27,720
where if we if we fail,
we can go for it again. If

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00:20:27,799 --> 00:20:32,400
we can score before the end of
the before the end of the quarter,

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00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,799
go for two again, and if
we make it, then we can still

278
00:20:36,839 --> 00:20:40,920
at least force overtime. And so
you I, I like, I like

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00:20:41,079 --> 00:20:45,240
the aggressive nature of the call.
When they don't make it, you're going,

280
00:20:45,319 --> 00:20:48,720
okay, so they so now now
you have to go for it.

281
00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,559
Uh, you know that that you're
gonna have to go for it again,

282
00:20:52,519 --> 00:20:59,440
but you know, give uh give. I would give Navies defensive line credit

283
00:20:59,519 --> 00:21:06,279
because on that last drive for Army
they had a couple of procedure penalties pre

284
00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:10,079
snap that forced them to go three
and out and so Navy was able to

285
00:21:10,079 --> 00:21:15,759
get the ball back in really good
position and be able to and then the

286
00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:22,200
Army defense kind of got a little
soft there and were allowing the hitch plays

287
00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:23,839
for LaVita. I mean, he
ends up with almost one hundred and eighty

288
00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,599
yards through the air, and most
of it came on that last drive.

289
00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:33,759
But we talked about maxd Domenico early. He had a pass defense on that

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00:21:33,839 --> 00:21:38,759
last drive on a hitch and go
that you know, if he's not able

291
00:21:38,759 --> 00:21:44,720
to get his fingertip on the football, I think Umbarger or yeah, I

292
00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:49,599
think Umbarger gets that ball and is
able to waltz into the end zone for

293
00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:55,680
a touchdown with plenty of time remaining
to go for two. And even if

294
00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:57,720
you don't make that two point conversion, you get the on side kick,

295
00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,400
so or you go for the on
side kick at that point. So you

296
00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:07,960
know, give Max do Domenico a
huge credit, uh for the for the

297
00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:14,200
for the knockdown there on that hitch
and go that was that could have saved

298
00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:18,440
the game for Army. Yeah yeah, uh Lava tie going five of eight

299
00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:21,960
on that last drive and gets it
down to the two yard line, and

300
00:22:22,079 --> 00:22:25,519
just like the second year in a
row, almost down to the goal line

301
00:22:26,079 --> 00:22:29,799
as Navy got it to the two
uh Lava ties. Uh you know,

302
00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:34,680
a fourth and goal uh seconds remaining, uh drives it can't clearly did not

303
00:22:34,759 --> 00:22:37,960
get the goal line. I know
they were reviewing it. I'm like,

304
00:22:37,039 --> 00:22:41,079
I don't know what you're reviewing,
but Dre Miller making a big stop for

305
00:22:41,079 --> 00:22:45,240
for Army. I mean, he
was credited with the tackle the Army junior

306
00:22:45,279 --> 00:22:48,240
defensive end, but it was really
almost a team tackle. There were so

307
00:22:48,279 --> 00:22:51,160
many guys there. It was just
a scrum and you know, it was

308
00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:53,599
a big, big moment for Dre
Miller obviously making that play who was stretchered

309
00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:57,119
off earlier in the season and the
loss at Syracuse, but you know,

310
00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:03,680
getting that stop preserving the victory for
the Black Knights just an outstanding way for

311
00:23:03,759 --> 00:23:08,559
this football game to When you think
that we can't see these games end any

312
00:23:08,599 --> 00:23:14,079
more, strangely they do. And
this was just another kind of another unique

313
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,400
ending for the second year in row. After we saw overtime for the first

314
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:22,599
time ever last year. I know, it's so weird to think, Okay,

315
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:27,559
how how can they make this any
different than than what we've seen?

316
00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:30,559
You know, what sort of exciting
finish are are we going to see?

317
00:23:30,559 --> 00:23:36,079
We've seen We've seen you know,
field goals winning game winning field goals in

318
00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:41,359
the snow. We've seen. Now
we've seen overtime, and how and how

319
00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:45,480
well, this finish may have been, uh, one of the most heart

320
00:23:45,519 --> 00:23:51,160
wrenching if you're if you're a Navy
fan, and one of the most exhilarating

321
00:23:51,519 --> 00:23:56,119
thrilling ends for for Black Knights fans, because you just see, you know,

322
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:57,799
you're thinking, okay, Navy has
gone down the field. They've gone

323
00:23:57,799 --> 00:24:03,119
down the field. They've gone down
the you'll to get to within six feet

324
00:24:03,799 --> 00:24:07,359
of your goal line. And on
fourth down, here comes ty Lavatai,

325
00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:14,440
who has been incredible since taking over
for Xavier r Line. Not only one

326
00:24:14,519 --> 00:24:18,599
hundred and eighty yards through the air, but he was averaging four yards of

327
00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:22,960
carry. He had almost seventy five
yards on the ground and he needed six

328
00:24:22,039 --> 00:24:26,359
feet and by the way, he's
six feet two. So it's you know,

329
00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:32,680
he's he's all he has to do
is basically fall over and he's in

330
00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,359
the end zone and all of a
sudden, as he's pushing forward, you

331
00:24:36,519 --> 00:24:41,119
just see him get swallowed and I'm
sitting there and I'm going he's short.

332
00:24:41,759 --> 00:24:45,000
It's like, I'm like, oh
my god, he's short. It was

333
00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:52,119
like I couldn't believe. You know, I'm sitting here in my house watching

334
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:56,839
this game, and my wife is
like, oh, my god, what's

335
00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:02,359
wrong? What's wrong? Because she
just hears me screaming short. It was.

336
00:25:02,599 --> 00:25:07,319
It was absolutely it. You know
every time we say this game,

337
00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:11,359
you know, for a game that
is not known for being one of these

338
00:25:11,559 --> 00:25:17,279
running gun you know, you're not
gonna have a fifty three fifty type of

339
00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:22,920
game when these two teams play.
But there is nothing short of exhilaration and

340
00:25:23,559 --> 00:25:30,160
excitement in this game, and you
know, nervous energy on both sides because

341
00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:34,279
you feel you can feel it,
you know, the the excitement from from

342
00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:40,519
all of these players. And it's
why, it's why I love this game.

343
00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:45,960
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, It's
just it's America's game for a reason,

344
00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:51,319
and America loves it. We loved
it on Saturday. Was just fantastic.

345
00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:52,599
Maybe if you're a Navy fan you
didn't quite love it, but Army

346
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:57,319
fans still loving it. Is the
Black Knights again back at Top Service Academy

347
00:25:57,319 --> 00:26:02,200
football with that Commander in Chief trophy
which was not in the house at the

348
00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:06,880
Air Force Academy, probably gonna make
Army come out and get it. I

349
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:08,880
remember when Navy won it, I
think and kind of ended a street years

350
00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:12,279
ago. They made Navy drive a
moving truck out there to get it and

351
00:26:12,279 --> 00:26:17,839
bring it back just because it's so
big. But you know, the trophy

352
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:22,960
was not in the house to this
to the dismay of some, but you

353
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,440
know, all accounts that I heard
see from people that were at the game,

354
00:26:27,599 --> 00:26:32,200
that worked the game, that were
around the game there in Foxborough and

355
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:36,799
the Greater Boston area, it was
a I heard it was a fantastic experience

356
00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:41,319
from everybody that I talked to,
from the Patriots that were hosting, to

357
00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:45,839
the city, to the you know, the different events that were going on

358
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:51,160
around the game. Everything I heard
was that it was tip top and a

359
00:26:51,359 --> 00:26:56,960
fantastic, unbelievable weekend. So definitely
at kudos and shout out to Foxborough at

360
00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:02,880
Boston for their outstanding job hosting the
game. As this game now will be

361
00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:07,240
heading to the Greater DC area next
year, but we got game balls to

362
00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:12,720
give out. Steven big game balls
here, especially being the one hundred and

363
00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:18,599
twenty fourth Army Navy game. Who's
going to get your game ball from Saturday?

364
00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:22,640
Yeah, I was thinking I was
thinking of going with Max de Domenico.

365
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:30,920
I mentioned the interception of Xavier r
Line early the past breakup late against

366
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:36,799
Ty Lavatai. He certainly deserved recognition, but mine's gonna go to Dre Miller

367
00:27:37,759 --> 00:27:42,920
as he was officially credited with the
tackle of ty Lavatai about three inches from

368
00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:48,440
the goal line with three seconds to
play, to make sure that Navy did

369
00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:52,799
not get into the end zone and
had an opportunity to tie the game.

370
00:27:53,400 --> 00:28:00,599
He forces the turnover on downs,
a nose of a football away from pay

371
00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:04,400
dirt, and so for that and
being able to come back from what was

372
00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:10,160
a really scary moment in the Syracuse
game. You mentioned him having to be

373
00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:15,119
stretchered off in that Syracuse game to
be able to come back play in this

374
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:22,519
game and bring in one of the
most important moments in Army season and something

375
00:28:22,559 --> 00:28:27,680
that's going to be they'll replay that
that finish for years because it was one

376
00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:32,720
of the most exciting finishes we'll ever
see. We'll see Dre Miller a lot

377
00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:38,720
over the next few years when they
show highlights of Army Navy on CBS.

378
00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:45,359
So congratulations, Dre, you get
my game ball. Well, congratulations to

379
00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:51,960
sophomore linebacker Caleb Fortner from Army.
He's getting my game ball because he had

380
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:56,519
a team high ten tackles had obviously
the big strip sack on ty Lavatai on

381
00:28:56,640 --> 00:29:02,799
third down there near midfield, and
you know, recovered the fumble at the

382
00:29:02,839 --> 00:29:06,839
forty four taking it the other way
for the touchdown with four forty nine to

383
00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,319
go. And guess really what turned
out to be the difference in the game

384
00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:15,200
a seventeen to thirteen lead is is
maybe obviously scored a touchdown and then got

385
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:21,880
it to seventeen eleven with the safety
there late. But Caleb Fortner coming up

386
00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:26,640
big as Army linebackers doing that yet
again late in the game in the Army

387
00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:32,119
Navy game for a second year in
a row. So congratulations to Army sophomore

388
00:29:32,279 --> 00:29:34,920
Caleb Fortner, the linebacker with the
team high ten tackles and then the strip

389
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:40,119
sack for the forty four yard touchdown. By the way, by the way

390
00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:45,000
price yep, but by the way, before we before we finish up,

391
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:48,640
I know we went. We went
heavy on on Army with the with the

392
00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:55,319
game balls. I also want to
acknowledge Colin Ramos's job obviously first team All

393
00:29:55,720 --> 00:30:02,599
AAC linebacker and really showed why he
should be first team All AC. He

394
00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:06,920
had sixteen tackles in the game,
and I know that a lot was made

395
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:12,440
on the on the television broadcast from
Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson about Colin Ramos

396
00:30:12,519 --> 00:30:18,079
versus Leo Loewen. Lowen had had
a really big game, but Ramos had

397
00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:22,079
had just an enormous contest, uh
and did everything in his power to make

398
00:30:22,119 --> 00:30:27,400
sure that that Navy was able to
stay within striking distance. So I do

399
00:30:27,599 --> 00:30:33,640
I do want to give him an
acknowledgment as well. Yeah, one hundred

400
00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:37,440
percent, and then you know,
I'll just throw another quick with really quick

401
00:30:37,559 --> 00:30:40,200
Bryce and Daily, you know,
toughest nail. So Jeff Munkins said,

402
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:42,079
he's on the toughest he's ever had, you know, at the Academy turnover

403
00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:47,359
free football. I believe what in
his first Army Navy start twenty seven,

404
00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:49,440
carries a team high eighty four yards
and through that you know, had the

405
00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:53,279
presence of mind to see Tyson Riley
wide open and get him the football.

406
00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:56,720
Although it was a little bit shaky, he got it, which cap turned

407
00:30:56,720 --> 00:31:03,279
a turnover into points that twelve play, sixty five yard drive seven thirteen off

408
00:31:03,279 --> 00:31:07,640
the clock, So that got Army
the lead in one they would not relinquish.

409
00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:11,559
So we got more to do Steven, We've got the Lockheed Martin Armed

410
00:31:11,559 --> 00:31:15,200
Forces Bowl we're gonna preview. Coming
up in the next segment the Air Force

411
00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:18,720
Academy taken on number twenty four James
Madison, that is coming up on December

412
00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:22,400
of the twenty third. We got
our Travis Mannan Foundation on a roll segment.

413
00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:26,720
We got the new American Athletic Conference
schedule format to tell you about.

414
00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:30,039
We got a whole lot more to
do, including a few couple of surprising

415
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:34,839
entries, one especially that has hit
the transfer portal from our three academies.

416
00:31:36,359 --> 00:31:38,880
We will do that right here.
Coming up next on Yards and Stripes your

417
00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:44,200
home for Service Academy Football as we
are part of the College Gridiron Coast to

418
00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:48,720
Coast podcast network, where you can
listen to podcasts that involve any of your

419
00:31:48,759 --> 00:31:52,799
favorite college football teams, conferences,
whatever it is. We got you all

420
00:31:52,880 --> 00:32:00,319
covered during bowl season at College Gridiron
Coast to Coast on the Apple podcast speaker,

421
00:32:00,759 --> 00:32:05,720
Spotify, wherever it is you get
your podcasts. Just search us Yards

422
00:32:05,759 --> 00:32:08,799
and Stripes or College Gridiron and boy, you will have an array of contact

423
00:32:09,279 --> 00:32:14,759
at your fingertips this December during bowl
season. All right, Steve and I

424
00:32:14,799 --> 00:32:16,599
will be back here on Yards and
Stripes, don't go away. A lot

425
00:32:16,599 --> 00:32:22,799
more to do when we come back
the latest with Navy, Army and Air

426
00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:29,720
Force on Yards and Stripes, Service
Academy Football. All right, moving lighter

427
00:32:29,839 --> 00:32:32,960
right along here on Yards and Stripes
your home or service Academy Football, Army,

428
00:32:34,119 --> 00:32:37,279
Navy and Air Force. And we
got a lot more coming up here

429
00:32:37,279 --> 00:32:40,480
as we've got our Travis Mannion Foundation
on a roll segment. We got a

430
00:32:40,519 --> 00:32:44,720
lot of news and notes to pass
along to you. But in this segment

431
00:32:44,759 --> 00:32:52,599
we're gonna hit on several different things, including the American Athletic Conference releasing its

432
00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:57,640
new schedule format, obviously Army being
added to the mix. The eighties approved

433
00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:02,319
the new format this week, and
the Americans second season with football fourteen football

434
00:33:02,319 --> 00:33:07,319
playing institutions will be next year as
they continue with the single division format,

435
00:33:07,799 --> 00:33:14,440
and the top two teams will meet
in the regular season championship game to be

436
00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:20,519
determined the exact date and time of
that one. But what we do know,

437
00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:23,680
Steven, is the opponents that Army
and Navy will be facing at home

438
00:33:23,759 --> 00:33:30,519
in a way. The full dates
and schedules will be announced by the conference

439
00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:34,880
in February. But what we do
know is this Army's first year in the

440
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:40,200
American and we'll see Army hosting at
Mikey Stadium, UAB East Carolina, Rice,

441
00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:46,000
and UT San Antonio, while they
will hit the road against Florida Atlantic,

442
00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:52,400
North Texas, Temple and Tulsa.
We know that there are other two

443
00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:58,119
non conference games which you obviously will
have four non conference We know two of

444
00:33:58,119 --> 00:34:00,799
those will be against Navy and Air
Force. What we don't know is if

445
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:06,240
the Army's two other games will involve
Lehigh, Yukon, Syracuse, Dartmouth,

446
00:34:06,319 --> 00:34:08,519
UNLB, U Mass WAKEORP, Ball
State, who were all scheduled to be

447
00:34:08,679 --> 00:34:14,360
on next year's schedule. So that's
something that we're going to find out in

448
00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:19,840
the coming weeks, likely more in
February when that full schedule is announced.

449
00:34:20,039 --> 00:34:24,719
Navy's opponents next year in the American
at home will be Charlotte, Memphis,

450
00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:30,760
Temple in Tulane, all coming to
Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, while the

451
00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:36,719
Mids will hit the road against UAB
East Carolina, Rice in South Florida.

452
00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:43,480
Not confirmed, but non conference obviously
they will take Navy will take on Air

453
00:34:43,519 --> 00:34:46,320
Force and Army. Yes, Army
will be a non conference game, and

454
00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:52,719
then Notre Dame and likely Bucknell is
Navy's for non conference games, So if

455
00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:57,920
you're scoring at home, I think
Army got a little bit of a welcome

456
00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:01,760
matt rolled out by the AAC.
Is they will only two teams that made

457
00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:07,320
bowl games last year or made bowl
games this year out of the AAC.

458
00:35:07,519 --> 00:35:12,519
Well, Navy will face four bowl
teams next season in the Americans. So

459
00:35:12,519 --> 00:35:16,800
Steve your thoughts on what we have
gotten just released from the American regarding next

460
00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:22,559
year's schedule. Well, I'm excited
because that means Navy is coming here to

461
00:35:22,599 --> 00:35:28,679
Tampa to play the USF Bowls,
and hopefully I get an opportunity to be

462
00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:34,239
at that game. I'll certainly do
my best in order to do so.

463
00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:37,159
I think you're right. I think
Army got a little bit of a break

464
00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:44,960
not having to play a couple of
the bowl teams that are going to be

465
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:50,039
from the American Athletic Conference this year. They don't play USF, they don't

466
00:35:50,079 --> 00:35:53,679
play Memphis, and they don't play
Tulane, which I think is a huge

467
00:35:54,639 --> 00:36:00,679
boost for them, and both of
the bowl teams that they will face UH

468
00:36:00,719 --> 00:36:06,639
in the in conference schedule are both
gonna be at home, which is another

469
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:12,079
huge plus for the Black Knights schedule, whereas Navy will have two of their

470
00:36:12,119 --> 00:36:21,760
conference bowl games at home UH in
Rice an excuse me, in Tulane and

471
00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:24,360
in Memphis, and then they will
go to Rice and they will go to

472
00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:30,599
USF. And in addition to that, they'll have a fifth ball team on

473
00:36:30,639 --> 00:36:37,000
their schedule with UH with air Force
and then of course Notre Dame UH being

474
00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:42,480
being a part of their schedule.
So that that's a that's a really tough

475
00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:47,519
schedule for the midshipment. I think
Army UH certainly seems to be at seems

476
00:36:47,559 --> 00:36:52,400
to have it a little easier.
They've got two conference bowl teams they'll play

477
00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:58,599
obviously air Force, who will be
in a bowl UH, so that's three.

478
00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:06,480
And then determining who's going to be
in their their other two non conference

479
00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:09,440
opponents if they want to go easy, UH, do they go Lehigh and

480
00:37:09,519 --> 00:37:15,119
Dartmouth, you know, neither of
those teams are making a bowl game because

481
00:37:15,119 --> 00:37:20,000
they're both FCS clubs. Or do
they go Syracuse. That that would add

482
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:22,719
a bull that would add to their
strength of schedule because Syracuse obviously in a

483
00:37:22,719 --> 00:37:27,880
bowl game this year. They're playing
in the Boca Ratone Bowl against South Florida

484
00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:31,760
UH and then do you go with
a with a WAKE or do you do

485
00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:37,400
you try and make your schedule as
challenging as possible. That is all to

486
00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:44,000
be determined by the conferences. Obviously, the American will will have to talk

487
00:37:44,039 --> 00:37:53,800
with the ACC if they want to
shift around Syracuse and and Wake. Because

488
00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:58,679
Wake was supposed to be late in
the season. It was supposed to be

489
00:37:59,039 --> 00:38:05,000
November sixteenth. Syracuse was scheduled to
be early September twenty first. So we'll

490
00:38:05,079 --> 00:38:09,800
see. We'll see what the conferences
can work out and what Army schedule will

491
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:15,559
look like here in a couple of
months. But of the teams that they

492
00:38:15,559 --> 00:38:22,440
are going to play at home UAB
Army and five all time against the Blazers.

493
00:38:22,039 --> 00:38:27,880
They're also to eight all time against
East Carolina. Now, both of

494
00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:30,480
those teams they have not seen in
twenty years. You gotta go back to

495
00:38:30,519 --> 00:38:36,800
two thousand and four to find the
last time that Army played either of those

496
00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:43,880
teams. They're also going to Tulsa, who they've only played once all time.

497
00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:50,360
That came back in two thousand and
seven. Obviously, Army and Utsa

498
00:38:50,440 --> 00:38:54,920
have played each other the last couple
of years. North Texas they have seen

499
00:38:55,079 --> 00:39:01,000
before. Temple obviously they have seen
before. It's been a few years for

500
00:39:01,599 --> 00:39:07,400
North Texas and for Temple this will
be the first time that they ever played

501
00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:14,599
Florida Atlantic going to Boca for that
game. Hopefully for Army that game comes

502
00:39:14,679 --> 00:39:19,719
late because you don't want to be
in Boca in early September because it's going

503
00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:24,920
to be hot as the Dickens.
So it's going to be an interesting setup,

504
00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:29,800
that is for sure for Army in
their first year in the AC.

505
00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:36,599
Yeah. One game to keep an
eye on in terms of Army schedule is

506
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:42,159
a potential matchup with Notre Dame next
year. It was reported several years ago

507
00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:47,639
that Army and Notre Dame would meet
in twenty twenty four, which would be

508
00:39:47,679 --> 00:39:53,599
the one hundredth anniversary of the Four
Horsemen game that Allowmi and Notre Dame played

509
00:39:54,000 --> 00:40:01,519
in nineteen twenty four. Reports suggested
possibly a November matchup at Yankee Stadium.

510
00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:06,199
It remains to be seen. I
have not heard any more about that.

511
00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:12,320
But grantlin Rice, who was a
journalist in covering the game, he pinned,

512
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:15,280
you know, at the Horseman game
because of Notre Dame's backfield that Notre

513
00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:20,880
Dame ended up winning thirteen to seven
in a fantastic showdown, but that was

514
00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:22,840
back in nineteen twenty four, so
something to keep an eye on as a

515
00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:29,920
potential Notre Dame Army one hundredth anniversary
match up there in November between those two

516
00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:31,400
teams. So we'll see. We
will find out, obviously in the coming

517
00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:36,440
weeks and months what the full and
final schedules are going to look like.

518
00:40:36,679 --> 00:40:39,119
All right, before we get to
the our Lackeyed Martin Armed Forces Bowl preview,

519
00:40:39,239 --> 00:40:43,679
just real quick, Steve, the
transfer portal. It's alive and well

520
00:40:43,719 --> 00:40:46,360
man, it's kicking, and it's
probably bitten everybody's team in the rear end

521
00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:51,280
to some degree, whether you're an
Academy fan or not. But it has

522
00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:55,719
bitten the academies. And one big
bite, Steve that I was really kind

523
00:40:55,719 --> 00:41:00,920
of surprised to see was from the
Air Air Force Academy. Running back John

524
00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:06,920
Lee Eldridge, who has a year
of eligibility left, saw his name hitting

525
00:41:06,920 --> 00:41:09,719
the transfer portal, as he is
the third leading rusher for the Falcons.

526
00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:15,320
UH the biggest name without a doubt, at least until this point. Up

527
00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:19,679
to this point of any of our
three players from our three teams hitting the

528
00:41:19,679 --> 00:41:24,239
transfer portal. Defensive lineman Caden Blum
also in the transfer portal for air Force

529
00:41:24,280 --> 00:41:30,360
as well. But John Lee Eldridge
a big name, yeah really and and

530
00:41:30,519 --> 00:41:37,239
someone that was was a big part
of the Falcons running game this year between

531
00:41:37,519 --> 00:41:43,760
you know, the three headed monster
that was Zach Larrier and Emmanuel Michelle and

532
00:41:43,760 --> 00:41:47,880
and John Lee Eldridge. To to
see him, uh, looking to play

533
00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:54,519
elsewhere next year is is very very
I don't I don't want to call it

534
00:41:54,599 --> 00:42:01,599
concerning because it's football, but the
fact that he's not going to be uh,

535
00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:05,559
or that that he, you know, still with a year of eligibility

536
00:42:05,679 --> 00:42:14,119
left, is looking to play somewhere
other than in Colorado Springs is kind of

537
00:42:14,159 --> 00:42:21,159
interesting. Uh. The fact is
that you know, he's obviously got a

538
00:42:21,159 --> 00:42:27,039
military commitment uh in front of him
as well. But uh, I certainly

539
00:42:27,079 --> 00:42:31,400
think that for for Eldridge to try
and play elsewhere, I'm kind of curious

540
00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:38,920
to see what teams would be looking
to try and bring him in and what

541
00:42:39,079 --> 00:42:43,559
his role might be if he's is
he if he's looking to go to a

542
00:42:43,679 --> 00:42:49,199
larger school, if he's looking to
maybe go to a a smaller school,

543
00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:55,239
maybe even uh drop down into the
FCS category. You know what what he

544
00:42:55,280 --> 00:43:01,559
would do for for one of those
schools that But that's the one that when

545
00:43:01,639 --> 00:43:06,599
you mentioned that he was officially in
the transfer portal, I kind of I

546
00:43:06,719 --> 00:43:10,760
just kind of went, WHOA,
that could be very very big. Yeah.

547
00:43:12,079 --> 00:43:15,440
Also in the transfer portal from the
Naval Academy defensive back Elias Larry.

548
00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:21,159
He appeared in twenty six games,
started twelve over the past three seasons,

549
00:43:21,199 --> 00:43:24,000
but he did not play in the
Army Navy game, where he ended up

550
00:43:24,039 --> 00:43:28,760
third on the depth chart, but
also didn't play in five of the last

551
00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:32,559
six. But he started this season
at boundary corner for the Mids before Deshaun

552
00:43:32,639 --> 00:43:37,559
Peel ended up getting most of the
time there at that spot. So a

553
00:43:37,559 --> 00:43:43,840
couple of names in the transfer portal
right now. Who knows what else we'll

554
00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:46,480
see in terms of others that are
going to try and maybe sign up to

555
00:43:46,519 --> 00:43:51,000
play elsewhere. But one thing I
can guarantee is that we probably will see

556
00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:55,079
a few more from the academies that
hit the portal before it's all said and

557
00:43:55,119 --> 00:44:00,079
done. All right, Steven,
let's get to what we came for.

558
00:44:00,159 --> 00:44:05,480
In the postseason, and that's Bowl
time, baby, the Blockheed Martin Armed

559
00:44:05,519 --> 00:44:07,800
Forces Bowl. That's the one bowl
game that we have for one of our

560
00:44:07,840 --> 00:44:12,519
teams, and that's the Air Force
Falcons obviously eight and four. They will

561
00:44:12,519 --> 00:44:16,119
be hitting the turf at Amon G. Carter Stadium there in Fort Worth on

562
00:44:16,239 --> 00:44:21,880
Saturday, December the twenty third,
at three thirty pm on ABC against the

563
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:27,480
number twenty four ranked James Madison Dukes
out of the Sun Belt JMU ranked twenty

564
00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:31,800
fourth in the AP poll eleven in
one. And you know, certainly James

565
00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:37,719
Madison fans this being their first ever
bowl game, as they were ineligible for

566
00:44:37,800 --> 00:44:42,360
one last year, and they petitioned
obviously, you know a lot of you

567
00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:45,599
know stories out that they you know, made their pleas made their case to

568
00:44:45,639 --> 00:44:52,039
get into possible New Year six Bowl
is the G five spot. But upset

569
00:44:52,039 --> 00:44:55,360
at home by Apple State certainly could
still you know, make that case if

570
00:44:55,400 --> 00:45:00,960
you will. But due to double
A rules, the only reason they are

571
00:45:00,960 --> 00:45:04,760
getting to play in a bowl game
is because there were not enough Bowl eligible

572
00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:09,360
six and six teams, So by
virtue, James Madison Jackson State become eligible

573
00:45:09,800 --> 00:45:15,400
and so James Madison is moved into
this slot as that will be the Falcons

574
00:45:15,519 --> 00:45:21,840
opponent and they were record seventh appearance
in the Armed Forces Bowl, their thirtieth

575
00:45:21,880 --> 00:45:27,840
all time Bowl appearance for the Falcons. Yeah, and this is going to

576
00:45:27,920 --> 00:45:32,079
be quite a clash of styles.
I think if you're if you want to

577
00:45:32,119 --> 00:45:38,400
see the irresistible force meeting the immovable
object, this is the game that you're

578
00:45:38,400 --> 00:45:40,920
going to want to keep an eye
on in Fort Worth. I mean,

579
00:45:40,920 --> 00:45:46,280
you look at Jordan McLeod, the
Duke's quarterback. He threw for almost for

580
00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:52,440
thirty four hundred yards thirty two touchdowns. A very good, a very strong

581
00:45:53,360 --> 00:45:59,119
quarterback that knows how to keep the
ball in the hands of his players and

582
00:45:59,199 --> 00:46:04,480
out of the hands of others.
He threw nine only nine interceptions this year.

583
00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:07,440
For as many times as he put
the ball in the air, I

584
00:46:07,480 --> 00:46:14,360
mean you're looking at close to forty
times per game that that he that he

585
00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:17,679
put the ball in the air at
least thirty and I think he averaged like

586
00:46:17,760 --> 00:46:25,440
thirty six passing attempts per game.
Meanwhile, you know thirty six passing attempts

587
00:46:25,760 --> 00:46:30,760
for for Zach Larrier would have been
I want to say seven games because he

588
00:46:30,840 --> 00:46:37,440
only threw the ball eighty two times
all season. You know. The I

589
00:46:37,440 --> 00:46:42,280
think the big question for the Falcons
is what's going to be the status of

590
00:46:42,360 --> 00:46:45,119
Larrier? And you look at he
was so good early on. It's he's

591
00:46:45,880 --> 00:46:51,719
the reason why Air Force got out
to their eight no start. He was

592
00:46:51,920 --> 00:46:57,280
banged up going into Army. They
end up losing that game, the turnovers

593
00:46:57,480 --> 00:47:01,159
being the big part. He did
not play very much in the next game

594
00:47:01,239 --> 00:47:06,639
against Hawaii. I think he only
got like five or six plays and they

595
00:47:06,679 --> 00:47:10,039
lose that game to Hawaii. Did
not play against unlv or Boys. He

596
00:47:10,159 --> 00:47:15,639
stay. Air Force loses both of
those games and find themselves on a four

597
00:47:15,679 --> 00:47:20,039
game losing streak coming into this Bowl
game. Now he's going to have a

598
00:47:20,239 --> 00:47:27,639
month to get ready to get healthy
again. I would assume that Troy Calhoun

599
00:47:27,760 --> 00:47:31,599
is going to play him if he
is healthy, you know, even close

600
00:47:31,639 --> 00:47:36,960
to one hundred percent healthy. I
would think you're gonna see Zach Larrier in

601
00:47:37,039 --> 00:47:40,719
this game. Uh. And obviously
Emmanuel Michelle, you'll get two of the

602
00:47:40,840 --> 00:47:47,280
three the three rushing heads in this
game, and so you're gonna see a

603
00:47:47,280 --> 00:47:52,840
lot of ground game versus a lot
of air game. Uh. And I

604
00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:57,400
like the clash of styles. I
think it's gonna make for a very interesting

605
00:47:58,519 --> 00:48:04,400
Bowl game. I think abe See
should be excited about having this game.

606
00:48:04,719 --> 00:48:08,920
And obviously we know that there's gonna
be a lot of people in this stadium

607
00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:16,960
because as we talked about before before
starting this segment, that this game usually

608
00:48:17,039 --> 00:48:22,920
has a pretty pretty rockets crowd.
Yeah, for sure. And this,

609
00:48:23,159 --> 00:48:27,840
you know, being Air Force is
seventh time in this Bowl game. I

610
00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:30,159
believe it's just gonna be the second
time at the new AM and G.

611
00:48:30,360 --> 00:48:35,880
Carter Stadium there in Fort Worth.
But attendance has always been strong. And

612
00:48:36,039 --> 00:48:38,400
you know, James Madison playing in
their first ever Bowl game as a member

613
00:48:38,400 --> 00:48:43,039
of the FBS. You know,
JMU fans are gonna be making that trip

614
00:48:43,079 --> 00:48:46,039
from Harrisonburg, my wife's alma mater. Yeah, they're going to be,

615
00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:50,559
you know, coming down in droves, especially getting down to some warmer weather,

616
00:48:50,679 --> 00:48:54,280
which you hope unlike last year in
twenty twenty two when Air Force beat

617
00:48:54,280 --> 00:49:00,679
Baylor in the Armed Forces Bowl,
that was frigid, right, This one

618
00:49:00,679 --> 00:49:04,360
obviously going to be in the afternoon
at three thirty Eastern Standard time kickoff.

619
00:49:04,360 --> 00:49:07,840
But you know, attendance in the
Armed Forces Bowl for Air Force, the

620
00:49:07,920 --> 00:49:15,119
last six times has been over forty
thousand every single time, except back in

621
00:49:15,119 --> 00:49:20,159
twenty fifteen when it was just thirty
eight thousand, nine hundred. So not

622
00:49:20,280 --> 00:49:24,960
two shot far shy of forty thousand. But getting those kind of crowds of

623
00:49:25,079 --> 00:49:30,599
forty plus at a Bowl game,
certainly it makes for a great atmosphere and

624
00:49:30,639 --> 00:49:36,039
it should be there at Aiming G. Carter Stadium in a matchup of two

625
00:49:36,039 --> 00:49:39,159
teams that are incredibly stingy against the
run JAMU, you know, giving up

626
00:49:39,480 --> 00:49:43,039
just sixty one and a half yards
per game on the ground, which is

627
00:49:43,039 --> 00:49:45,559
the best in the country, and
the Falcons are tenth in the nation giving

628
00:49:45,639 --> 00:49:51,920
up just ninety six and a half
per game. But big thing, Steven

629
00:49:52,159 --> 00:49:54,880
is you know this time of year, you know, obviously there's usually two

630
00:49:54,960 --> 00:49:59,159
questions being asked when it comes to
Bowl time. Number one, which of

631
00:49:59,239 --> 00:50:02,719
the teams is going to be the
most motivated, you know, slash excited

632
00:50:02,719 --> 00:50:07,119
to be there? And then number
two, what will these teams? What

633
00:50:07,199 --> 00:50:10,639
will each of these teams look like? Obviously with the transfer portal colliding,

634
00:50:12,159 --> 00:50:15,719
you know at this time, with
teams or players opting to hit the portal,

635
00:50:16,000 --> 00:50:20,239
do they play do they not play? In their bowl games. And

636
00:50:20,280 --> 00:50:22,760
then for James Madison certainly, you
know a time of transition for them.

637
00:50:22,920 --> 00:50:28,519
Is Kurt Signetti their head coach,
he's off to Indiana where he was hired,

638
00:50:28,519 --> 00:50:32,280
and Bob Chesney the replacement hired from
Holy Cross where he went forty four

639
00:50:32,320 --> 00:50:39,400
and twenty one in six seasons leading
the Crusaders in woos to James Madison offensive

640
00:50:39,440 --> 00:50:45,079
line coach Damien Robleski, he's going
to be the interim acting head coach leading

641
00:50:45,119 --> 00:50:50,320
the bowl prep. So a time
of transition for the eleven to one Dukes.

642
00:50:50,320 --> 00:50:52,320
And you know, as I mentioned, what is James Madison going to

643
00:50:52,360 --> 00:50:57,320
look like? Steve? Because you
know you talked about quarterback Jordan MacLeod,

644
00:50:57,360 --> 00:51:00,559
who you know is already a transferred
from USF in Arizona. He's already hit

645
00:51:00,639 --> 00:51:05,719
the portal. But he will play
in the bowl game. You know,

646
00:51:05,760 --> 00:51:07,320
the Sun Sun Belt player of the
year. You mentioned a lot of his

647
00:51:07,400 --> 00:51:12,360
stats, you know, but also
gone. You know mcleoud will play.

648
00:51:12,559 --> 00:51:15,360
Their top two running backs will not
be available. They're tight end, they're

649
00:51:15,360 --> 00:51:20,639
all conference tight ends. Zach Corton
will not play. Left guard Carter Miller

650
00:51:20,679 --> 00:51:24,760
in three year starting offensive lineman Tyler
Stevens. He will not be playing.

651
00:51:25,039 --> 00:51:30,559
And if that sounds bad, that's
nothing compared to the defense. James Madison

652
00:51:30,679 --> 00:51:36,440
defense has been decimated by the portal
Defensive player of the Year Jalen Green.

653
00:51:36,800 --> 00:51:39,320
He is gone, the fun the
Sun Belt player of the Year, he's

654
00:51:39,360 --> 00:51:44,559
lost with an injury. But their
top three tacklers, Aiden Fisher, Jalen

655
00:51:44,599 --> 00:51:49,039
Walker, and Michael Kamara, they
are all gone hitting the transfer portal as

656
00:51:49,159 --> 00:51:53,639
his veteran d tackle and finalists for
the Barlsworth Trophy James Carpenter and first team

657
00:51:53,679 --> 00:51:58,840
All Conference player last year, and
Chauncey Logan. He is gone. So

658
00:51:59,559 --> 00:52:04,079
you're talking about a team that may
not look anything like that eleven and one

659
00:52:04,159 --> 00:52:07,039
team out of the fund Belt that
we saw during the regular season. Stephen,

660
00:52:07,960 --> 00:52:10,239
Yeah, it's it's gonna be It's
definitely gonna be interesting, that's for

661
00:52:10,320 --> 00:52:15,800
sure. All you know. The
transfer portal, uh makes for an exciting

662
00:52:15,880 --> 00:52:20,559
time. I wish that they would
use the trans I think the transfer portal

663
00:52:20,599 --> 00:52:24,920
needs to come a little later,
Like I think like once you I think

664
00:52:24,960 --> 00:52:31,480
that for teams that are going to
Bulls. I can't see why, you

665
00:52:31,519 --> 00:52:35,960
know, other than you know,
see you know, guys that are looking

666
00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:37,320
to go to the NFL. You
know, I can say, Okay,

667
00:52:37,360 --> 00:52:40,440
we're not gonna play because we want
to get ready to go to the NFL

668
00:52:40,519 --> 00:52:45,519
and we don't want to to hurt
ourselves, h you know, hurt our

669
00:52:45,599 --> 00:52:51,000
chances to make some serious cash at
the next level. You know, and

670
00:52:51,599 --> 00:52:55,239
I know that you know you're gonna
say, well, if you're gonna let

671
00:52:55,280 --> 00:53:00,000
guys not play because they're going to
the NFL, you got to let these

672
00:53:00,079 --> 00:53:02,719
other guys. You can't. You
can't have a double standard. But it

673
00:53:04,119 --> 00:53:08,159
really does stink that, you know, so many of these guys are not

674
00:53:08,239 --> 00:53:12,880
going to play for the Dukes.
Uh in this game, you you would

675
00:53:13,000 --> 00:53:15,880
like and I'm sure that air Force
is going you know, we want to

676
00:53:15,920 --> 00:53:22,199
play the best James Madison team possible
because you know, now air Force wins

677
00:53:22,320 --> 00:53:25,480
and j and jam You's going,
well, we didn't have anybody, uh,

678
00:53:25,519 --> 00:53:29,519
you know, all of our guys
are going elsewhere. You know,

679
00:53:29,559 --> 00:53:31,559
we don't have a head coach,
we don't have you know, our our

680
00:53:31,599 --> 00:53:35,559
two leading receivers, we don't have
our leading running back, we don't have

681
00:53:35,599 --> 00:53:39,559
our top three tacklers. Because everybody
has decided that they want to transfer to

682
00:53:39,639 --> 00:53:45,840
a bigger school. And while it
makes for an exciting transfer period, uh,

683
00:53:45,880 --> 00:53:52,679
it really does ruin the you know, the the bowl game experience for

684
00:53:52,880 --> 00:53:55,920
for a lot of it because there's
going to be a lot of who the

685
00:53:55,960 --> 00:54:00,960
hell is this guy? Yeah,
there's no doubt about it. And you

686
00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:04,360
know, they've got to move the
portal. I'll just say that real quick.

687
00:54:04,440 --> 00:54:07,360
Like, I can't imagine being a
head coach right now when you're you've

688
00:54:07,360 --> 00:54:10,480
got National Signing Day just around the
corner, you've got transfer portal opening up,

689
00:54:10,559 --> 00:54:14,280
you're trying to get ready for a
postseason bowl game. I mean,

690
00:54:14,280 --> 00:54:16,440
this is, without a doubt,
the craziest busiest time a year for head

691
00:54:16,480 --> 00:54:22,599
coach. So it would be it
would be very taxing to be in that

692
00:54:22,639 --> 00:54:25,599
profession right now. Certainly you get
paid barely handsomely depending on where you're at.

693
00:54:25,639 --> 00:54:30,920
But I think I think as far
as the portal timing, it's got

694
00:54:30,960 --> 00:54:34,360
to be moved. When do you
move it, I'm not exactly sure.

695
00:54:34,400 --> 00:54:36,719
I think you got to at least
move it to January. But then again,

696
00:54:36,800 --> 00:54:38,760
if your kids are gonna leave,
you know, and you've got semesters

697
00:54:38,760 --> 00:54:43,639
that are starting, you're you're kind
of pinching them. But at the same

698
00:54:43,679 --> 00:54:49,719
time, I've always believed that this
December signing day ill timed. I think

699
00:54:49,719 --> 00:54:52,000
if you're going to have two signing
days, keep the one you traditionally do

700
00:54:52,119 --> 00:54:54,920
in February. There are a lot
of kids that decide, you know,

701
00:54:55,039 --> 00:55:00,119
in like late August or before Labor
Day in their high school seasons start that

702
00:55:00,159 --> 00:55:02,880
they want to have it done and
out of the way and commit. So

703
00:55:02,960 --> 00:55:06,280
I think that you should have a
national signay. If you're going to do

704
00:55:06,320 --> 00:55:07,480
two, have the first one like
at the end of the summer, and

705
00:55:07,480 --> 00:55:12,599
then the second in the traditional time
in February. That would be one thing

706
00:55:12,639 --> 00:55:16,840
you could allevia. But it's just
crazy trying to juggle all this. But

707
00:55:17,800 --> 00:55:22,440
certainly Troy Calhoun and his staff are
happy to be juggling things right now.

708
00:55:22,599 --> 00:55:25,320
Is they are again going bowling again. Thirtieth all time Bowl game is the

709
00:55:25,320 --> 00:55:30,079
Falcons fifteen thirteen and one in Bowl
Game, seven and five in bowls under

710
00:55:30,159 --> 00:55:32,800
Troy Calhoun, but they are four
to oh all time against teams from the

711
00:55:32,840 --> 00:55:37,320
Sun Belt, one to oh in
Fun Belt teams in the postseason. So

712
00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:42,760
cited for this Armed Forces Bowl,
the Lockheed Mark Armed Forces Bowl kicks off

713
00:55:42,920 --> 00:55:46,840
on Saturday, December the twenty third, three thirty Eastern Standard time on ABC.

714
00:55:47,559 --> 00:55:52,519
Air Force and number twenty four James
Madison JMU, a three point favorite

715
00:55:52,559 --> 00:55:57,079
over under set at right now at
forty one and a half and Steve.

716
00:55:57,480 --> 00:56:00,880
You can get in the door for
a decent deal via ticket Smarter. If

717
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718
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719
00:56:06,920 --> 00:56:09,239
but you can get in the door
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720
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well. Yeah, absolutely go to
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721
00:56:15,639 --> 00:56:20,320
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722
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723
00:56:23,360 --> 00:56:28,320
to sit down closer to the to
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724
00:56:28,360 --> 00:56:31,639
you a little bit more, especially
if you want to sit on the JMU

725
00:56:31,800 --> 00:56:37,559
side. Some of the tickets on
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726
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727
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732
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734
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735
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736
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738
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absolutely is. We got more to
do here on our final segment coming up

739
00:57:44,400 --> 00:57:46,840
on Yards and Stripes, got our
Travismenian Foundation on a roll segment around the

740
00:57:46,840 --> 00:57:51,000
corner. Then we will start putting
a bow on this episode of Yards and

741
00:57:51,000 --> 00:57:53,519
Stripes. When we come back here, Steve Carney and myself Bryce Atkinson will

742
00:57:53,519 --> 00:57:59,360
be right back in two thousand and
seven mareen First Lieutenant Travis Mannion was killed

743
00:57:59,360 --> 00:58:02,679
in Iraq after saving his wooted teammates. Travis's legacy lives on through the words

744
00:58:02,679 --> 00:58:07,920
he spoke before his final deployment.
If not me, then who words that

745
00:58:07,000 --> 00:58:12,559
today fuel the spirit of Travis Mannon
Foundation and through TMF these words can live

746
00:58:12,559 --> 00:58:15,039
in U too. Show the world
what you're made of, because character is

747
00:58:15,079 --> 00:58:20,119
invisible until it's not. Find out
how you can strengthen the character of your

748
00:58:20,159 --> 00:58:24,599
community alongside empowered veterans, families of
the fallen, and inspired civilians at Travismanion

749
00:58:24,639 --> 00:58:31,079
dot Org. Now time for our
Travis Manion Foundation Honor Roles segment where the

750
00:58:31,159 --> 00:58:37,400
honor and remember a fallen hero,
one that has given the ultimate sacrifice for

751
00:58:37,480 --> 00:58:40,840
our nation and for our freedoms.
And this week we're going to honor remember

752
00:58:40,880 --> 00:58:46,360
Private First Class Jeremy P. Faultner
US Army. Private Faultner gave the ultimate

753
00:58:46,360 --> 00:58:52,840
sacrifice on March the twenty ninth,
twenty eleven, from wound suffered when enemy

754
00:58:52,880 --> 00:58:57,800
force is attacked his unit with small
arms fire in the Knar Province of Afghanistan.

755
00:58:58,519 --> 00:59:00,800
Faultner, a native of Griffin,
George, was one of six in

756
00:59:00,880 --> 00:59:07,199
the first Brigade combat team who perished
in the attack, all in support of

757
00:59:07,239 --> 00:59:10,639
Operation Enduring Freedom. He was just
twenty three years old and was later awarded

758
00:59:10,639 --> 00:59:15,079
the Bronze Star, one of the
highest medals the US Army can award for

759
00:59:15,159 --> 00:59:21,280
bravery and heroism. Faultner was assigned
to the three hundred and twenty seventh Infantry

760
00:59:21,400 --> 00:59:24,000
Regiment, a first brigade combat team, and was a member of the Elite

761
00:59:24,000 --> 00:59:29,960
one hundred first Airborne Rangers based out
of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Nicknamed Remy,

762
00:59:30,000 --> 00:59:32,519
Faultner was born in the Atlanta suburb
of East Point, Georgia, and

763
00:59:32,599 --> 00:59:38,000
attended Llewell Middle School in Griffin High
School, his company commander said of his

764
00:59:38,039 --> 00:59:43,639
bravery, quote, we survived it. When it's all said done, Jeremy's

765
00:59:43,679 --> 00:59:47,920
actions speak louder than anything we can
do here end quote. As I mentioned,

766
00:59:47,920 --> 00:59:52,239
he was awarded the Bronze Star by
the US Army, and the Travismanian

767
00:59:52,280 --> 00:59:57,880
Foundation later honored Private First Class Faultner
through their Character Does Matter program in January

768
00:59:57,880 --> 01:00:04,079
of twenty twelve, when his story
inspired seven hundred students at Parkview High School

769
01:00:04,159 --> 01:00:07,679
in the Greater Atlanta area and cadets
at a drill camp in Lilburn, Georgia.

770
01:00:09,000 --> 01:00:13,800
Faultner survived by his mother and stepfather, Judy and Tony Barry, his

771
01:00:13,840 --> 01:00:17,239
father Joel Faulkner, and his siblings
Kimberly, Rina, Joe, Eric and

772
01:00:17,360 --> 01:00:23,280
Lindsay. We remember our heroes like
Private First Class Faultner and so many others

773
01:00:23,280 --> 01:00:28,679
that gave that ultimate sacrifice for us
and for our freedoms. And as we

774
01:00:28,719 --> 01:00:31,079
know obviously during the holiday season,
it is a tough time for many families

775
01:00:31,559 --> 01:00:36,760
that do not have one of their
loved ones there at the table and sharing

776
01:00:36,800 --> 01:00:39,800
in the holiday spirit. In this
holiday season, if you'd like to support

777
01:00:39,840 --> 01:00:45,639
the Travis Manning Foundation, when with
isolation and loneliness prevalent with families you know

778
01:00:45,679 --> 01:00:50,800
that have lost loved ones, you
can help our nation's heroes and surviving families

779
01:00:50,840 --> 01:00:54,559
fine friendship and support that they may
not find elsewhere. You can contribute to

780
01:00:54,599 --> 01:01:01,519
the Travis Mannian Foundation and your gift
insurers continued access to programs that uniquely connect

781
01:01:01,840 --> 01:01:07,559
to these two groups of people,
helping them for life changing bonds through community

782
01:01:07,599 --> 01:01:10,280
service. To carry on the legacy
of commitment of loved ones who have given

783
01:01:10,280 --> 01:01:16,119
the ultimate sacrifice across our country.
Check out Travismandion online at Travismandian dot org.

784
01:01:16,440 --> 01:01:22,400
Travis Manion Foundations Nine to eleven Heroes
Run five kra series unites communities across

785
01:01:22,400 --> 01:01:25,159
the country and around the world to
honor the sacrifices of September eleventh and the

786
01:01:25,199 --> 01:01:30,199
war since. Join your community this
September and register to run, walk or

787
01:01:30,320 --> 01:01:36,079
rock by visiting nine to eleven Heroesrun
dot org. The latest with Navy,

788
01:01:36,440 --> 01:01:42,639
Army and Air Force on Yards and
Stripes Service Academy Football. All right,

789
01:01:42,679 --> 01:01:46,880
final segment here on Yards and Stripes, Army, Navy and Air Force.

790
01:01:46,920 --> 01:01:51,480
And yes we're going to give some
Air Force predictions coming up here in just

791
01:01:51,519 --> 01:01:54,559
a few minutes. As again they
will be taken on James Madison in the

792
01:01:54,679 --> 01:01:59,960
Armed Forces Ball on December twenty third. But before we toss out our final

793
01:02:00,199 --> 01:02:04,519
predictions of the entire season. That
sucks to say, but you know,

794
01:02:04,559 --> 01:02:07,320
a couple news and big news and
notes to pass along for you. First

795
01:02:07,360 --> 01:02:13,800
and foremost congratulations to Air Force senior
defensive back Trey Taylor, the winner of

796
01:02:13,880 --> 01:02:19,320
the Jim Thorpe Awarren as the most
Outstanding defensive back in college football. He

797
01:02:19,480 --> 01:02:24,400
is just the second major award winner
in Air Force program history, as he

798
01:02:24,519 --> 01:02:31,400
joins Chad Hennings, the Outstanding former
Lineman and Dallas Cowboy who won the Outland

799
01:02:31,400 --> 01:02:36,039
Trophy in nineteen eighty seven. Well
you can now add Trey Taylor is the

800
01:02:36,079 --> 01:02:42,280
twenty twenty three Jim Thorpe Award winner
to that list. So congratulations to Trey

801
01:02:42,360 --> 01:02:46,360
Taylor and certainly the Academy for that
honor. Trey Taylor also named a third

802
01:02:46,400 --> 01:02:52,119
team AP All American this week,
as well as a first team All American

803
01:02:52,199 --> 01:02:55,880
by the American Football Coaches Association,
So congratulations on those All American honors,

804
01:02:55,880 --> 01:03:00,360
which I'm sure will continue to roll
in for him, Steve. And also

805
01:03:00,159 --> 01:03:05,679
he has accepted the invitation to play
in the East West Shrine Bowl Game.

806
01:03:06,000 --> 01:03:09,199
So a lot of things rolling in
and going to continue to do so for

807
01:03:09,400 --> 01:03:14,320
Trey Taylor, who just had a
fantastic season. And I, for one,

808
01:03:14,760 --> 01:03:17,079
and I know for you and most
of our listeners were excited to see

809
01:03:17,119 --> 01:03:22,519
him rewarded UH with that Jim Thorpe
Award. Absolutely, that is one of

810
01:03:22,599 --> 01:03:28,079
the greatest, uh, you know, acknowledgments you can have of a season.

811
01:03:28,119 --> 01:03:31,199
If you're a defensive back, you
know, is to be UH nominated

812
01:03:31,400 --> 01:03:37,440
for the Jim Thorpe Award and to
win the award as as a Service Academy

813
01:03:37,440 --> 01:03:42,840
member. That is a huge accomplishment
for Trey Taylor. I'm kind of curious

814
01:03:43,280 --> 01:03:49,320
because of his acknowledgment, of the
acknowledgment that he is, you know,

815
01:03:49,360 --> 01:03:52,519
one of the best defensive backs in
all of college football. We're gonna we're

816
01:03:52,559 --> 01:03:58,920
gonna start getting the question of whether
or not he's going to be able to

817
01:03:59,440 --> 01:04:02,280
play at the next level, if
he if if he even wants I mean,

818
01:04:02,280 --> 01:04:04,320
I'm sure he wants to play at
the next level. I mean,

819
01:04:04,320 --> 01:04:08,519
who wouldn't want to play in the
NFL if you've got the if you've got

820
01:04:08,519 --> 01:04:14,119
the talent to play in the National
Football League. But you know, being

821
01:04:14,360 --> 01:04:21,199
a Service Academy UH player, you
have obviously other commitments that you're going to

822
01:04:21,280 --> 01:04:28,119
have to honor UH by playing at
the United States Air Force Academy, and

823
01:04:28,880 --> 01:04:30,840
UH, if he wants to play
at the next level, it's going to

824
01:04:30,840 --> 01:04:35,840
be up to the powers that be, the chain of command to allow him

825
01:04:36,280 --> 01:04:44,079
to be able to serve out his
commitment in a different form than UH than

826
01:04:44,199 --> 01:04:48,400
just a five year active duty UH
service commitment, So we'll see what happens.

827
01:04:48,800 --> 01:04:53,480
Uh. That's uh, that's something
that's going to be determined down the

828
01:04:53,519 --> 01:04:58,159
line. I would assume that,
uh, if he is one of the

829
01:04:58,199 --> 01:05:01,480
top picks. Uh. I'm not
saying he's going to be a first round

830
01:05:01,559 --> 01:05:08,360
pick in the National Football League.
But if if he ends up getting drafted,

831
01:05:08,880 --> 01:05:15,480
say in the second day of the
draft, you know, will they

832
01:05:15,480 --> 01:05:19,000
allow him to be able to try
and pursue a dream of playing in the

833
01:05:19,079 --> 01:05:24,440
National Football League. I would think
that they they would, or at least

834
01:05:24,440 --> 01:05:29,039
they should, because I don't think
there's a better recruiting tool for the service

835
01:05:29,079 --> 01:05:32,360
academies than being able to say,
hey, you want to play football at

836
01:05:32,400 --> 01:05:38,400
a service academy. We get guys
in the NFL too. Yeah, Yeah,

837
01:05:38,440 --> 01:05:41,239
that's definitely And I heard Jeff Munkin, you know, talking about that

838
01:05:41,280 --> 01:05:44,920
before the Army Navy game, about
you know, getting guys you know,

839
01:05:45,000 --> 01:05:47,880
the opportunity to play, you know, in in the NFL and you know

840
01:05:48,079 --> 01:05:51,119
Navy the same kind of thing as
the you know, the pr benefit that

841
01:05:51,199 --> 01:05:56,719
you get that it's a win win
for everybody. But as you mentioned,

842
01:05:56,719 --> 01:06:00,480
you know, it's usually a decision
at the very top by the brass that

843
01:06:00,559 --> 01:06:04,719
make that decision. But when we
come back after Christmas and you know,

844
01:06:04,760 --> 01:06:10,559
our last episode of the season,
we'll certainly try and find some mock drafts

845
01:06:10,559 --> 01:06:15,800
and maybe kind of see where he's
sitting in potential you know, landing spot

846
01:06:15,920 --> 01:06:19,400
for the spring NFL draft. All
right, Other big news also there in

847
01:06:19,400 --> 01:06:25,280
Colorado Springs Air Force holding a ceremony
to celebrate that last being being installed in

848
01:06:25,280 --> 01:06:29,519
that renovation project on the east end, east side of Falcon Stadium, a

849
01:06:29,599 --> 01:06:33,199
ninety million dollar project that's coming to
a close. Should be from my understanding,

850
01:06:33,199 --> 01:06:38,039
everything open, operational, back to
normal next year at least with that

851
01:06:38,119 --> 01:06:42,159
phase of the project being done.
So, I know, exciting times there

852
01:06:42,679 --> 01:06:48,119
at Falcon Stadium. You know,
Naval Academy coaching changes. We know that

853
01:06:48,119 --> 01:06:53,039
we're going to see coaching changes.
We're going to see assistants especially that are

854
01:06:53,039 --> 01:06:56,639
making some moves. Me in our
first big domino to fall in terms of

855
01:06:56,679 --> 01:07:01,480
assistants as Navy offensive line coach and
assistant head coach, Ashley Ingram, he

856
01:07:01,559 --> 01:07:06,360
will be leaving Annapolis for the head
coaching job at D two Carson Newman,

857
01:07:06,760 --> 01:07:12,719
which is located in Jefferson City,
Tennessee. Somebody has been in Annapolis.

858
01:07:13,159 --> 01:07:16,360
A common denominator between you know,
the last staff and the current one,

859
01:07:16,440 --> 01:07:19,039
and you know somebody has been there
for a while. I know that he

860
01:07:19,119 --> 01:07:26,519
had the military billet for a while
where he was the military designee on staff.

861
01:07:26,639 --> 01:07:30,920
But a big hit that Brian Newberry
staff is going to take losing Ashley

862
01:07:30,039 --> 01:07:34,119
Ingram at Carson Newman. Yeah,
it is going to be very, very

863
01:07:34,119 --> 01:07:41,719
tough. I saw Keenan Reynolds,
the legendary Navy quarterback and the guy that

864
01:07:41,960 --> 01:07:46,440
you know, I have said is
probably the best quarterback to play in Annapolis

865
01:07:46,519 --> 01:07:53,119
since Roger Staubach. I saw him
tweet out that coach Ingram was the reason

866
01:07:53,239 --> 01:07:58,440
why he decided to play at Navy. That that I think is really high

867
01:07:58,480 --> 01:08:02,679
praise from maybe one of the most
talented players ever in the program. And

868
01:08:03,000 --> 01:08:10,400
he's going to a program at Carson
Newman looking to build up. It's a

869
01:08:10,800 --> 01:08:15,199
I don't know, if you have
not googled Carson Newman University, you would

870
01:08:15,279 --> 01:08:19,800
kind of understand why you want to
be there because it's a beautiful campus.

871
01:08:19,840 --> 01:08:26,199
It's out in rural Tennessee. You
know, it is outside of Knoxville,

872
01:08:27,079 --> 01:08:30,920
but it it's in the it's it's
in a very it's in a beautiful setting.

873
01:08:30,960 --> 01:08:38,119
You've got the river right behind campus. Their their stadium is you know

874
01:08:38,279 --> 01:08:42,560
right, it's a really cute looking
D two style stadium, you know,

875
01:08:43,000 --> 01:08:45,680
big set of bleachers on the home
side, small set of bleachers on the

876
01:08:45,760 --> 01:08:54,319
roadside. But he's going to be
able to make his UH mark on a

877
01:08:54,359 --> 01:08:59,840
program, and I think that's a
that's a really important piece for for coaches.

878
01:09:00,079 --> 01:09:02,199
I think every coach wants to be
able to say, you know,

879
01:09:02,640 --> 01:09:08,960
that's that's the mark that I've left
on this sport and I was able to

880
01:09:09,000 --> 01:09:13,840
make this sport better here in this
way. And he's been able to do

881
01:09:13,880 --> 01:09:17,640
it now for seventeen years, first
on ken Yu Motzololo's staff and now I'm

882
01:09:17,640 --> 01:09:21,359
Brian Newberry's staff in Annapolis, and
now he's going to get an opportunity to

883
01:09:21,359 --> 01:09:26,960
do it with his own staff.
I look forward to seeing what he is,

884
01:09:27,640 --> 01:09:30,399
what he's going to be able to
do at Jefferson City, Tennessee.

885
01:09:30,439 --> 01:09:34,199
It's going to be interesting to watch, and it gives me a reason to

886
01:09:34,199 --> 01:09:40,279
watch Division two and keep an eye
on a Division two school because you like

887
01:09:40,399 --> 01:09:45,000
seeing what these former assistants are able
to do. And if he's there for

888
01:09:45,920 --> 01:09:48,479
whether it's you know, two or
three years and he decides to move on,

889
01:09:48,880 --> 01:09:53,159
or if he decides, you know, this is where I want to

890
01:09:53,239 --> 01:09:57,560
leave, my market'll be it'll be
interesting to watch for sure. Yeah,

891
01:09:57,560 --> 01:10:00,840
and he had been up for some
other head jobs the past, I believe

892
01:10:00,880 --> 01:10:05,399
the Citadel when it had come open, you know, some smaller LA FCS

893
01:10:05,399 --> 01:10:08,920
schools. You know, there were
some other you know, jobs he was

894
01:10:08,960 --> 01:10:13,199
in the mix for. So I
guess, you know, not getting those,

895
01:10:13,319 --> 01:10:15,079
you know, you kind of,
you know, take a step back,

896
01:10:15,119 --> 01:10:17,399
and you just want that head job. You want that shot somewhere.

897
01:10:18,039 --> 01:10:24,000
So certainly congratulations to Ashley Ingram for
getting that shot at Carson Newman. Also

898
01:10:24,239 --> 01:10:27,920
real quick on the coaching front,
there were reports nothing can burn by us,

899
01:10:27,920 --> 01:10:30,600
but there were reports out there,
Steve that Troy Calhoun and Jeff Munkin

900
01:10:30,720 --> 01:10:35,239
interviewed for the Tulane job. Troy
ended up or excuse me, Tulane ended

901
01:10:35,279 --> 01:10:41,479
up hiring Troy's John Sumrawl. But
there were reports out there that reportedly that

902
01:10:42,079 --> 01:10:45,720
Troy Calhoun and Jeff Munkin both interviewed
for that Tulane job. That would have

903
01:10:45,760 --> 01:10:50,520
been a really good job to get
and certainly John Sumral in a short time

904
01:10:50,560 --> 01:10:57,239
at Troy, he's done a fantastic
job turning them around and getting the Trojans

905
01:10:57,279 --> 01:11:02,199
where they are right now yet again
finally on the nose and notes into things

906
01:11:02,479 --> 01:11:05,800
Army announcing this past week in conjunction, you know, with the media attention

907
01:11:06,239 --> 01:11:13,720
in Boston and using that time as
Army Athletic Director Mike Buddy announcing the Mikey

908
01:11:13,760 --> 01:11:20,119
Stadium Preservation project has secured enough money
to move forward and break ground this coming

909
01:11:20,199 --> 01:11:27,319
spring, as they have raised over
one hundred and seventy million dollars that will

910
01:11:27,560 --> 01:11:32,920
be used for a renovation in rebuilding
and modernizing the current East stands slated for

911
01:11:33,039 --> 01:11:39,960
completion of summer of twenty twenty six. So it should be a nice little

912
01:11:41,640 --> 01:11:47,880
project going on there at Mikey Stadium. And I've said that right now as

913
01:11:47,960 --> 01:11:54,840
things stand for me, if you
were to tell me you can go one

914
01:11:54,920 --> 01:11:59,359
place to watch a college football game
that you have not been to before,

915
01:11:59,439 --> 01:12:01,039
where would you want to go?
My My answer is, I want to

916
01:12:01,079 --> 01:12:05,520
go to Mikey Stadium and I want
to watch Army play uh in a game,

917
01:12:05,560 --> 01:12:10,039
and that in that environment because you
know, as so many people have

918
01:12:10,159 --> 01:12:14,039
told me, it is, you
know, one of the most awe striking,

919
01:12:15,359 --> 01:12:19,039
you know times to to go see
college football because of the fact that

920
01:12:19,079 --> 01:12:23,640
you're on the campus at West Point
and you know, things are a little

921
01:12:23,640 --> 01:12:28,600
different there than they are, say, going to the University of South Florida.

922
01:12:29,079 --> 01:12:31,279
Uh, you know, so things
things are a little different, uh

923
01:12:31,359 --> 01:12:34,680
going to Army and watching a game
at Mikey Stadium. So I certainly,

924
01:12:35,159 --> 01:12:39,479
uh, I certainly think that's going
to be a good project for Army,

925
01:12:39,520 --> 01:12:44,039
and UH. The fact that they're
you know, being able to do this

926
01:12:44,319 --> 01:12:48,960
and and keep that that beautiful you
know backdrop, uh for their for their

927
01:12:49,000 --> 01:12:53,399
college football home games, is is
very important for them. I've got two

928
01:12:53,439 --> 01:12:57,920
little notes that I want to pass
on uh as well here in our news

929
01:12:57,920 --> 01:13:01,159
and Notes segments. I saw that
Navy put out that there were seven point

930
01:13:01,239 --> 01:13:08,199
one eight million televisions watching Army Navy. That was up three and a half

931
01:13:08,279 --> 01:13:15,119
percent from last year, and it
was more than the NBA in season tournament

932
01:13:15,199 --> 01:13:21,119
final in the Heisman Trophy presentation combined. So obviously, congratulations to Army and

933
01:13:21,199 --> 01:13:26,319
Navy for putting on a hell of
a show on television. And I want

934
01:13:26,319 --> 01:13:30,760
to wish a happy birthday to Keenan
Reynolds. We mentioned him when talking about

935
01:13:31,079 --> 01:13:39,000
Ashley Ingram's move to Carson Newman.
Keenan turned thirty on Wednesday, So a

936
01:13:39,000 --> 01:13:44,239
happy birthday to kr absolutely And you
know, we got to get out of

937
01:13:44,239 --> 01:13:46,600
here, Steven without We got to
get out of here with our predictions.

938
01:13:46,600 --> 01:13:51,079
We can't do it without throwing out
what we think in terms of James Madison

939
01:13:51,159 --> 01:13:55,640
Air Force at Lackeyed Martin Armed Forces
Bowl, which way you're gonna go with

940
01:13:55,840 --> 01:14:01,199
is again James Madison a three point
favorite over under in this one forty one

941
01:14:01,239 --> 01:14:08,039
and a half. Yeah, without
a lot of their weapons for this game,

942
01:14:08,399 --> 01:14:12,560
I think it's gonna be a lot
tougher for jam you to move the

943
01:14:12,560 --> 01:14:15,680
ball down the field. Yes,
they still have Jordan McLeod, but I

944
01:14:15,720 --> 01:14:20,239
think that's gonna be a big,
big minus for the Dukes. Again,

945
01:14:20,439 --> 01:14:29,479
we come down to will Troy Calhoun
tell us before say three o'clock on December

946
01:14:29,479 --> 01:14:31,439
twenty third, if Zach Larrier is
gonna play in this game, because I

947
01:14:31,439 --> 01:14:36,439
think that's a huge question mark that's
still standing out there for the Falcons.

948
01:14:36,640 --> 01:14:42,119
But I'm gonna go under the assumption
that Larrier is going to play, and

949
01:14:42,199 --> 01:14:45,000
I am going to take the Falcons
to beat the Dukes twenty one to twenty.

950
01:14:47,560 --> 01:14:51,680
All right, so you're going air
Force twenty one twenty. I'm not

951
01:14:51,920 --> 01:14:57,640
too far away from you. I
am also gonna take air Force as well.

952
01:14:58,279 --> 01:15:03,560
I'm gonna take air Force by a
field goal. I'm with you.

953
01:15:03,640 --> 01:15:09,039
I think, certainly the unknowns in
this game like mini bowl games with who's

954
01:15:09,079 --> 01:15:12,800
gonna play, especially on the James
Madison side of things. And you know,

955
01:15:12,880 --> 01:15:15,000
the question in terms of air Force
is what air Force team are we

956
01:15:15,039 --> 01:15:17,640
going to see? Might they look
like the eight to no air Force team

957
01:15:17,680 --> 01:15:20,520
earlier in the season, or is
it gonna be more like the last four

958
01:15:21,199 --> 01:15:26,079
additions that we saw in the regular
season where they ended the game had a

959
01:15:26,119 --> 01:15:29,880
season on a four game losing streak. So a lot of question marks in

960
01:15:29,920 --> 01:15:31,600
this one. But certainly, nonetheless, I think one of the reasons why

961
01:15:31,680 --> 01:15:36,319
ABC has got this game on on
the national network and it's not on ESPN

962
01:15:36,439 --> 01:15:41,039
or you know, one of the
many other networks you can watch your bowl

963
01:15:41,039 --> 01:15:43,840
game, I think this is probably
gonna be the best Bowl game of the

964
01:15:43,960 --> 01:15:47,640
day. So I'm looking forward to
James Madison and UH air Force. I

965
01:15:47,720 --> 01:15:50,079
just think air Force is like U, Steve. I think They're gonna come

966
01:15:50,079 --> 01:15:54,760
out and find a way UH to
get the win as air Force has really

967
01:15:54,760 --> 01:15:58,439
been game in their last several Bowl
games. So excited for this one,

968
01:15:58,479 --> 01:16:00,880
but certainly excited to do this again
with you, Steven. After the holidays.

969
01:16:01,279 --> 01:16:05,039
Merry Christmin to all our listeners,
Happy holidays, happy New Year,

970
01:16:05,439 --> 01:16:12,079
as we will be coming at you
with one more episode after Christmas before New

971
01:16:12,159 --> 01:16:15,760
Year. Steve, so hope you
and yours have a merry Christmas, happy

972
01:16:15,760 --> 01:16:17,720
holidays, and as well as all
of our listeners who invest time with us

973
01:16:17,760 --> 01:16:24,000
every week on the College grid Iron
Post to Coast to Coast podcast network.

974
01:16:24,039 --> 01:16:30,319
Friend Yes, Merry Christmas to you
and your family, and a happy holiday

975
01:16:30,439 --> 01:16:36,199
season. Two to our listeners around
the world and across the United States.

976
01:16:36,239 --> 01:16:42,039
Fans of Service Academy Football, thank
you again. You know, the biggest

977
01:16:42,039 --> 01:16:46,159
gift that you've given us is the
gift of your listenership. So I want

978
01:16:46,199 --> 01:16:50,039
to say thank you to all of
you for listening. Absolutely well said,

979
01:16:50,159 --> 01:16:55,600
and we will talk to you again
after the holidays. Merry Christmas and enjoy

980
01:16:55,680 --> 01:17:01,479
the games. Join us again next
time for Yards and strikes Service Academy Football.

981
01:17:01,760 --> 01:17:05,560
To get more on all things Service
Academy Football, like Yards and Stripes

982
01:17:05,600 --> 01:17:11,199
on Facebook and follow them on Twitter
at yards and Stripes and make sure that

983
01:17:11,279 --> 01:17:16,199
you're subscribing to the College Gridiron Coast
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984
01:17:16,319 --> 01:17:20,319
Spotify, Google, and wherever you
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