Need to get your football fix on all things Army, Navy, and Air
Force. This is Yards and Stripes Service Academy Football. Now here are your
hosts, Pryce Atkinson, Steve Carney and Mike Loveall. Welcome back to another
edition of Yards and Strikes, your home for Service Academy Football. As we
are part of the College Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast network. I'm Fryce Atkinson
and he is Steve Karney, and we got a lot to get into this
week. Oh boy, do we have a ton on the docket. And
without further ado, let's get to it. Steve, I hope you had
a happy Halloween. It is the spooky season has come and gone, but
it is still spooky a little bit around these parts. As we've got another
Service Academy matchup this weekend, we got some college football playoff ranking news,
and then we also have a conference change that we're going to get into here
in just one second. How are you, brother, I hope you had
a good Halloween. Yeah, it's a great It's a great week for college
football in the Service academies. Obviously, with Halloween just passing, I still
have my mask on. At least that's what people tell me all around.
You can take your mask off, Steve. It's it's November first, but
yeah, it's it's an exciting week for college football here when it comes to
the Service academies, we've got a great matchup between the second leg of the
Commander in Chief Trophy that we're going to get to here in just a couple
of minutes. But for me, I think the most exciting story that has
come out since the last time we talked was right before, I should say,
right after we taped our last episode, because we've got some really important
news when it comes to the Black Nights and how they're going to play coming
the next couple of or i should say, starting next year, for how
their schedule is going to be made. Yeah, the big news obviously last
week, that you know, came just shortly after we got to the episode
recorded up was the news that, yes, what we've talked about for a
while and has been expected probably in a lot of parts for a while,
is that the Army Black Knights, they will be the newest member starting next
season of the American Athletic Conference, taking the place of what SMU who is
off to the ACC. So the Army Black Knights. That announcement coming last
week as they will be part of the new look American is it looks new
this year, but they will be. It will be strange to see Army
back in a conference. All three academies now will be back in a conference
for the first time in years, I guess going back to what since Army
was in CUSA, which honestly, that's what the American looks a lot like
now. Is Conference USA in a lot of ways with it being so large
and a lot of those former institutions part of it. But the news does
come that Army will be joining, and as we've talked about before the Army
Navy game, that game will still be played as a non conference game stand
alone, that loan, you know, game of the of the weekend in
December after the American Athletic Conference Championship game. So yes, that does mean
that Army and Navy could meet for the AAC Conference Championship and then the following
week play a non conference matchup in the annual Army Navy Game presented by USAA.
It is strange, It is weird. Is it likely to happen?
Probably not. Could it happened without a doubt, but just the big news
is that Army is off to the AAC and is I talked to a few
people and they kind of said the same thing to me, nod in the
head that this is largely kind of predicated on a couple of years ago when
Army was left out of the Bowl picture without a conference tie in, there
was just no home for them. So now that kind of alleviates that kind
of pressure. Is if you're a Bowl eligible team, been like an eight
win Army team, let's just, you know, hypothetically say, and there's
not a spot for you just because of old Tians. That no longer will
happen. So I think Army and Athletic director Mike Buddy, who I know,
I think that was a big part of it, not the entire part,
but I think that was part of the puzzle in Army joining the AC.
Steve Yeah, And for me, the big question is going to end
up becoming because Army has been independent for so long and they've been able to
build their own schedule, and let's face it, they've done of the Black
Nides a good job of building their schedule and giving themselves some pretty top quality
matchups. I mean, you look at what they had this year with Syracuse
and Boston College and and LSU. You know, they've got these games scheduled
for years down the road, and now that they've become part of a of
a conference, I think it's going to be difficult for them to try and
honor these commitments. And I think it's gonna be up to the American Athletic
Conference to be able to help Army in any way, shape or form,
be able to honor their commitments to these games that they already have contracts on
and have scheduled for years down the road, being able to honor those commitments
while still being able to have an American Athletic Conference schedule of their own.
So really, it's gonna be it's gonna be a tap dance at least in
the near future for Army to make sure that they can get as many of
their commitments fulfilled because they got money come in their way because of it.
Yeah, absolutely, And you know that also brings up the Air Force matchup.
Of course, that's not going away either. Army will continue to play
Air Force just like NAVE does every year. The Commander in Chief trophy that
is not going away. That is still going to be there. Nothing has
changed as far as the three service academy see se legs if you will.
So congratulations to the Army black Knights. I know there are a lot of
alumps that I've heard a couple specifically that good friends that I've heard that just
this is the end of Army football. But I also said, well,
that's kind of what some people said about Navy when they joined, and then
they were there. They were in the AEC championship game, you know,
out of the box. But I also know that it's a little bit different
now with NIL and transfer portal. There are a lot of things that are
working against service academies in a lot of ways now that we're not there before.
But we will move on and we will continue on here on Yards and
Stripes. As we're part of the College Grader and Coast to Coast podcast network,
new episode comes to you every single week and you can catch a lot
more different kinds of episodes in terms of podcasts on the College Gridiron, Coast
to Coast podcast Network, Get Off My Pylon, Florida Football Insiders, the
ACC Update every week. There's just so much there, including Yards and Stripes.
Just search Yards and Stripes or college gridiron, wherever it is. You
listen to your podcast, subscribe and you will be taking care of all season
long with your college football needs. But we got a pair of games last
weekend. We got a couple coming up, including the second leg of the
Commander in Chief Trophy. We got the Travis Manian Foundation Honor Roll Segment Honoring
and follow Hero. We got picks to make. But Steve, let's get
into our two games from last weekend. Let's start up at Mikey Stadium and
Holy cow, the skid continues for the Black Knights, as they've now lost
five straight U Mass. They walk into Mikey in the six ever meeting between
the two programs. The minute Men finally get on the board. They get
their first win, knocking off the Black Knights twenty one to fourteen, as
U Mass in a skid of their own. Uh they had lost what seven
straight? Jeff Munkin didn't have a lot of answers. Kron lynch Adams running
back for the Minutemen. He runs for a career high two thirty four on
thirty four carries and three touchdowns as they do snap that seven game losing streak.
He had thirty four. Of the team's thirty seven carries. He went
for two thirty four. The other three guys that got to carry each minus
six yards. So uh, kron Lynch Adams the big man on campus,
at least for this week up in Amherst, as he goes for two thirty
four while UMass quarterback and Clemson transfer Tyson Pumachell he threw for one twenty one
on an efficient seventeen for twenty three, and there you go. The Minutemen
get their first win since defeating the Mexico State in the season opener, as
UMass improves the two and seven while Army is now just two and six.
Steve, Yeah, we we talked about how I thought that this game would
be the opportunity for the Black Knights to kind of hit the reset button on
their season after what was a really difficult stretch going to Sarah, going to
Syracuse, hosting Boston College and Troy, and then having to go to LSU.
I thought, you know, that's a really tough stretch. This is
gonna be perfect for them to be able to hit the reset button and just
go from that point. And unfortunately that isn't what happened because of what Lynch
Adams was able to do. He looked like an Army running back in this
game against the Black Knights and the other and the other big important piece of
this game, of course, was the fact that Army was minus three in
the turnover ratio. Again, if they're if they're gonna find themselves behind,
they're gonna find themselves losing games all year long. They had two interceptions,
they lost a fumble, and that's that's not how you can play. That's
how you win games in West Point. You know this. I know this,
our listeners know this, and unfortunately Armies opponents know this too. So
if they're gonna, if they're gonna keep doing this, Jeff Munkin's gonna have
him something really really hard time to try and win another game this season.
Yeah, you know, as mentioned, Jeffmunkin didn't have a lot of answers
afterwards, except you know, the squandered chances or opportunities. I mean they
were intercepted. You alluded to it right there, you know, turnovers intercepted
in the end zone twice. A couple of other miscues that were big,
Quinn Moretzky missing a forty nine yard field goal in the first quarter Cooper Allen,
you know, the punter, his lone pun attempt of the game,
just two yards. He shanks that punt, you know, obviously, and
you know, there was a play call by the coaching staff. You know,
Jeff Unkin talked about afterwards, you know, they were gonna have to
go back and look at this, you know, and he alluded to this
play call that it was a kind of a questionable fourth and two at the
UMass seven yard line, and the third and Army coaches decided, you know,
to go for it, obviously, but instead of trying to run the
football there, they decided to go with the pass play lo and behold,
it's picked off and that ends that kind of threat. So it was that
kind of day and it's been honestly that kind of season right for the Black
Knight. Steve just you know, continually talking about misques and turnovers. You
just obviously can't do it. Yeah, it goes without saying, especially when
you're you know, somewhat limited, and you know we talk about limited.
I mean that's what U Mass was coming into this game. I Mean they
were giving up i think thirty seven points a game. They'd only won one
game all season long, and they hadn't had really any similars of success at
FBS level the last several seasons. But lo and behold, they go into
Army and they come out a winner twenty one to fourteen. And when you
don't take care of the football and do all the little things, it doesn't
matter if it's U Mass, it doesn't matter if it's Boston College, you
will get beat at the FBS level. Steve, Yeah, absolutely not taking
care of the foot ball. You mentioned the miss the miss field goal,
that's practice. That's another turnover, uh, even though that doesn't go on
the sheet as a turnover. The shanked punt, uh, you know,
the the the head scratching play calling uh on that fourth down play. Those
are all things that that lead that that lead to defeats when your football team
can't convert. Uh. I I really do think that, you know,
there's there's gonna have to be account and you know with Army there's always accountability.
That's the one thing about the Service academies is that, uh, you
don't have to worry about anybody else's pointing the finger somewhere else, whether it's
the head coach, whether it's the assistant coaches, whether it's the players.
Nobody fails to take accountability at the service academies, which is why I love
their football. Uh. And I I think that Jeff munkin And it's funny.
I had someone ask me, uh earlier this week, I was at
a I was at a Tampa Bay Lightning game, and we were talking about
about Army football. And you know, because they because we're talking, you
know, they know that I do the show. And we so we got
into Air Force being ranked and and and Army, uh, you know,
and the success that the Black Knights have had over the last few years under
Jeff Monkin. And I said, I said, the big problem with Army
this year has been the problem that the they've been stopping themselves as much as
their opponents have been stopping them. So uh, when you when you're playing
not only your opponent, but you're also having to defeat yourself, that that's
just such a really tough uh environment to be in as a player. And
I can only imagine the sense of frustration that's in that locker room right now
because they know that they're better than this. And and yet you know,
you saw them be competitive against Boston College. You saw them be competitive against
Syracuse and to go out and lay an egg like this against the team that
you know that you're better than. You've got to know that they're frustrated.
Yeah, without a doubt, and that frustration, you know you're going to
try and find a way to stemy it. And you know certainly that losing
streak as you get ready and prep to face air Force. We'll talk about
that second leg of the Commander Chief Trophy here in a little bit, but
you mass a twenty one to fourteen winner over Army up on the Hudson Army
now just two and six overall all. Right, other game last weekend,
Steve number nineteen Air Force going to Fort Collins, the matchup for the ram
Falcon Trophy against Colorado State Air Force undefeated overall and in the Mountain West,
and the driving snow air Force plowed ahead finally in that third quarter and didn't
look back and loop and route to their thirteenth straight win dating back the last
season, and they do capture the ram Falcon Trophy for the twenty eighth time
in the series between themselves. In Colorado State air Force now eight and oher,
its best start since the nineteen eighty five team opened ten and ozer and
tied with the nineteen seventy team as the third best start in program history.
Air Force as I mentioned that thirteen eight winning streak going back to last season
fourth longest active streak in the FBS, and it ties the school record of
thirteen shared with the nineteen eighty four and eighty five teams that span two seasons.
But the Air Force Falcons steep that top ranked rushing attack. That's simply
what they used to wear down the Rams in the second half. After it
was tied thirteen to all at the half, the Falcons defense, they buckle
up and just hold the Rams Colorado State to just one hundred and thirteen yards
in the second half. And you know, it's always fun to watch a
snowgame, you know, But Air Force excuse me, Colorado State was warned
twice two times in the first half to stop throwing snowballs at the Air Force
sideline. Well it continued, and right after that first play of the third
quarter, the officials let Colorado State and head coach Jay Norvel know that that's
going to be the end of that is Colorado State was flagged for an unsportsmanlike
penalty for throwing snowballs. Continuing to throw snowballs after being worn twice at the
Air Force bench, they were penalized and then air Force uses that penalty.
It was second one at the time, fifteen yard unsportsmanlike. Air Force goes
on to score the go ahead touchdown when Zach Larrier keeps it for one yard.
Ten plays seventy five yards six oh two off the clock to start the
third quarter, and that was the end of it. Is. Air Force
didn't look back to scored seventeen straight. But you know, Steve, the
snowball penalty, I don't necessarily think it made the difference in the game,
but it was funny seeing the security officials move all the students back sixteen rows
or higher as the ushers and security guards were kind of forming a protective barrier,
if you will, between that Air Force sideline and the student body.
And you know, Troy Calhoun, I thought it was funny. He's,
you know, ever the one to have a dead pan quote every now and
then. He just said that was quite a spirited student body there in Colorado
at Colorado State. Yeah, I mean, you would expect Colorado State to
throw snowballs because of their their offense is all about throwing. So you know,
we you know, we could talk up, we could talk a lot
about what Faller Nicolosi did through the air for the for the Rams two hundred
and ninety seven yards and touchdown. You know, I thought that, you
know, air Force did a really good job of making the Rams as one
dimensional as possible. Because if you can do that, you've got a really
easy job, or you have an easier job, I should say, of
being able to to defeat a team like Colorado State. The whole snowball thing,
all I keep, all I could keep, all I could think of
was back in the I guess it was in the late eighties. It was
a game involving the Cincinnati Bengals where they were throwing snowballs, uh and things
at at the opposing bench. Uh, the fans were and Sam Weisch,
who was the head coach of the Bengals at that time, got a micro
got a got a public address microphone, and this is at old Riverfront Stadium
and was like the next person who sees anybody throwing anything on the field,
point him out. You don't live in Cleveland. You live in you know,
like you know, it's like it's like it's like you don't live in
Grand Junction, you live in Got Springs or you live in Fort Collins.
You know, you know, stop this. I could only that's that's the
it's just so funny to see that happen. And it was a very spirited
Rams uh uh fan base that was there. It was a small RAMS fan
base, so it shouldn't have been hard to kind of point out who was
who was throwing things uh at the at the Air Force bench. But uh,
I just I you know, I look at the way that Air Force
took care of business. You know again, uh we we talked about this
with with Army. You know, they if you are ahead in the turnover
ratio, you're gonna find yourself in better in better shape. And Army was
not Air Force was. They were plus one when it comes to turnovers.
And they did a really good job of making sure that they didn't put the
ball on the turf at all. You know, they they this is a
game that you would have expected that you would have expected to see footballs on
the on the turf just because of the weather situation. It was cold,
it was snowing the ball when it's snapped, you know it's going to be
wet, which is going to make it slippery. And you know, Emmanuel
Michelle did a good job of it. Eldridge did a good job of it,
Larryer did a good job of it. They had forty five of the
fifty seven rushing attempts for the Falcons and not a single football left their hands,
And I think that is so so it needs to be pointed out that
you know, it's not going to get one of our game balls. But
the fact that the Falcons offense did not commit a turnover, did not give
the football away, I think is a big important piece to this. Yeah,
and on the defensive side of things, you mentioned the offense. You
know what air Force is doing right now defensively too, it's just fantastic.
You know, they scored seventeen straight and pitched the second half shutout against Colorado
State. But you know they've now gone five games this season where they've allowed
a touchdown or less in the second half. They are winning the second half.
You know, in terms of you know, when you stop the run,
you typically are going to have a better you know, a good chance
to win most any day. Any any football fan, especially college football fans
know that. And holding Colorado State to just forty two yards on the ground
the fifth time this season that they've held a team below fifty five yards rushing
or more, that's getting it done. And we know that, you know,
the secondary has been pretty stout and that they have been making plays,
you know, the line of scrimmage. But this defense just continues to play
outstanding football. As much as we talk about service academies and triple option and
running the football, yes, air Force leads the country and rush yards per
game, but defensively, you just can't overlook. And you know, speaking
overlook, I was, you know, thinking, you know, as I
was watching this game, you know, wind down in the snow the other
night, Steve, I was like, God, how much would I love
to see air Force match up against Coach Prime and take this triple option and
win the state outright, you know by playing and beating the Buffaloes. Because
there's no question that air Force is the best team in my opinion in the
state of Colorado. I would just like to see it on the field and
see a Troy Calhoun Coach Prime matchup. How much fun that would be.
Yeah, I think it would be. It would be a blast, uh,
and you know it would make it even better. Let it be in
a ball game. Let's let's get let's get Air Force in Colorado together in
a bowl game. You know, I would love to see uh, you
know, I I wish, I wish Colorado was was a little better and
maybe could have could be qualifying for a New Year six ball game, because
how much fun would that be to see those two teams, uh, battling
it out in like the Chick fil A Peach Bowl like that would be That
would be incredible. And I know that, Yeah, you know, unfortunately
that that's not a sexy it's not a sexy television matchup, so you're gonna
find yourself probably not seeing something like that. But I would love to see
Air Force in Colorado in a bowl game. Yeah. Absolutely. And speaking
of bowl games, a little bit of a foreshadowing looking ahead to next week,
we're going to talk with Gary Stoken, the head of the Chick fil
A Bowl in Atlanta is now the Air Force Falcons. No bowl bit has
certainly been secured yet, but if you look at at this point in the
season, usually come November first is when I start paying attention to kind of
the you know, the Bowl hypotheticals and the Bowl outlook of who might play
who. This is about the time I start paying attention to that. It's
kind of bracketology. I don't even look at that stuff until about February,
just because it's basically guessing. But if you look at most any kind of
hypothetical Bowl matchups, at this point, you are seeing air Force now in
that group of five slot in the New Year six because Liberty is gonna have
something to say about There's gonna be some other teams and air Force has still
got more to go. But right now the Falcons still in Aurion. I
think, Steve, you would agree they've got that inside track for that group
of five New Year six slots. So we'll talk with Gary Stoken about that
next week is he'll be our special guest after Army and Air Force do battle
this coming Saturday, which we'll review here in a few minutes. But before
we review this weekend's game, Steve, weve got some game balls to give
out. Man, which way you want to go with with yours? This
week? Oh? Pryce, you know me, I love to go defense
with my game balls, and you know, yes, you do what they
what the Air Force Falcons did on offense. I'm gonna go defensively and give
my game ball to Jalen Murgerson, the Air Force Falcons linebacker who had thirteen
tackles in the game and nine of them being solo, coming up from and
basically playing linebacker from his safety position. He basically works as a as a
fourth or a fifth linebacker there in the in the middle of the field.
So thirteen tackles, nine solo tackles, yep, you get a game ball
for that, sod. So congratulations to Jaalen Murgerson. All right, Steve,
I'm gonna go my game ball. I'm gonna go offense, because what
else can you do when you put up thirty points and you do so with
twenty carries in one hundred and thirty yards in the snow. That's right.
The senior from Lawrenceville, Georgia running back Emmanuel Michelle with a team high twenty
carries and one hundred and thirty yards in the game against Colorado State. Now
the leading rusher with six hundred ninety six on the ground the season and a
team high nine touchdowns as Michelle. He's gone over the one hundred yard mark
three times this season, five times now in his career, as he again
leads air Force with nine touchdowns on the ground. So Emmanuel Michelle getting my
game ball as he continues to put together another outstanding campaign for air Force that
really has that three headed monster when you look at it. In backfield led
by Zach Larrier, but also John Lee Eldridge the third who also had a
touchdown carry in the win over Colorado State. All right, Steve, we
got more to do. We got the games to look ahead to, we
got our Travis Manian Foundation on a roll segment again. We are part of
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we roll along on Yards and Stripes, your home for Service Academy Football.
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latest with Navy, Army and Air Force on Yards and Stripes Service Academy Football.
Roll right along here on Yards and Stripes your home or service Academy Football.
He is Steve Carney Iron Price Ackets to appreciate you downloading, listening and
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Network, Yes, as we continue on this network, and we are going
to continue on looking ahead to the two games, Steve, because we've got
a pair of games, including the second installment of the Commander in Chief Trophy,
that second leg. We'll talk about that one here in a second,
but let's talk about Navy's matchup at Temple. First, Navy three and four
overall the season, two and two in the American They're going to be traveling
up to the city of Brotherly Love, only about two two and a half
hours up the road from Annapolis take on Temple. The Owls two and six
overall two and two in the American Owls now have lost five straight. This
one going to be a matchup at Saturday at two pm Eastern Standard time on
ESPN plus. Navy right now is a six and a half point favorite over
Under forty four and a half. Those numbers have changed a little bit,
Steve, as this will be the eighteenth meeting all time between these two teams,
with Navy leading the all time series by just a game, nine to
eight, including a three and three mark. Since both these teams have been
a member of the American Athletic Conference. Navy has won the last three,
including one game decide in overtime twenty seven to twenty that win in two thousand
and two in a game decided by two points that was thirty one to twenty
nine back in twenty twenty. Maybe also three and three against Temple one games
played in Philadelphia, so pretty even, Steven. But as I mentioned,
this line has moved a little bit. Steven, I think that probably stems
from EJ. Warner, the sophomore quarterback. Yes, the son of Kirk
Warner. He's missed the last several games with a concussion and concussion protocol,
but he is back at practice this week and likely to play against Navy on
Saturday. Yeah, and I think that's a big plus if you're if you're
an Owl, I certainly think that getting EJ. Warnerback means that you're gonna
have a lot more success throwing the football than they've had the last couple of
weeks. It's been it's been rough sledding for Temple without EJ. Warner under
center. And I really do think you know this is this is a game
that you know, I'm most years probably isn't played at the link because of
the fact that Navy normally plays Army on this very same field at the end
of the season, and this could this could have given the midshipman a little
bit of an advantage. Now, of course, the Army Navy game is
taking place at Chillette Stadium in Foxborough this year, they don't have to worry
about that so much. But I really do think that this is going to
be a true test for the Army defensive backfield because if EJ. Warner does
play, he definitely can sling the football around. I got a chance to
see EJ. Warner in action earlier this year with the University of South Florida,
and he he tore up the balls. Let's he had a very very
good game against against USF. Now, the Owls did not win that game,
but uh they I certainly think that, uh, this is a this
is a group that can certainly play very very good football against against these teams.
And I think that when, like I said, this is a defensive
teams and a defensive coordinators, this is going to be definitely a measuring stick
for a defensive coordinator and especially for a secondary coach and a defensive backfield.
Yeah. EJ. Warner has not played since he got hurt in the game
against UTSA, and that was the game maybe his best ever game for the
Owls as he threw this season just to get tell you you know what he's
done. I mean, he had not crossed the three h three hundred yard
passing mark this season, but in the last game he played, he threw
for four to seventy two in the loss to UTSA, forty two a sixty
five with five touchdowns, no interceptions, forty two to sixty five. Steve.
But certainly that's going to give the Owls a shot in the arm,
as I mentioned, having lost five straight. But you know, one shot
in the arm the Navy's gotten all season. You know, as a defense,
it's tied for second in the country. They've recovered nine fumbles and they're
five turnovers loss this year is four few us in the country. So what
does that translate to. Of course, that's gonna translate to a pretty darn
good turnover margin, Navy sitting at six in the country in over plus one
a game. And not to mention a stingy Navy defense, it's come up
big when they need to at times. In the red zone. They're ranked
fourth in the nation allowing opponents to score just sixty five percent of the time.
So that's gonna be big, I think, and play large on Saturday
against the Temple team led by e J. Warner. We don't know if
he'll start, likely to play, but a Temple team that has thirty five
transfers on that roster, yeah, and that I think is going to be
big for As I mentioned for Temple getting getting some of those they've got all
of those transfers and now they get their their quarterback back. It certainly helps
with I would say if this was earlier in the year, it's developing chemistry,
but it's getting that chemistry back, it's redeveloping the timing. And I
think that's going to be a big question for Temple here this week and throughout
their practices with Eja Warner under center, is they've got to now they with
with going from their their their backup quarterback back to EJ. Warner, You've
got to redevelop that timing because every quarterback is different and every quarterback handles these
situations differently. And you know, Warner, I think handles it better than
just about anybody, seeing as his father was a Hall of Fame quarterback,
so uh, they he certainly knows how to develop that or how to redevelop
that timing and the chemistry, uh so to speak with his with his receiving
corps. I think that's going to be a really fun matchup to watch again.
Navy at Temple this Saturday, two o'clock Eastern Standard time kickoff there from
Lincoln Financial Field on ESPN. Plus maybe a six and a half point favorite
against the Owls. All Right, the big game this week Steve number seventeen
air Force taking on Army Army two and six. Obviously air Force eight O
one of what eight undefeated FBS teams in the country eight to oh five and
OHO in the Mountain West. This one a two thirty pm Eastern Standard time
kickoff on CBS Sports Network. An eighteen and a half point favorite is what
air Force has been installed as over under in this one. Thirty one and
a half is this is the second leg of the Commander in Chief Trophy and
it's not at air Force, believe it or not. This one is going
to be an empower field at Mile High there in Denver. Is air Force
technically a neutral site game, but air Force, being the host of this
game, you playing on the seventy fifth anniversary of the Air Force and a
building that opened in two thousand and one that's also hosted eighteen Division one college
football, But this will be the first time that Army and Air Force has
ever been played there in Denver and in power Field at Mile High as Air
Force right now Steve rolling. However, as we all know, when it
comes to matchups against service academy teams, these things tend to be close.
Why well, because they know each other so well. They typically recruited most
of the same kids that are on the opposing roster by and larger at least
familiar with them. And the last five games in this series have been decided
by seven points or less. That goes back to twenty seventeen when Armies shut
out Air Force in the Springs twenty one to zero. But things have been
very close. Yes, we know air Force is entering this one on a
roll, Steve, But might Air Force you know, or might Army in
quote unquote a second season if you will? Does that give them a shot
in the arm And what Jeff Munkin might he do because we know he's played
some musical chairs at quarterback at times, especially going into this game. What
wrinkles might we see from Monkin and Army trying to pull off a what would
be a very big upset in this second leg of the Commander in Chief Trophy.
Yeah, Army's got to play spoiler. Now they're they're no longer able
to be Bowl eligible. They can only finish with a maximum of five wins
here this season. Uh, at the at the FBS with the with the
single FCS win that's allowed as well, So you you're not going to get
into a Bowl game if you're Army, and that that's got to be disappointing
for for Jeff Mounkin and company. But now you get a chance to play
spoiler. Can you play spoiler and try and knock the Falcons out of the
ability to be the highest ranked group of five team at the end of the
season. And I've never seen a line like this price where with a with
a line is so big and the total is so small. Uh, And
that means you look at what the line is, eighteen and a half with
the over under at thirty one and a half. That means that the folks
in Vegas think that this is gonna be like a twenty four to six game.
And I don't think that at all. When we get into our prediction.
That's a kind of a spoiler for one of my predictions coming up this
week for this week's games. But this is gonna be you know, the
weather is supposed to be good in Denver, it's gonna be Chris, but
it's not gonna There's there's not any chance of any precipitation. There's no rain.
There's no snow in the forecast, which is always a big plus.
As we get into the final couple of months of the of the college football
season in that part of the country, you know that you're gonna have some
of those some of those issues, but there's not expected to be any this
week. For for Army, the big question is going to be can a
keep Can they keep the turnover ratio manageable? You would like to see if
you're Jeff Monkin, you want to see the A plus or an E there.
You want to you want to be even or ahead in the turnover ratio.
And you've got to find a way to get UH, to get the
the passing game UH involved. You look at what what's happened. They've they've
gone away from trying to throw the football almost at all uh in in the
game unless they've absolutely had had to. I thought that Isaiah Austin would have
had a much bigger influence on the Black Knights offense uh this year, but
he he really hasn't. Uh. And with Bryson Dally getting hurt and having
to having to go away from a experienced quarterback to a freshman quarterback, I
think has been has been very important uh and and part of the reason why
Army has stumbled uh so far uh throughout the first two thirds of their season.
Yeah, Isaiah Alston's been banged up, and you know, you go
back and look at his he hasn't even caught a pass since the Syracuse game
that was at the end of September. You know, again, been banged
up, but only nine catches this year. And that's a guy that really
has looked on to be a massive weapon and playmaker for Bryson Daily in his
first season under center. Not there. He doesn't give them that that John
Lee Eldridge the third so to speak. You know, Army's got a deep
stable of backs. You know, You've got Tyson Riley that was even moved
to h back slash tight end Kanye Udo has come on. But you're gonna
have to You're gonna have to loosen them up. You're gonna have to throw
the throw the football a little bit. I mean, will it be Bryson
Daily, will it be Champarris again? Jeff Monkin has been known to mix
things up into you know, Troy Calhoun exactly has done the same thing over
the years. You know, But it's I think the impetus here is on
Army to figure this thing out because you know, air Force right now is
fourth in the country and scoring defense second, rushing defense third, and total
defense. You know they're only giving up thirteen points a game. Well,
Army they're only scoring just over what twenty points a game? So they're gonna
have Army is gonna have to do something to move the football. And that's
always kind of the X factor is you know what new wrinkles might we see,
you know, from each of these teams because they know each other so
well, they know what they want to do. That kind of for me
is what I'm always you know, the eyebrow raising moment of you know,
what is that wrinkle? What is that trip play? Does air Force come
out in a different kind of looking offense like they did a Navy one year.
There's always something that is It might be subtle or it might be big,
but it's often there. Yeah. And but like like you mentioned,
whether it's Daily or whether it's Harris, the the most important thing for both
of those guys is they can't put the football in the other team's hands.
And they both did that last week against UMass. You had the two interceptions
from Daily, you had the fumble by Harris that was recovered by the minute
man. They both contributed were the reasons why Army was minus three in the
turnover ratio, and they can't be minus three against Air Force and think that
they're gonna have any shot of winning this game. Yeah, I mean,
turnover margin is ultimately going to be one of the things you look at along
with third down conversions because that certainly keeps the ball in your hands and you
know, be able to move the change and eat up a lot of that
clock, and you know it's a game. If it weren't for TV timeouts,
this thinge could probably be played in just over two hours. But you
just mentioned turnovers there. I have to go look Larrier's numbers up. We
know where Army has struggled, and that's turning the football over this year.
I have to go look and see where Larry is Larrier is on the number
of footballs he's put on the ground. But he hasn't thrown an interception,
you know, not one. He's been under center all season long. Yeah,
he got banged up, but he has not thrown the ball to the
other team. And you know, Army did that twice, you know,
in one game just last weekend. So I think those are kind of the
two of the biggest things. I'm with you as you know, the turnover
margin and third down conversion. Steve to see what might happen here in this
second installment the Commander in Chief Trophy? Which Air Force can win this thing?
Outright? They could win their second, second, second all time Commander
in Chief Trophy outright with a win over Army this weekend. And you know,
just for those scoring at home, Army does lead. The Air Force
does lead the overall series thirty eight to eighteen and one. Army or Air
Force I should say, is two to two and one in neutral site games.
So that's even Stephen right there. But the Falcons are thirty five and
sixteen and CiCe Trophy games against Army going back to nineteen seventy two. So
what gives in this one, Steve? We will make our picks here coming
up in just a few minutes before we get out of here and give our
Travis Mannan Foundation Honorall segment where the honor remember a fallen hero that is given
the ultimate sacrifice. We're going to do that next and then we'll come back
with a few news and notes and to give you our picks this week on
Yards and Stripes, your home for Service Academy Football. In two thousand and
seven, Marine First Lieutenant Travis Mannion was killed in Iraq after saving his wooted
teammates. Travis's legacy lives on through the words he spoke before his final deployment.
If not me, then who words that today fuel the spirit of Travis
Manion Foundation and through TMF these words can live in you too. Show the
world what you're made of, because character is invisible until it's not. Find
out how you can strengthen the character of your community alongside empowered veterans, families
of the fallen, and inspired civilians at Travismanion dot org. How's time for
a Travis Manion Foundation Honor Roles Segment Morny Honor remember a fallen hero, one
that has given the ultimate sacrifice, And this week we're going to honor remember
Chief Petty Officer Jason Richard Freewald from the United States Navy. Freewald gave his
life on September the twelfth, two thousand and eight, when he passed away
from wound sustained the day before while conducting combat operations and support of Operation Enduring
Freedom in Afghanistan. He was just thirty years old. While a member of
the Special Operations community, he served multiple combat deployments in support of Operation Iraqi
Freedom and Enduring Freedom from his assignment in Naval Special Warfare Development Group based out
of dam Neck, Virginia. Born in Utica, Michigan, free Wild moved
to Armada, where he graduated from Armada High School in nineteen ninety six.
He went on active duty and began his basic training in November of ninety six,
finishing at NTC Great Lakes, Illinois in January of nineteen ninety seven,
followed by Intelligence Specialist training at the Navy Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center at dam
Neck from January to June of ninety seven. He then attended Basic Underwater Demolition
Seal training at Naval Air Based Coronado, California, from July nineteen ninety seven
to February nineteen eighty nineteen ninety eight. His first assign it was with the
Seal Team five out of Naval Air Station Coronado from April ninety eight to September
of two thousand and two, followed by service with Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit
three in AB Coronado from September of two to March of five. He was
a recipient of the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Joint Service Accommodation Medal,
and Purple Heart. Freewald has survived by his wife Stacy and daughter Jasmine.
The Travismannen Foundation honored Chief Petty Officer freewaldt by partnering with Athena Passage and provided
challenge grants, empowering a team of seven survivors to travel to England to train
and swim the English Channel in July of twenty twelve. As a member of
the team, Stacey Freewald swam in honor of her husband Jason. In August
of twenty to thirteen, his wife Stacy participated in the Travis Mannen Foundation's Survivor
Summit expedition in honor of her husband. She also traveled to Lima, Peru
with eleven other surviving wives, fiances and girlfriends for the twenty fourteen Survivor Summit
expedition. She also participated in the twenty fifteen Survivor Summit expedition. And if
you'd like to be part of, you know, the Travis Manian Foundation and
support the different initiatives they have ongoing throughout the year in local communities across the
country, you can do so at Travismanion dot org. And therefore you can
carry on the legacy of servicing commitment that Chief Petty Officer Jason Freewald from the
United States Navy gave to our country and so many others who have given their
life for our freedoms. Travis Mallon Foundations Nine to eleven Heroes Run five K
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the latest with Navy, Army and Air Force on Yards and Stripes Service Academy
Football. All right, wrapping up here this edition of Yards and Stripes your
home for Service Academy football. Steve Carding Price Actings once again. Final segment
here, a couple of news and notes to pass along to you. The
Air Force Academy moving up two spots to number seventeen overall in both polls,
but I think Steve more importantly, they check in at number twenty five in
the first College Football Playoff rankings of the twenty twenty three season. The Falcons
checking in to the rankings for the very first time in program history, the
second Academy team to ever find themselves among those rankings, and just the six
team from the Mountain West to Pier in the College Football Playoff rankings. Big
news in certainly a big moment for the Falcons. Yeah. Absolutely, just
a great moment for the Falcons. I saw them announce it on social media.
And you know, when you're waiting for that first CFP rankings show to
come out, and you're and you're watching the folks at ESPN talk about the
Michigan's and the Georgia's and the Florida States and the Ohio States and those teams
that are likely going to be the four teams in the in the college football
playoff. Uh, you know that's that's that's great. But I loved being
able to see at the bottom of the rankings and see air Force's name there
because it really does show that the folks in that room feel that they're going
to be able to keep that that team in those rankings. And I'd love
to see them get moved up into into the top twenty here and and if
they have a big win over Army this week, I think they do end
up in the top twenty just because of the volatility at the bottom of the
rankings. I think that they that the the the folks in the room understand
as much as you know, you like to give them a hard time for
not knowing, you know, their rear end from a hole in the ground,
sometimes they understand the significance of of these Commander in Chief Trophy games,
and they under they understand that even though Army is two and six, that
you know, that's a that's a game that they need to take seriously.
And if air Force can can take care of business in this game. I
think you will see them move up when when the rankings come out next week.
Yeah, and they'll certainly if they keep winning, especially with those last
two regular season games against UNLV and Boise State, two teams having really good
seasons themselves. That's certainly in terms of metrics, that will definitely move air
Force up the up the dial. Speaking to air Force, a couple of
other news notes to pass along real fast before we get to our picks.
Air Force freen senior free safety Travis Taylor named the semi finalists for the Jim
Thorpe Award, one of fifteen total players named as a semi finalists that given
out to the best defensive back in college football. Also, air Force senior
quarterback Zach Larrier won of thirty five players named as a finalist if you will
for the twenty twenty three Debut O'Brien National Quarterback Award. They basically put out
a watch list. In that watch list for those scoring at home, that
watch list that comes out at the end of October basically is your list of
finalists. So Zach Larrier being recognized for an outstanding season under center for the
Falcons. And finally, Army West Point offensive lineman. Former offensive lineman for
the Black Knights, Brett Tope He was signed by the Carolina Panthers to their
active roster off the Eagles practice squad this past week. He played in seventeen
regular season games for the Eagles in two thousand and one. So awesome to
see Brett Toath getting an opportunity to play for the Panthers on their active roster,
though he was inactive for their game against the Texans and ironically the Panthers
first win of the season last Sunday, but two games ahead of this weekend
fired up for Navy at Temple, but certainly Air Force and Army there in
Denver. Steve, let's talk Navy and Temple that one on the road once
again, maybe a six and a half point favorite there at Lincoln Financial Field
over the Owls who've lost five straight. I'll let you fire first which way,
because I think we're pretty darn close on this one. Yeah, I
think we are. Price and for me, it all comes down to the
fact that Navy's gonna have to contain EJ. Warner as best they can,
and their defensive backfield is going to certainly be tested by Warner's arm to his
receivers on the outer edges of that OWLS offense. But I think they're up
to the challenge, and I think that we all know that the best way
to keep EJ. Warner from getting the football out to his receivers on the
outer edges of the offense is to keep him with his helmet underneath his arm
on the sideline. So it's really gonna come down to Navy's running game,
which I think is much improved, especially with alec Teza taking over as the
main fullback here this year. I'm gonna go with Navy winning the game twenty
four fourteen, And even though they're not playing Army Navy Lincoln Financial Field,
you're gonna have an opportunity to sing second against Temple in this game. Yeah,
well said, I also am gonna go Navy. I agree with everything
you just articulated right there. My score is gonna be pretty darn close to
Myriors, except twenty four to fourteen. I'm gonna go twenty four to seventeen.
I think it's a one score game separated by just a touchdown. Is
that would just eclipse the line? Is? I think Navy started at seven
and a half, But I think the news with AJ Warner that's brought it
down to six and a half. But I'm gonna go twenty four to seventeen.
All Right, the Biggie and the second installment, second leg of the
Commander in Chief Trophies. We got Air Force Army in Denver at empower Field.
Can Army pull this off? Is there any way that they shock the
falcon steve? Which way you gonna go to put it? The quick answer
to that question is no, I don't think that Army has it to shot
the air Force in this game. Now, the fact of the matter is
that the pundits, the people that think that they know college football in Las
Vegas, have this line at eighteen and a half. And I don't know
of a single game in the Commander's Chief Trophy that's ever been decided by seventeen
points or more. It does not exist, I don't think, and I
don't think it's going to exist in this game either. I think that's way
too many points that they're giving air that air Force has to lay. So
you're gonna if you're gonna, if you're gonna bet this game, you definitely
are taking Army and you're taking the eighteen and a half points. You're saying
thank you very much in that. I think this is going to be a
low scoring affair that I think they did get right. I think that this
has an opportunity to even get under the thirty one and a half. I
have this at air Force seventeen Army six. I think that that the Black
Knights do get a couple of field goals out of this to try and make
this a little closer. But I have seventeen. I have seventeen six in
this game, but I still have air Force getting to nine and zero.
Yeah, I'm with you. I think that they're one of the safest bets
at least you can make this season, or at least this weekend. Let
me just say that air Force is an eighteen and a half point favorite.
I would take Army to cover that all day because, as we mentioned earlier,
the last five meetings have all been within a touchdown. There hasn't been
a team win by that kind of margin since you know, twenty seventeen when
it was a twenty one zero Army shutout in the Springs. And that being
said, I do think it is much closer than what Vegas thinks, and
I do think it's it's under the thirty one and a half. You know,
you went with seventeen to six. I think just a tick higher scoring.
I don't think Army is gonna find the end zone. I think something
to the effect of air Force twenty to nine. So you know, close,
fairly close game. I think it'll be fairly close at half. And
I think, you know, just that air Force defense is going to do
what they've done all season long, and that's hunkered down in that second half
and you know, play stingy football and not allow Army to, you know,
get this thing to the point where they believe they can win it.
So I'm with you. I'm going an eleven point difference for the Falcons and
the Falcons to capture their second straight Commander in Chief trophy outright, which they
will do with a win over Army. All right, Steven, have a
great weekend, man, enjoy the games for Shade, all you do making
a sound tiptop every week, and all the work you do on the College
Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast network until next weekend. We will do it next
week here on Yards and Stripes, your home for service Academy Football. Join
us again next time for Yards and Stripes Service Academy Football. To get more
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