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. All right, welcome into
another edition of Yards and Stripes, your home for Service Academy Football. As
we are part of the College Grid, our Coast to Coast podcast network on
Bryce Atkinson, he is Steve Carney, and we bring you Army, Navy
and Air Force football every single week you're on Yards and Stripes. And this
week we had a whole heck of a lot to get into. The Air
Force Falcons implosion continuing, Navy creeping closer to Bowl eligibility, while Army's winning
streak it continues on. So much to do here is three games to recamp,
game balls to give out our Travis Mannion Foundation Honor Roll segment. We
got picks to make with two games ahead in two games, not just two
games to end the somewhat guiller season for Army or excuse me, for Navy
and Air Force. There is a lot on the line for the Mids and
the Air Force and the Air Force Falcons. Later this week we will talk
about it is. It's Thanksgiving week and we have left off here on episode
fourteen. But Steven, how's it going. What a big weekend of college
football it was for our three teams, ho Lea, Cow. Yeah,
it couldn't have been crazier Price, that's for sure. And I was very
lucky that this week I had multiple televisions to to be able to watch Army
and Navy going on at the same time, and and with Air Force playing
a little later, I was able. I was able to take part of
all three games this week and hadn't have a great time in doing so.
And it was just a wild, wild week, a wild Saturday for the
for the service academies. And I think we got to jump straight in with
the fact that we were pretty close with our predictions last week. The only
problem is is that for two of our three predictions you had to switch the
teams around, and one of them was in for a good reason, the
other one unfortunately not quite so. Yes, it was senior Day for all
three academies, sending out their seniors at all three respective schools. And let's
start in Annapolis, Steve, where that was our first game of the day.
The Midshipman hosting East Carolina the final regular season game at Navy Marine Corps
Memorial Stadium in Navy winning it second straight and remains in the hunt to gain
Bowl eligibility with its third shutout of the season, knocking off East Carolina tend
to nothing. His Navy is now five and five. They're even steven overall
in four and three in the American, while East Carolina dropped the two to
nine overall one in six in the American. First time East Carolina has been
shut out in twenty six years, three hundred and twenty three game games since
the Pirates were shut out, and maybe now only the third or excuse me,
the only FBS team to have three shutouts this season. The defense did
the job yet again, holding ECU to one hundred and eighty nine yards of
total offense, forcing four turnovers two interceptions, two fumbles, but Navy now
was shut out. Wins over Wagner, UNC, Charlotte, and East Carolina.
Of course, you know, as you mentioned, you know, forcing
four turnovers, but look, maybe we're not going to let them off the
hook. And they did get the win, but their state mistakes were there
still there, Steve. They lost two fumbles, they had a field goal
block, and they missed a field goal. In the end, it was
the defense doing the job. ECU never really got close to finding any kind
of points except a miss forty nine yard field goal there in the second quarter,
and that's really all it was. You know, it wasn't you know,
this game was not put out of reach. I guess, you know,
when it's seven to nothing and going into the fourth courts. It was
a late Nathan Kirkwood twenty seven yard field goal midway through the fourth that put
this thing, I guess technically out of reach for a pretty offensive in nept
East Carolina team. Is Navy getting a second straight win of the season now
they have a pair of two game winning streaks. Yeah, and you look
at what the Pirates were able to do, especially or weren't able to do,
especially offensively. They weren't able to run the football at all, twenty
two carries for only thirty four yards. So that's a credit to Navy's defensive
line and what they were able to accomplish. And I know you mentioned the
two fumbles that were lost, both lost by Xavier r Line. You know,
I thought East Carolina, that's what they were looking to do because they
understood that you have to be able to force turnovers. To have any sort
of opportunity against against Navy or against any of the service academies, You've got
to make them make the mistakes. And Arline did make a pair of them,
but they also were able to recover a pair of fumbles and you and
you mentioned the two interceptions that Alex Flynn, the quarterback for the Pirates,
through in that game. So Navy was able to capitalize on more mistakes that
ECU made, and so they were able and unfortunately, you know, I
thought that they they had the missed field goal. It was funny because East
Carolina had missed I believe on the same side of the field, so I
think it was something going on well with those uprights, maybe they were shaking
in the wind or whatever. But I remember seeing Navy push the field goal
and then East Carolina I think on the same side of the field I had
pulled one. So it was really a weird setup when it came to those
field goals. But you know, I'll take the I'll take a shutout win,
a third consecutive or a third shutout this season for the midshipman defense,
and you got to give them a whole lot of credit because they're the only
team, as you mentioned, in college football to have three shutouts this year.
Yep, absolutely, I think one of the other big takeaways from this
game, I don't think there's any question now. I think Navies found their
quarterback that they're going to go with the rest of the way. It is
ab r Line, the athletic senior getting the start again. He ran.
He mentioned the two fumbles, but he ran sixteen times for sixty eight yards.
Also was ten of eleven throwing the football for one oh two one of
the week. Is maybe the weakest passer of the four quarterbacks on the Navy
roster that has started this season, but throwing ten of eleven, you know,
short passes, but still that's doing a nice job. I got to
clean up the turnovers. But there's I don't think there's any question now that
Brian Newberry is going to hitch their wagon the rest of the way at going
to SMU and then obviously against Army provided something doesn't you know, go terribly
wrong this week in the SMU, which it could was Xavier r Line,
but you know, just real quick you know, while he didn't find the
end zone. You know, after the punt of Paloser early in the game,
our line set up that Alex Tesca touchdown run. They're you know,
in the first half. You know our line. You know first, you
know, first play of Navy's third possession of the game, he goes thirty
nine yards and on the very next play, Alex tesca nineteen yard touchdown run.
You know, that was the tip game's only touchdown. So our line
setting up that one touchdown on a just a short two play dry for the
midshipman, you know, and doing the job. So you know, while
the numbers don't look super pretty, you know, Navy is not churning up
a whole heck of a lot of yards. I mean they only had two
hundred and seventy six in this one. They're still doing enough to get the
job done all week. All I can say is one thing they won't have
to do a lot better than that on offense, not just taking care of
the football, but moving the football on Saturday against SMU And we'll get into
that in a little bit. But mission accomplished here, as you now have
two straight wins and you have a chance to get Bowl eligible. Steve,
Yeah, and being able to get BULL eligible is a huge piece for for
Navy because you don't want to come down to the point where you're hoping that
your your ranking is enough, because I have a feeling there are going to
be five win teams that are going to be in bowl games here this year.
You know, you don't want you don't want to get down to the
computer rankings to being able to and the and whatever, uh, you know
whatever ratings that the the the bull committees use to to invite five win teams
uh to Bowl games. Get your sixth win or having the opportunity to get
your sixth win before the bull bids go out is huge for this Navy team.
And uh, I don't know if I thought that they were going to
be able to get there, especially after the loss to Temple a couple of
weeks ago. When they lost to Temple, I went, well, there
goes any shot of being BULL eligible. And the fact that they have that
opportunity, albeit a slim one against SMU coming up this week, I think
really speaks highly of how Coach Newberry and the team has responded again. Navy
ten to nothing over East Carolina to get to five and five overall, four
and three in the American All right, let's move it up to Mikey Stadium,
Steve and the Army Black Knights getting a shocking and upset win as they
send their seniors out on a winner. The Black Knights have now won three
in a row. What a turnaround engineer by Jeff Monkin's team, starting with
that win over Air Force, but Army a twenty eight to twenty one winner
over visiting Coastal Carolina. Now Army is five and six. They have a
chance to get to even steven and finish the year six and six overall with
a win over Navy. Obviously, that would capture the Commander in Chief trophy
if Army's able to do it. But let's not get ahead of the game.
Let's talk about this one, Steve, and you know, a shocking
win that you and I didn't see coming, and nor did a lot of
people. But I think you got to go to the game plan that the
Army coaching staff dialed up that Coastal never saw coming. The big change that
Army dialed up. They went back to their signatu or triple option offensive tack
operating under center versus the shotgun, and it worked like a well oiled machine.
Steve is the change really was meant to neutralize coastal speed, not try
and get into kind of shootout with their athletic personnel on offense. Army didn't
complete a pass in the game. They didn't need to, as they rushed
for three hundred and sixty five led by Tyson Riley going eleven carries one hundred
and twelve yards, followed by Bryce and Daily the quarterback twenty two carries ninety
four yards. Riley who hadn't carried the ball since the season open. After
moving to h back and tight end. They started implementing going back under center
a couple of weeks ago, and of course they have so much senior personnel
and guys that had taken so many snaps and reps over the last several years,
it didn't take long to find their footing again. And it certainly didn't
take long as the coastal staff did not see this one coming as Army gets
the twenty eight to twenty one shocker Steve Yeah, blitz of the Chanticleers by
the Black Knights, and it was a good thing that they started the Senior
Day moments at Mikey Stadium, I think at like nine at oh nine thirty,
because they so many seniors they had to get, they had to acknowledge
before the nude kickoff. They they started Senior Day early for Army, and
with good and with good reason. You know, I looked at and was
and was watching that game and just the fact it was funny when you mentioned
them them going back under center, when they put Bryson Daily back under center,
and it was like, I remember going that that looks different because I'm
so used to seeing Army in shotgun running the flexbone offense and going back to
a more traditional triple option was like, ooh, like, I like this,
this is smart, and it really did. It allowed Army to get
away from the edge rushers that Coastal uses and kind of keep things in the
middle of the field, which is exactly what you needed to do in order
to run the football as well as they did. I mean, you look
at it. They had sixty two offensive plays. Coastal was held to just
fifty one, and they ran, as you mentioned, sixty two of I'm
sorry, sixty four offensive plays for Army fifty one for Coastal. And you
know, they averaged almost six yards on the ground. And when you're able
to do that, and you're and your Army and you're able to grind out
this game and they had almost forty minutes of possession time of the football,
that's a that's that's huge for this for this offense, and the fact that
they were able to do that speaks volumes of what coach Bunkin has been able
to do with his team. And and they've got to be feeling great about
themselves as they get a much deserved week off as they get ready for obviously
the biggest game of their season. Yeah, well, Coastal outgained Army three
eighty four to three sixty five. Obviously, all those yards for Army coming
on the ground, as we mentioned, you know that that you just said
it. You know, the time of possession, you know, Army going
back to the shot to the under center, scrapping the shotgun, keeping the
ball away from Coastal and they did it by converting eight of eleven on third
down and that translated to forty yards time of possession. And of course you
know the turnover margin. You know, Army turned it over twice while Coastal
technically only turned it over once in the game. You know, the block
punt, you know for a touchdown that you know, I'm always been a
believer that block punts should be considered turnovers as well. I know they're not,
but for statistical purpose, it's a momentum changer, just like any other
turnover is you know, unexpected change of possession in that situation, and you
know it. I think that block punt, I don't know what you thought
about it. You know, there were some big plays in the game,
but late in the first half, you know, as good as Army's offense
was Brent Durina, the linebacker blocking that Coastal punt that was recovered by Jabriel
Williams and returned thirty seven yards for a touchdown with what one forty eight left
in the first half. That put Army up twenty one to seven. I
thought that was maybe as big of a play as any other in the entire
game, and it came courtesy of the Army defense. Steve no Absolutely,
that was huge because at that point it's still a one score game and if
you're if you're Coastal, you've got to be feeling good about your chances.
Even though it's a it's a hostile environment that you're in. You know,
if you make a stop there, you still have an opportunity to tie the
game up before the end of the half. And I think that's huge.
At that point you you get the block punt, uh and and now it's
now it's a two score game. And and even if you're able to get
a touchdown, as they were able to on the next drive they they they
went down and scored a touchdown, but it's still then a one score game
at that point you still have more work to do to try and get back.
Even so, it's huge that that block pump was enormous for the Black
Knights. Yeah, no doubt about it is Army just an incredible job at
the coaching staff to steady and get this ship right. It for Army twenty
eight twenty one over Coastal Carolina. And another stat that I saw, I
can't remember if it was the armysid staff, it was sal Ener Donado,
you know, but something that you would not expect. We've become a custom
here at Yards and Stripes to see and understand that, you know, it's
not uncommon for one of our three teams to win, you know, maybe
a couple games every season without even throwing or even completing a pass, a
forward pass, you know, And a lot of people don't like that.
They think it sets college football back when the forward pass is not utilized.
But I think it's a wild stat that the Black Knights are eight and one
during the Jeff Munk and Ira Steve in games when they do not complete a
pass. They were zero of two throwing the football in this game and still
get the win over what usually is a fairly pass happy Coastal Carolina team.
But Grayson McCall was still out did not play, and Garrett Jared guests through
for two seventy nine and three scores. But nonetheless it does not matter.
The Black Knights a fantastic game plan and they get a twenty eight to twenty
one win to improve to five and six. Our last game of the day,
Steve so much on the line first place in the Mountain West, you
know, but on the line between UNLV and the Air Force Falcons. And
the Falcons they can't get it done at home. They lose their third straight
game, falling on Senior Day to UNLV thirty one to twenty seven in a
game that UNLV led, or the air Force led twenty four to seven,
but the Rebels pitch a second half shutout as the implosion continues. The Falcons,
you know, playing a strong first half for the first time in a
while. We know that they've been a, without a doubt, a second
half team the season. They take a twenty four to seven league, can't
hang on and then you know, trailing thirty one to twenty seven. In
the final minute, air Force is moving quarterbacks in and out. They drive
to the UNLV eight yard line on the final possession or on the final possession
the final play, John Buscha's passed to you know, running back on fourth
and goal. It falls incomplete with twenty three seconds left, and that's that's
the end of it. There was a kind of a questionable pass interference call
there late in the game that air Force got the benefit of the doubt.
But you know, Busha coming into the game, one of three quarterbacks to
take a snap for air Force, easily the best thrower that they have when
they needed to get down the field. But it's not enough. As they
rushed for three forty four most of which came in the first half and they
fall to UNLV thirty one to twenty seven. Steve, Yeah, difficult to
watch in that second half for the for Falcons fans because if you look at
what they what they were able to do, or the lack of production that
they were that they had on on offense. I mean, you look at
it. It was six plays before a punt, three and out, three
and out fumble on the sixth play, a four play out, and then
as you mentioned, the long drive where it looked like they were gonna be
going down to get the game winning touchdown. They had four shots from inside
the eight yard line but weren't on. We're unable to get get into the
end zone or to to to take the lead back. It was a great
first half for air Force that they did everything that you could have asked for
them. You know, they were able to to take an interception and go
down and score a touchdown. At that point, they're up twenty four to
seven, and you're thinking, Okay, this is going to be a runaway
and we're gonna be looking at air Force with an opportunity to host the Mountain
West Championship game coming up in a couple of weeks. Regardless of whether or
not they win this week against Boise, But that was that was a really
tough second half to watch. For sure. I certainly didn't think that that
that is the uh, the sort of game that you expect out of out
of the Falcons. That was really really a rough, a rough watch.
Yeah, not to make any excuses at all, but you know, air
Force without their two leading rushers again, Emmanuel Michelle zach Larier, two guys
that combined for over thirteen hundred yards this season, almost three hundred carries combined
between the two of them, fourteen touchdowns. You know, they're not available.
But I thought that when when air Force you know, jumped out to
the you know, to the big lead, you know, we know that
this is a second half team. That first half starting strong has not really
been a strong suit of air Force, and you know, getting ahead twenty
four to seven and then leading, you know at the half as Matthew duport
Octoba forty two yard field goal, you know, as the clock ran out
of the first half to take a twenty seven to fourteen lead, I thought,
there's no way that air Force is going to give this up, you
know, in the second half. But nonetheless they did and you know air
Force, as we mentioned, you know, after that eight no start,
they've now dropped to three straight eight and three overall, five and two in
the mount West. It's crazy as it is. I know it sounds nuts,
but a win this coming weekend at Boise State would still qualify the Falcons
for the Mountain West Conference championship game. We'll kind of we'll break that down
and kind of give you exactly how that all shakes out. But you know,
despite losing the undefeated season and you know, three straight losses and thought
first place is on the line, they still have a shot here Steve,
coming up this weekend, all is not lost. Yeah, after a second
half where they only put up one hundred and eight yards of offense through the
first five drives that they had. The fact of the matter is is this
loss does not preclude them from having an opportunity at a Mountain West Conference championship,
and that Falcons fans have to be really excited for this week and hopefully
they're they're able to enjoy a victory. I know we're gonna get to air
Force and Boise coming up here in a moment, but you know, this
is a huge moment for them because they can find themselves with an opportunity at
a Mountain West championship. With a win or an opportunity to play for a
mount West championship, I should say, with a win here this week against
Boise again, UNLV knocks off air Force thirty one to twenty seven is UNLV
now takes control of the Mountain West Conference nine and two overall six and one,
the mount West Air Force eight and three five and two in the league.
All right, let's give out some game ball, Steve. Which way
you want to go with yours this week? Bud Well, because he shut
me up big time this week, I'm gonna go with Army quarterback Bryson Dally.
Yes, I know that Tyson Riley had had the better stats on the
ground, going for one hundred and twelve yards almost almost averaging ten yards of
carry. He had that that long forty three yard touchdown you had. We
mentioned the block point that that could have been. But I'm gonna go with
Bryson Daily because it was his leadership on the field that led Army uh to
a to a win offensively. So Bryson, you get my salute and you
get my game ball this week. Well, my game ball and salute it's
gonna go to There were a lot of different ways I thought about going with.
I thought about going with that Army coaching staff, especially the offensive coaching
staff, or setting setting up what they did very deserving, planned a surprise
coastal. But I think that the Navy defense when you post your third straight
shutout two of the or not third shutout, but your third shutout of the
season. The only school in the FBS to half three this season, I
think two of them come in conference games is big. And the fact that
they were able to shut out East Carolina and get that second win and still
have a shot to get Bowl eligible this weekend. You know, Junior linebacker
Colin Ramos leading the way with tackle ten stops in the game. What four
straight week he's had double digit tackles, named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player
of the Week, ranked second in the American and eight point eight tackles with
eight point eight tackles per game, he led the way. I just think
the Navy defense as a whole posting another goose egg there, especially on Senior
Day at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. I'm giving it out to that Navy
defensive unit for getting the job done yet again in a low scoring game where
their offense just can't really get a lot going, the defense was needed more
than ever. So the Navy defense is getting my game ball, Steve.
All right, Bud, we got plenty more to do. We got a
couple of games coming up this weekend, a lot on the line in both
those games, involving Air Force and Navy. We got our Travis Mannan Foundation
Honor Roll segment. We got the Army Navy uniform reveal. We're gonna talk
about those. We got some picks to give you here coming up on Yards
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Yards and Stripes Service Academy Football. As we continue along here on Yards and
Stripes, you're home for Service Academy Football once again. I'm Mary Sakinson.
He is Steve Carney, Internet is issues notwithstanding. As we move into this
weekend, Thanksgiving weekend, Black Friday weekend, shopping weekend, all those things,
maybe if you want to consider it the official arrival of the Christmas season,
Steve, as it seems like it's debated more and more this year.
I don't know, is it me or is it is it? Is it
a thing where this? You know? Is it acceptable to put Christmas decorations
up before after Thanksgiving? I've heard it come up more this year than I've
ever heard it before. Yeah, for me, Christmas season usually starts after
Thanksgiving, and as we're taping this, we're not at Thanksgiving just yet,
so Christmas is almost you know, when Icee Santa come down Broadway on the
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, I can go, Okay, now I can start
thinking about I can start thinking about Christmas until that point comes though, No,
it is still college football season and Thanksgiving season. Well, we'll get
to the Christmas time when it gets there. Yeah, no doubt about it.
And we're kind of the same way in our house, like we like
to enjoy celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. Then as soon as it's behind us,
come Black Friday. Okay, we can begin doing the Christmas thing. But
it just seems like it has become this hotter topic than ever this year.
But let's move on to this year and what we have left of this season
is we've got a pair games coming up this weekend, one Friday, one
Saturday. Let's start Black Friday. The Air Force Falcons trying to right the
ship having lost three straight. They're hitting the road to the Smurf Turf for
a four pm Eastern Standard Time kickoff two pm locally in Boise As Air Force
we'll take on Boise State again on the Smurf Turf. Air Force eight and
three, five and two in the Mountain West versus six and five in five
and two Boise State the Broncos. This one going to be on FS one.
Boise State is a six and a half point favorite over under forty six
and a half. Steve, and you know, the Boise State it's not
the kind of season that I think that they thought they'd be having. The
Broncos making a coaching change, Andy Avolos fired last week and now Mark Madston.
They're starting quarterback for part of the season, at least the most recent
starter. He's going to be out for the rest of the year with an
injury, as Spence as interim head coach Spencer Danielson saying Taylor Green is going
to be the starter the rest of the way, I think. But the
bigger story here is the Air Force Falcons. As tough as the last three
games have been, Steve, they still have a chance. A win at
Boise Boise State would get them into the Mount West Conference championship game for the
first first time and a chance to win their first conference title. You know,
as crazy as it sounds, that is where we were at and Boise
State has somewhat of a similar fate. But let's talk about Air Force first,
Steve is if air Force wins at Boise State on Friday, they will
play for the Mount West title in Las Vegas on December the second. Here's
the deal. The average of the four computers right now that the Mount West
uses to break ties UNLV twenty eight and a half, Air Force fifty,
Boise State sixty one and a half, San Jose State sixty seven and a
half. So based on UNLV's commandingly, the Rebels would host at Allegiance Stadium.
They would be the home team regardless of the outcome. If air Force
wins and beats Boise State. Steve two possibilities here exist. The Falcons would
then finish alone in second place if UNLV were to defeat San Jose State on
Saturday. Number two, if the Falcons would finish in a three way tie
with UNLV in San Jose State, if the Spartans were to win, that
three way tie would then be determined by those computers, because air Force,
San Jose State, Boise State each finish one and one against each other in
the In this this scenario, the Spartans trailing the Falcons by such a large
margin in the composite computer rankings, there's really no way that they could,
you know, make up that difference if both were to win. If air
Force loses, then they're eliminated. They're out of it. But that is
the situation that they were to win. Boise States in a similar situation as
air Force, and that if they were to win on Friday and UNLV also
wins, the Broncos would then finish in second place alone and they would go
to the comp Championship game to play the Rebels. I won't get into the
chaos which could happen at Boise State and San Jose State both win. Uh.
That would be the craziest scenario. But as it sits here right now,
that is the deal. An air Force win would get them into the
mount Less title game. Steve, Yeah, and that's that That's the big
question is do you root for chaos? Because if you do, you're you're
gonna want to You're gonna want to root for San Jose State uh this weekend.
Uh. And then because that does that basically throws this whole thing into
into turmoil. And and a UNLV win means that whoever wins between air Force
and Boise State is alone in second place. And I don't know if the
Falcons root for chaos or not, but I certainly, uh, for me,
it doesn't matter because I think if if air Force wins, and this
is going to be a very difficult game, especially because as of right now,
we still don't know the status of either Zach Larry or Emmanuel Michelle,
with neither of them having played last week against UNLV on Senior Day. That
gives you, that gives you pause for sure. I certainly am wondering just
what their status is going to be. I think that if they have any
opportunity to play this week, obviously I think that that coach Calhoun will have
them play. But if they're both out again this week, I think this
becomes a much more difficult situation to be in. I mean, if you
look at it right now, I've got the numbers here in front of me.
Boise is a six and a half point favorite at home with an over
under a forty six and a half. I think that that that game certainly
takes a turn if Larry or and Michelle play, and so I think they've
got a much better opportunity to a hold on to the football to be uh
you know, drive up their offensive uh output numbers and uh, keep possession
of the football away from Boise's offense. I know you mentioned that, uh,
that Green is gonna that Taylor Green is going to start a quarterback for
the Broncos here this week. Uh, And I think that that's a that's
a big difference as well, that that is going to help air forces defense.
But this really, this game to me, comes down to that the
health of Zach Larry and the health of Emmanuel Michell and if they were able
to go this week, yeah, that did no doubt about it. That's
gonna be huge. And we obviously are not going to know their status as
coach Calhoun keeps he seeing as many coaches do, close to the vest,
and we know he's not one to tip his hand and in any way,
shape or form in advance. So I'm with you. I think that you
know, the health and the availability of Larrier and certainly Michelle, getting at
least Michelle back to help out and take some the load off depending on which
way they're going to go at quarterback, I think it would be vital.
As you know, Boise State has been installed as a six and a half
point favorite, Steve, which I think it's just crazy to think about how
far we've come that because of the losing streak, that that's where we're at
now with the margin for this game. And you know, Air Force,
I mean, excuse me, Boise State has gotten things turned around after a
fairly you know, rough early non conference schedule. But here they are,
you know, they're right there in the mix where you want to be.
And certainly what Bronco fans are accustom they're not accustomed to being, you know,
in the middle of the pack or down low, you know. So
I think certainly going to be an exciting one of the more exciting, at
least Black Friday games that we have. Again, it's a four o'clock kickoff
Eastern Standard time, two o'clock locally in Boise on FS one, Air Force
in Boise State, Big One in the Mountain West. All right, other
game this weekend. This is gonna be a Saturday kickoff at twelve noon Eastern
Standard time on ESPN two. The Naval Academy heading to Dallas to take on
number twenty five SMU In the coaches poll, Navy is a twenty point underdog
as the over under forty five and a half against the Mustangs and the Mustangs
having a fantastic season nine and two, seven to zero in the American was
Navy five and five, four and three in the American. And we told
you earlier. We've been talking about it for a few weeks. Navy now
can get Bowl eligible with a win over number twenty five SMU. Clearly it's
easier seven than done, but you know, win by Navy would give the
Mids three consecutive wins for the first time since going back to the twenty nineteen
season, when they finished that year on a four game winning streak. But
SMU has just been a juggernaut this year, especially offensively. We'll get to
that in a second. Navy does lead the all time series against SMU thirteen
to eleven, but the Mustangs have won three straight and four of the last
five. Navy six and five all time against SMU and games played there in
Dallas, with the Mustangs winning the last three. So a lot on the
line in this one, obviously, Bowl eligibility, which Navy needs to get
stee before the Army Navy game because Bowl bids are handing out before that.
SMU would advance to the American Athletic Conference Championship Game against the winner of Friday's
Tulane Texas San Antonio game. If the Mustangs can knock off Navy. If
SMU loses to Navy, it will come down to computer rankings between SMU and
the loser of Tulane and UTSA. So there's certainly a lot happening here for
both teams, much like in the Mountain West showdown between Boise State and Air
Force. Yeah, and this one's going to come down to ken Navy's defensive
backfield stop Preston Stone, who has been incredible throwing the football through the air
for the Mustangs twenty five touchdown passes only six interceptions on the season. And
I think that's what SMU is going to want to do in this game,
is They're going to want to pick on Navy's corners and Navy safeties on getting
the ball to the outside, getting the ball down the field between the numbers.
That's what SMU does so well. And as you mentioned, the Mustangs
did not play Tulane this year, they did not play UTSA this year,
so there is no head to head in the American for them with Tulane and
UTSA playing this week. Obviously, the winner of that game is in and
SMU is hoping that they can go to eight to zero and also be a
part of the American Athletic Conference Championship. I believe that if two Lane wins,
they're going they're going to host no matter what. And with if UTSA
wins, SMU has an opportunity that they can host because uh they have just
two losses on this season. UTSA has lost three times this year, which
is amazing because I saw UTSA last week take on USF and they are one
of the most wild and explosive offenses I've seen this year. So SMU is
a very, very tough team. I'm not going to give you my prediction
just yet, but this is really going to come down to ken Xavier r
Line hold on to the football this week. It's going to come down to
fewer giveaways. I think if they can keep that, if they can make
that giveaway number zero, I think that they've got a better shot of beating
the Mustangs and and holding h Preston Stone and the Mustang's offense on the sideline.
So it's going to come down to the running game. It's going to
come down to not making mistakes. If you want to have a shot against
a team that is obviously the cream of the crop of the American Athletic Conference,
so much so that they're off to the ACC next year. Yeah,
no doubt about it. And you mentioned Preston Stone directing at lastly's high powered
offense. Twenty five touchdowns only six picks is almost thrown for three thousand yards.
But you know it's not just Stone. You know their offensive line has
done a great job. They only give up just marriss over one sack per
game. Yeah, they're very very good, tied for fifth nationally and tackles
for losses allowed. And you know it's not just you know, a high
powered offense, right there. Georgia and SMU are the only two FBS teams
in the country to rank in the top fifteen in scoring offense and scoring defense,
as well as total offense and total defense. SMU ranks six nationally and
scoring offense fifteenth nationally and scoring defense, tenth nationally in total offense and fourteenth
in the country in total defense. So it's not just no pun intended a
one trip pony. His ponies can do it on both sides of the football,
Steven. It is a complete football team that Rett Lashley's Mustangs are this
year is you know they are, you know, not to be forgotten about
as maybe a team that potentially, depending on how things go, might they
find themselves into a into that group of five spot in the New Year's Day
six not out of the question. Yeah, it's gonna take. It's gonna
take some help. They're gonna need help from UTSA uh in order to get
there. But uh uh, you know, with with James Madison losing last
week to uh to app state that that's a big plus. Obviously, I
think they're gonna need liberty to uh to to kind of stumble as well.
But they've got They've got a great opportunity here with a win over Navy to
at least say we did everything we could to get into the to the New
Year six Bowl game and if they if they don't make it, so be
it. They went undefeated in conference and gave themselves every shot that they could.
Yeah. Again, this game Navy and SMU the number twenty five Mustangs
and Midshipman a Saturday kickoff at twelve noon Eastern Standard time eleven am. They're
locally in Dallas at Gerald G. Ford Stadium On ESPN two SMU a twenty
point favorite over Under forty five and a half. We got more to do.
We got our Travis Manning Foundation on a roll segment. We got some
uniforms, some new threads to talk about. Army and Navy gonna be sporting
the upcoming Army Navy game presented by USAA. We're gonna get into those what
do we think about? To give you our fashion breakdown, including our picks
for the two games coming up this weekend. All coming up here on the
Arts and Strip's your home for Service Academy Football. In two thousand and seven,
Mareen First Lieutenant Travis Manion 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 fallon, and inspired civilians at Travismanion dot Org that It's time for Travis
Mannion Foundation on Roll segment, Voriana, Remember a fallen hero, one that
has given the ultimate sacrifice. And you know that we begin wrapping up the
podcast every week as we remember a fallen hero that has given the ultimate sacrifice.
And so many of our heroes that we want to remember continue on their
legacy of servicing commitment that their families are doing in communities across the country in
partnership with the travismann And Foundation, and you can find out a lot more
online at Travismanion dot org. As they are doing work in communities all across
our nation, including this week Thanksgiving week. I know we're also thankful for
our many blessings and for our armed forces those that are serving in harm's way
here at home and abroad. But this week on our Travismanon Foundation Honorable Segment,
we're going to honor remember the United States Army First Lieutenant Ashley L.
Henderson Huff. First Lieutenant Huff, member of the Army, the native of
Ellmead, New Jersey, and she gave the ultimate sacrifice on September the nineteenth,
two thousand and six, when our convoy was hit by a suicide vehicle.
Born ied in the Moses region of Iraq. First Lieutenant Huff was assigned
to the five hundred and forty ninth the Military Police Company, the three hundred
and eighty fifth MP Battalion based out of Fort Stewart, and she was just
twenty three years old. Lieutenant Huff spent much of her childhood growing up in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, before moving with her family to New Jersey. She
attended the University of Georgia, where she was a member of the ROTC program,
graduating in twenty twenty four as a second lieutenant in the US Army and
was deployed to Iraq in December of twenty five. She was awarded the National
Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditiary Medal, the Global War
on Terrorism Service Medal, the Armis Army Service Ribbon, Bronze Star, Purple
Heart, and Combat Action Badge. Her father, Mark said his daughter quote
Ashley was a happy person, a good leader. She was very caring about
her soldiers, well respected by them and by her commanding officers. She had
a promising career in the Army and whatever else she chose. Lieutenant Huff survived
by her husband Brian, her parents, Mark and Janet Henderson, her brother
Andrew, and her sister Abbey. The Travis Manning Foundation honored First Lieutenant Ashley
Henderson Huff through their Character Does Matter program on November twenty nine, twenty eleven,
when her story was told to inspire fourteen hundred students a community middle school
in Plainsboro Township, New Jersey. The students took on a challenge to follow
the example of their fallen heroes and live by Travis Mannion's motto himself, if
not me, then who. They honored their fallen hero through researching her life
and exceeded their goal of completing five hundred acts of kindness in Ashley's honor.
And once again we honor remember our heroes like Ashley Huff, who gave the
ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. We remember every man and woman who is serving
in harm's way, not just this week, but every single week, as
we are thankful for so many things during Thanksgiving Week and thankful for their continued
service to our country. Travis Mallian Foundations nine to eleven Heroes Run five K
race series unites communities across the country and around the world to honor the sacrifices
of September eleventh and the war since. Join your community this September and register
to run Walk or Rock by visiting nine to eleven heroesrun dot org. The
latest with Navy, Army and Air Force on Yards and Stripes Service Academy Football.
All right, as we begin wrapping up here on Yards and Stripes since
once again on Pryce Sackinson. He is Steve Carney. Thanks he in to
the Travismanian Foundation. Ever so thankful for them as we are, you know,
certainly in the season of giving Thanksgiving Week, and thankful for all our
men and women that are currently serving and that have served, you know,
all around the country. Certainly grateful for the many blessings we've all been bestowed.
But appreciate TMF for partnering with us once again to highlight so many heroes
that have given the ultimate sacrifice. Steve, And you know it's that time
year, not just for Turkey Day, but you know the uniform reveals for
Army and Navy boat teams, you know, always donning the new threads.
You know it certainly does not hurt you know, you know, merch sales
for the Naval Academy and in West Point. But new uniforms, you know,
commemorative uniforms that both teams usually always wear for the annual match up there
this one obviously on December of the ninth there at Jillette Stadium in Foxborough.
But Navy unveiling their uniforms that are inspired by and produced by under Armour and
Army releasing theirs by Nike. Let's get into Armies first. Just go alphabetically.
There's the Army uniforms Rock of the marn As. They are what the
away team this year, But these uniforms the Army will wear. They are
freaking awesome, honoring Armies third Infantry Division and the dogface soldier's legacy of excellence,
like a what like a khaki sort of tannish color, like the color
of like tanks. These things are freaking sharp, man. And usually I'm,
you know, usually pretty partial to the Navy just because I have more
color schemes to go with. I really like last year's. I really like
these Army uniforms. Yeah they are. They are definitely fresh. They've got
the lettering and the numbering similar to what you would see on the tanks as
you mentioned that they're honoring the infantry unit there, the dog Face Gremlins,
the third Infantry with the Rock of the Marn. These uniforms, I love
the chevron underneath the numbers on the front. I think the color that dust
khaki coloring, with the with the helmet, with the matt finish on the
helmet. I really think that these are extremely sharp looking. Talking to a
number of my friends who have family members or or whatnot that if go on
to West Point uh and and Army fans, they all think that this is
uh maybe the that Army's best look in the last four or five years.
And that's saying something because I always think that Army's got some really sharp looking,
uh uniforms for this, but these are these are really nice. Uh
they're gonna be light Uh They're they're the they're gonna be the light colored team
that here this year, and uh, these are really gonna stand out uh
against the the the turf there at Gillette Stadium. They're they're gonna be really
good looking. I love the you know, the Rock of the Marn,
which are obviously inspired by but the dog face that's on the side of the
helmet, the so during the Dogface Soldiers legacy. It's they are so incredible
again. The Rock of the Marn uniforms inspired by Nike go online. R
O t M stands for obviously Rock of the Marn r O t M dot
football. You can take an even closer look and dive into the you know,
specific threading of these uniforms. And yes, just to let you know,
they are available online at fanatics dot com for purchase. So if you're
hot to try and want to go get your Rock of the Marn uniform and
inspired merch, you can do that right now. Ahead of the Army Navy
game presented by USAA, the Naval Academy unveiling theirs as well this week Steve,
you know obviously produced by under Armour and their uniforms you know, Silent
Service uniforms honoring sub mariners. These are all about the submarine as they are
Navy blue. It's all about being deep underwater. The helmets with the splash
of the water on top. Man. You know, just when you think
Navy can't top themselves again, they do with something like this, as they
will be the home team there in Jillette Stadium. These submarine inspired unis are
nothing short of awesome. Yeah, I said on social media, I said,
I'm a surface Navy I uh, you know, I spent my time
on aircraft carriers. Yeah. I always said that I refuse to uh to
work on on something that was designed to to sink, and that that's the
the running joke that you have when you're when you're a surface uh, when
you're a surface guy in the Navy. But I was like, these are
these are phenomenal. You look at the the the lettering and then and the
numbering just like on the whole of a Virginia class sub Uh. They are
you know, they look you know, you've got the the dolphins on one
side and the and the boat on the other side. It's they are so
sweet. Uh. And and even the uh some of the details, the
the numbers on the hip on the on the hip pants on the of the
pant uh for navy uh, exactly like you would have you would see on
the edge of a Virginia class submarine. Sale. It's so it's just those
that that little intricate attention to detail that that's in these uniforms is what makes
these so great. You saw it on Army side. You're seeing it here
on Navy side. I love them. I need to. I gotta get
something this year. So hopefully, you know, I missed out on the
astronaut one last year. Hopefully I can get something this year. UH.
And and we'll go from there. But I'm definitely excited. UH. This
is always one of my favorite things, UH of the entire season is the
uniform reveals. We saw it with it with Air Force and Army earlier this
UH and and Air Force the Navy earlier this year, and obviously Army Navy
is always the one that everybody looks out for. I'm super excited for.
Yeah, they're they're really cool. To go check out the Navy uniform Silence
Service uniform dot Com online honoring the sub mariners. But you know, both
under arm or Nike just out doing themselves again. I think these two combined
this year just you know, I'm not a the moment guy, but when
you take both of these uniforms and I think the way they're gonna look up
against each other, I think this is the best, the best combo that
we've seen yet. All Right, we've got some games to pick Steven.
We got two games on the docket. We got air Force and Boise.
We've got Navy in SMU. Last week, you and I both nailed the
Air Force game thirty one to twenty seven. We just got the winning team
wrong. But let's see how good we'll do this week? Is these two
games, one Friday, one Saturday. Man, which what do you think
in air Force and Boise? Can air Force find a way stop the skid
and get into the Mount West Championship game? They certainly can. It certainly
becomes a lot easier if they've got Zach Larrier and Emmanuel Michelle on the field,
which they didn't have. They didn't have Michelle either of the last two
weeks. Larrier got into two plays two weeks ago. Last Saturday, he
did not play at all. I think both of them play this week because
Troy Calhoun understands that this is this is your shot. You've got to take
your opportunity here on the Smurf turf, and so I would assume that both
of them are going to play this week. And if both of them play
this week, I think air Force has an opportunity to win this game.
I'm gonna say it is twenty seven twenty air Force. I would take them
outright to win. The money line is plus two ten right now. Especially,
yeah, I would, I would, I would take air Force to
win outright. And so I'm gonna say twenty seven twenty Falcons. Man,
you and I don't talk about this before the before we do our picks.
But man, we're only a point off this week. I'm going with twenty
seven to twenty one. However, I'm going with the Broncos. Oh,
like SMU, I think that the trajectory right now. I think that the
the trajectory with air Force right now, just struggling to stop the skid,
you know, last week, a big lead and then just can't hold on,
you know, playing jek lyin Hyde when they've been a second half team
all year. Last week it was exact opposite, you know, Air Forces.
I mean, excuse me, boys, He's going to get their leading
rusher back this week to help out despite the loss of Madson, their quarterback
being out. I think this game simply being played on the smurf turf there
in Boise is at home for the Broncos, is going to make the difference,
and I think Boise's gonna pull it out. I think, you know,
behind their interim coach Danielson. I just think that they've got a little
bit more. I guess it's more I'm doubting air Force and just unknown whether
Larrier and Michelle are going to play. You know, we won't know until
close to kickoff, But I've just got some doubts because I feel like if
they were healthy enough, they may have been able to come back and play
in the game against UNLV. But like you said, this is the watershed
moment. This is it like you've got a chance to go to the Mount
West Conference championship game. I think you're going to have to have both those
guys on the field. But we shall see. You're going with air Force
twenty seven to twenty. I'm going Boise twenty seven to twenty one. So
we're gonna differ on that one. SMU and Navy this one again, a
twelve noon kickoff on ESPN tow Saturday. Can Navy get Bowl eligible? Can
they pull off a shocker much like Army has done a couple times this year?
What do you think, Steven? Well, as I said in the
last set when we did our previews, that it's going to come down to
can Navy take care of the football I think that even if they have one
turnover, I think it's going to be too much for them to overcome.
If they're minus one, I think that the Mustangs can can win this easily.
And I look at and I look at these numbers. As you mentioned,
it is Mustangs by twenty. The spread the total is forty five and
a half. If you like Navy to win outright, it is plus nine
hundred. That being said, I am not telling you to take the money
line. I think SMU is gonna win this game. I think they're gonna
win it pretty handily. Unfortunately for Coach Newbery, he finishes the regular season
five and six. I'm gonna say that this is SMU twenty seven Navy six.
So I'm gonna go twenty seven six Mustangs in this game. Under take
the under. Yeah, yea, you're going the under. I'm going the
over. I think SMU is gonna put it on Navy. I just think
too much firepower, way too much firepower. Like you, I think it's
gonna be a comfortable win, except I'm going much more high scoring. I
think Preston Stone gets it revbed up, and I think it's gonna be SMU
to the tune of forty two to seventeen. I don't know where are Navy's
gonna score seventeen points from. I think that might be the bigger question,
because I think SMU, if they've got it rolling, I think they could
score forty two and a half. If Navy doesn't take care of the football.
They've got to do that save your line, cannot put the ball on
the ground, and they've got to convert third downs. But I just think
that this is just too tall of an order, Steve, for Navy to
pull this off. So I got SMU forty two to seventeen. You got
SMU twenty seven to six. All right, brother, we'll get out of
here. On that note, man, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving.
I hope you and you and your wife enjoy it. Stay safe down
there in the greater Tampa area. Man, can't wait to do it again
with you next week. Friend. Absolutely, happy Thanksgiving to you, Price,
Happy Thanksgiving to the listeners as well. Make sure that you check out
the rest of the College Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast network as well as we've
got everything lined up here this week. Of course, get off my pylon
drops with us on Tuesdays. We've got Big twelve Breakdown and Big Ten Paradigm
later on in the week, and of course Florida Football Insiders dropping on Wednesday.
So it's a happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the College Gridiron Coast
to Coast Podcast Network to you as well. All right, Happy Thanksgiving to
everybody. Appreciate you investing time with us every single week. As Stevens said,
we're part of the College Gridiron Coast to Coast Podcast Network. Have a
blessed holiday, enjoy that family time, enjoy the turkey, but also enjoy
the games. As the regular season begins wrapping up. We'll do it again
next week here on Yards and Stripes. Join us again next time for Yards
and Stripes Service Academy Football. To get more on all things Service Academy Football,
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