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,
Price Atkinson, Steve Carney and Mike Love All. Here we go episode
of the Arts and Strips number six. We're home for Service Academy Football as
we are part of the College Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast network. He is
Stephen Carney, I'm Price Atkinson. As we are coming to you every single
week with a new episode on Tuesdays during the college football season. Army,
Navy and Air Force is what it's all about, right here, Steve and
two games last weekend, we got two coming up. Our two games last
weekend. We're honestly fairly similar in terms of being tabled two halves. But
nonetheless, the Titanic weekend, the titanic early weekend in college football has come
and gone. The smoke is cleared nationally, some biggers results, but boy
it was. It was littered with big time games last weekend. Yeah,
and I think that you can talk about the big games that happened all around
the country. I mean, you had from the East coast all the way
to the West coast. There were incredible matchups up and down the slate.
When going from something like Clemson and Florida State here on the east coast,
Ohio State and Notre Dame in the middle of the country, you've got and
then of course out west all of the incredible matchups they had. They had
like three or four really really strong games out west, and you know,
when you're with the college Gridiron coast to coast network, you're able to take
take stock of all of them. So it definitely want to give a shout
out to our to our colleagues. But we had really two really really impressive
games, including as we get into this, uh this recap of last weekend,
you know, I thought may have been low key one of the team
one of the games that I think a lot of the national pundits may not
have thought would would have been a good game, but turned out to be
I think a much better game than a lot of people will give credit for
Army going into the JMA Wireless Carrier Dome whatever whatever we call that building now,
I will always call it the Carrier Dome. But going into a Syracuse
university that was undefeated and giving them a really really big scare especially as you
mentioned the Tailor two halves. I think the first half for Army in Syracuse
may have been the best half of play that they've had all year. Yeah,
they were outstanding. We're going to get into that game. We've got
game balls to give out where you've got a couple of games to preview.
As we mentioned two games ahead this weekend, we got our Travis Mannion Foundation
Honor Roll segment. Will make our picks. But you know, Steve just
mentioned the Army game. We'll start. We'll start on Friday night though,
Steve, because Air Force was up on deck first, they were up against
the San Jose State Spartans on the road and mentioned Taylor two halves. Let's
talk about the Taylor two halves in this one, because the Air Force was
trailing at the break twenty to seventeen, but they pitched the second half shutout
and the Falcons went on to win their ninth straight dating back to last season,
and they remained atop the Mountain West standings with a big game coming up
the Saturday. But Air Force the winner in this game by score a forty
five to twenty over San Jose State. There out West, the Falcons have
now won sixth straight away from home and three straight and true road games going
back to last season. Now four and oh overall for the first time since
two thy sixteen. And you know again, they were trailing at the half,
and you know, the second half party started as they pitched that defensive
shutout, But it was the offense who scored thirty five hundred answered points and
it started with a fifteen play, seventy five yard drive that showed up eight
forty two off the clock, capped by John Lee Eldridge, the first of
two rushing touchdowns to give Air Force the lead. For goodness when Steve,
Yeah, I thought that what Air Force was able to do in that second
half was quite impressive. But I will say this about San Jose State,
I was very surprised to see them almost abandoned the run game in the second
half. Yes, they got down and so the game script kind of tells
you you have to abandon the run game for the pass game. But if
you look at their numbers, San Jose State was six point eight yards per
attempt in Friday's game through the air, but they were also six point eight
yards per rushing attempt on the ground, so they were you could you could
have used the running game almost in the same way that you could have used
the pass game. Uh, if you were San Jose State. I was
kind of surprised because they were getting close to seven yards per attempt on the
ground. I was. I was very, very Uh. It was a
head scratching moment for me, wondering why the Spartans moved away from the run
when they had that much success, especially in the first half. They had
a lot of success putting the ball in the hands of their running backs and
having them run the ball as opposed to throw the ball through the air.
They really didn't have as much success through the air. M Yeah, it
definitely. They certainly were able to run the ball with success in the first
half, and even when they got down, you know, they weren't getting
you run out of the building twenty four to twenty. On the very next
possession, it was just three plays, fifty seconds off the clock. They
went incomplete passing, complete passed. Then they run it on third and ten
they get eight, so sets up fourth in two and they have to punt
the football and they can send it right back to the Falcons who got the
ball right back and then March seventy one yards on thirteen plays this one,
chewing up seven thirty eight off the clock, and Emmanuel Shell punches it in
from one yards out, his third touchdown of the game at that point,
to push the Falcons lead out to thirty one to twenty. You know,
Air Force, they scoring five straight drives and had five drives of at least
ten plays or more, you know, chewing up thirty nine minutes and just
change to have an eighteen minute time of possession. And when you convert ten
to fifteen on third down and then you know, throw in a perfect three
for three on four downs, you're going to control a good bit of the
clock, especially as a running team. But something you mentioned there, you
know in the first half, when they were trailing at halftime and then just
came back and just slam the door on San Jose State. That's what good
teams do, and that's what championship teams do. And I'm not saying that,
you know, San Jose State is a Bowl caliber team, but that
was a road game. That was a conference road game in the Mountain West.
You know, those can be tricky every now and then, especially on
a Friday night, which is a little bit quirky, you know, for
especially routine when it comes to Service Academy. But Air Force went out there
and took care of business in the second half. And we know that air
Force is a good team. Are they a championship team? Will find out.
But that's the mark of what a really good team and what a championship
team does, and that's exactly what they did in the second half. Especially
that defense that just slam the door. Now is what second in the country
in total defense? Steve Yeah, absolutely, And you say that we're going
to find out whether Air Force is a championship caliber team here in the Mountwest.
I think they're right there as of right now. I'm they've start,
They've done the right things that they need to in order to get there themselves
in position because the old adages, you can't win a championship in September,
but you certainly can lose it, and they've given themselves a great opportunity here
that now they're almost I would say they're probably as close to being in the
driver's seat as any team is in any conference in college football. You know
there's there are gonna be if there are gonna be those teams that start too,
and oh that find themselves Okay, you know, are they are they
really contenders or are they pretenders? You know, I look at something like
in PAC twelve. In the PAC twelve, Washington State now is is in
a really good spot even though they've only had one conference game because they're not
going to play USC or Utah in their conference schedules. So they find themselves
in a really good shot to make the Pac twelve championship game. I think
air Force has done it in the opposite fashion. You know, Utah State
was a team that they had trouble with the last couple of years, and
they went and they handled their business against the Aggies. Uh. You look
at San Jose State, a team that can that can certainly give a team
like air Force trouble, and they went on the road and handled their business.
You are they are they going to be in the Mountain West Championship game?
Who knows? Is way too early to make that prediction, but they've
put themselves on the right track and they're on the path that they need to
be in order to get there. Yeah. And ironically, you know,
the mount West Conference at a fairly late starting conference. I guess maybe it's
more traditional later starting conference right, because a lot of times, you know,
traditionally over the years, you know, teams will play you know,
September littered and filled with non conference games, and then they'll fire it up
in late September, you know, in early October. And that's kind of
the way the Mountain West has been so far. As air Force is the
only two and oh team, I mean, they're the only other there's only
two teams that have won a conference game to this point, and that's air
Force at two and oh and then Boise State which beat San or San Diego
State last weekend. Only five teams have played conference games so far. You've
got over half the league that hasn't even played a league game. So that's
really going to begin in earnest this weekend as it starts to shake out.
But you air Force, Boise State, Fresno State, you know, maybe
Wyoming. I think those, at least that I've seen so far, the
class of the mount West. I think we might be looking at a conference
championship matchup between two of those four. Who knows, but there is a
lot to go. As the air Force two headed monster of Emmanuel Michelle and
John Lee Eldridge going both backs going for over one hundred yards. Second straight
week that Air Force has had two guys rush for one hundred yards season high
four hundred yards on the ground for the Falcons, and both those players go
over a thousand yards for their career as air Force a dominating forty five to
twenty win over San Jose State on the road to improved to four and oh
two and oh in the Mount West. All right, let's get out up
to Upstate New York where Stephen a graduate of the University of Syracuse, the
Orange hosting the Black Nights, and it's the Orange twenty nine to sixteen final
score as Syracuse improves to four no, Army drop into two and two.
But Army was ahead Taylor two halves. As we mentioned earlier, kind of
the story of the weekend, Army was ahead in this game ten to three
at the half. They got a late interception to kind of preserve that lead.
They kick a field goal. Quinnmoretskyncksme A, what a thirty yard field
goal there just before the half. And you know, Army set the tone
at the very beginning of the game where they take the opening kickoff seventeen play
seventy five yards nine twenty five off the clock that was capped off by Jacoby
Buchanan's one yard touchdown run, the longest drive by the Black Knight since a
ten minute, fifty one second scoring drive in twenty twenty one against Minam of
Ohio. But Steve the Syracuse defense turning things up in the second half,
sacking Army quarterback Bryson Daily three times and picking him off twice. The Orange
rolled with twenty six unanswered in the second half and route to the win.
Yeah, as you mentioned the first half, I said that I thought that
the first half against Army for Syracuse was probably their best half of football that
I've seen them play this year, and that includes you know, the Delaware
State stuff. I thought that they were so complete in that first half of
football, not just offensively being able to push the ball down the field get
a couple of scores out of it, including a touchdown, but their defense
was just incredible against a team that I think is obviously much more talented.
I mean, we said this last week, and talking with Major Steve Anderson
from Black Knight Nation, I certainly think that we all believed that Syracuse was
the more talented team on paper going in to the game, but the defense
was just spot on spectacular, you know, being able to take the ball
away and to be able to keep the Syracuse from being able to do anything
in the red zone. I really do think that you've got to give up
Bravo Zulu to that, to that defensive corps in the first half. They
did everything right, and I know that Jeff Monkin had to be going into
the locker room at the JMA Wireless Dome feeling very very pleased with how his
team has played, how his team had played through the first thirty minutes.
Now, unfortunately the talent did come through in the second thirty minutes of that
game. But you cannot be anything but pleased if you're a member of the
Army staff with the effort level that was put in through all sixty minutes and
to be able to stick around on the road against a team UH that a
lot of people think has UH has some really good chances to get themselves into
a into an upper tier bowl game. Are they going to make a New
Year's six Bowl game? Probably not, But I certainly think that Syracuse has
a really good opportunity to be in one of those really well known and upper
tier bowl games this season. Yeah, certainly Syracuse. You know, stop
us if you've heard this before. But they're off to another undefeated start four
and ozho and you know they have a big game against Clemson coming up this
weekend, and you know, if they can take one of these big steps
with Clemson, then Florida State at right after that, I believe, you
know, that's a big opportunity for Dino Babers' team because what were they seven
and oh last year Steve or six and oz to start the year and you
know didn't taste victory again the rest of the year. So it was you
know, you know, talking about Taylor two seasons. But Syracuse, uh,
you know, I think you said, you know, the talent just
kind of rises to the top and this one uh and they kind of you
know, exsert their will and you know, a couple interceptions, uh,
you know by Bryson Daily you know, didn't help the cause, but you
got to feel really good with how you played. And I know one thing
that Army feels really good about is their defensive lineman Andre Miller, who collided
with the teammate there was down bow teams took a knee. Medical personnel tending
to him and he was cut off the field had movement in his lower extremities,
and Jeff Munkin said afterwards he was responding to treatment. But even better
news. Sunday night, Army put out a statement saying that Andre Miller was
discharged back on post and at West Point. Prognosi is not known as far
as you know when he will play again, if he will play again,
but you know, without a doubt, prayers out to him as he,
you know, continues to recover from a scary moment that you know, it
kind of captivates, you know, both team's attention where you know, there's
just some things that are honestly bigger than than football in those kind of moments.
Yeah, absolutely, you want you want to you want to make sure
that that Andre himself. Uh. It's it's not so much Andre Millery the
football player. It's Andre Millery the soldier. It's Andre Miller the person that
UH and the leader of men that you want to make sure UH is okay
at this point. And you know, if there's any place that has you
know, top quality medical in the country, it's obviously West Point and so
I think that you know, it's great. It was great to hear that
he was out of the hospital and was back back on campus at West Point,
and hopefully that even even if he doesn't play another down this year for
the Black Nights, you want to make sure that he's able to return to
full duty and be able to complete, uh, you know, his service
obligation, which obviously he wants to complete because he wouldn't be there if he
wasn't. Yeah, no doubt about it. But I'm with you though,
as you mentioned back back to the game, you know, Jeff Bunkin and
his staff, you know, yes, it's a loss. You never feel
good about a loss, but you know, did not play. It was
not the worst of performances by the Black Knights. You know, you get
a week you now get the week off as you prepare for a really tough
stretch. You know that continues. You know it didn't just begin, but
it continues as you have Boston College and Troy both at home, then you
have the game at LSU and Baton Rouge, so you know, just a
chance to kind of regroup a little bit and this really gauntlet of a stretch
for the Black Nights but they do fall on the road at Syracuse twenty nine
to sixteen, the first matchup between these two teams since nineteen ninety six.
All right, Steven, we got some game balls to give out. Man,
which way you want to go with your selt? You fire first?
Brother, My game ball will certainly go to for the second consecutive week.
I gave my game ball last week to Emmanuel Michelle of Air Force. He's
getting another one from me here after a huge day on the ground. He
had thirty three of the Falcons seventy three carries on the ground one hundred and
forty eight yards and of course three touchdowns for the fullback. So he was
the battering ram, the tip of the spear, if you will. And
so he gets the game ball from me coming up here in week war.
How about you price, I'm gonna go the other head of that two headed
monster from satur I guess it should say from Friday night. In this case,
John Lee Elderd's the senior out of Youngstown, Ohio, who went for
a season high one o two average ten yards to carry and scored those two
big touchdowns as he carried ten times were one O two and the win over
San Jose State now going over one hundred yards for the first time this season,
but more importantly helping air Force rush for four hundred yards in the game,
a season high, and run that wind total to four overall in two
in the mount West. So right now, air Force, you know Brad
Roberts has gone. We certainly know that. You know there would be a
lot of willing guys, incapable guys that could step up in take that place.
Well, I don't think we've got one. I think we've got several,
and those would begin and end I think right now with Emmanuel Michelle and
John Lee Eldridge the third. So Eldridge getting my game ball as we go
with that two headed monster. All right, we've got more to do here,
Steven. We got a couple of games to look ahead to. We
got our Travis Manning Foundation on a roll segment. We have got some games
to pick and we're going to do that coming up here in just a few
minutes. But as Steve mentioned, we are part of the College Gridiron Coast
to Coast podcast Network. We have podcasts coming to you every single day,
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When we come back, we have got to look ahead to our pair of
games coming up this weekend, and we will do that here on Yards and
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Air Force on Yards and Stripes Service Academy Football. We're rumbling forward here on
Yards and Strikes your home service Academy Football. He is Steve Carney, I
and Brice Atkinson. Appreciate you investing time with us this week and downloading,
listening, subscribing to this episode as we're part of the College Gridter and Coast
to Coast podcast network. And as he mentioned just a few minutes ago,
doever Travis Medium Foundation Honor Roll segment. We're gonna make some picks. But
let's tell you about our two games that we got on tap this weekend,
both Saturday games is going to be back to back on the CBS Sports Network.
Army is off and mentioned that just a few minutes ago, and so
they will take Saturday off as they get ready to face Boston College the following
weekend. But stephen your neck of the woods from the greater Tampa area baby
the South Florida Bulls. They are making their way up to Annapolis as it's
gonna be a three thirty kickoff on the CBS Sports Network for Navy Marine Corps
Memorial Stadium two and two, South Florida one and oh. In the American
Verse, one and two Navy, oh and one in the American It's gonna
be the first meeting between these two teams since twenty nineteen, a series that
Navy leads two wins and one loss of both wins of which came at Navy
Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. But maybe having the week off, and you know,
they're just one of six FBS teams that have only played three games so
far this year. How about this, The mids have just three games played
in the first thirty five days of the college football season. That's crazy.
Obviously they started in Dublin, but having a week off after that loss and
Notre Dame and then another week off, that is why you have just three
games played for the Midshipman in thirty five days. Steve. Yeah. And
if there's a team that certainly feels like they can get something out, something
more out of their team that with a week off, it's the Midshipman and
they've got it. They've got quite the task in front of them. This
is not your fathers or your older brothers in this case, University of South
Florida Bulls. As an almabater of USF, I'm very pleased with how the
team has played this year. They are coming off of a big win over
Rice where Byron Brown, their sophomore quarterback, went crazy both through the air
and on the ground. He was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the
Week. He is the first USF bull to be named offensive Player of the
Week since Quentin Flowers in twenty eighteen. So it has been a long long
time since USF has had someone as dynamic under center as Byron Brown. But
that being said, you know, they beat up Rice, they were hanging
tough defense in a defensive matchup against Alabama. But you know, USF is
certainly not the pushover that they have been in years past. And while I
think that some of the expectations here in town for the Bulls maybe a little
unfounded, I had some and mentioned to me after the Alabama game that they
thought that USF was going to go to a bowl game this year, and
I had to tell them, you know, you're still gonna win five more
games in order to do that, five FBS games, and the Bulls had
won just one FBS game total since the start of the twenty twenty season.
So it's been a while since USF has had this sort of success. But
I think they're in really good shape. They they're not they're not used.
This group is not used to the option offense, though. I think that's
gonna cause them a lot of trouble. I think they're gonna have issues handling
the midshipment offense, especially the new wrinkles that are that are involved. But
I think that the Bulls are going to get a big dose of Dabbel Fulfano
that they're not expecting. And I think the mids are going to find themselves
in really, really strong shape here. Yeah, you mentioned quarterback Byron Brown
six three, two hundred ten pound who pounder who's going to turn nineteen this
Friday, nation's leading rusher amongst quarterbacks at eighty seven point eight yards per game,
which is good for twenty six nationally. And you know last week,
you know, he did it for what eighty two yards on the ground and
a touchdown against Rice. You know, but he's more than just a runner.
He's a guy that can sling it around. I mean he torts the
Alice for four hundred and thirty five yards and two touchdowns twenty twenty two a
twenty nine, And you know he can do it in several different ways.
It's going to be interesting to see what Brian Newberry and you know, his
defensive staff, what they dial up. But you know this, you know
you just talked about it. I mean, you SEEFF actually looks like a
capable football team, uh this season. The question is can they slow down
the triple option for Navy which really hasn't got fully cranked up, but coming
off without a I mean without a doubt, I think it's best performance even
in the loss to memp this on Thursday night. I thought they were outstanding,
you know, despite losing that game. But you know they're gonna have
to dial it up a notch, I think, even on offense to get
this thing going and to move their record to three and oh at home against
USF. How about real quick Steve. Twenty seven year old punter Andrew Stokes
for USF played Australian rules football for what I think seven years before he comes
to Tampa, and he ranks twenty second in the country and punting average at
just almost forty four yards a game. Twenty seven years old. Dude,
Yeah, he's not even the oldest punter in college football. Of course,
you've got the punter at Virginia's thirty one. But you know, it's funny.
I think that USF may have started the trend for college football teams going
to Australia to find themselves their kickers and their punters, because you know,
Andrew Stokes has been with the Bulls now for a couple of years, and
now you're seeing the other teams going, well, that's a smart idea.
We've got a guy that certainly knows how to put you know, a toe
into into a football, but also can run around and kick on the run
if need be if the snap is bad. You know, I think I
think that the Bulls were ahead of the curve when it comes to that.
The other guy that Navy is going to have to watch out for is,
of course Naim Simmons, who set the USF receiving record in a single game
with two hundred and seventy two yards receiving in the win over Rice. But
the best way to control whether the fact that Naimes Simmons is going to have
an opportunity to catch the football is to keep the football out of Byron Brown's
hands. And that's where the option is going to become so vital for Navy
in this week's game, USF at Navy three thirty Eastern Standard time kick off
on the CBS Sports Network. Navy a four point favorite. Over under in
this one is fifty five, as the Mids looking to get that first American
Athletic Conference win of the year. All right, our other game of the
weekend San Diego State at air Force. This is an eight pm Eastern Standard
time kickoff six pm local so I mentioned earlier back to back with Navy on
the CBS Sports Network. Air Force at ten and a half point favorite over
under is forty three point five. San Diego State gonna make their way into
Falcon Stadium, where they have won four straight dating back to two thousand and
nine. Air Force does lead the overall series twenty to eighteen. The Falcons
are eleven and seven at home, but it took a thirteen to three win
last year in San Diego to snap a nine game winning streak over the Aztecs
in a five game winning streak there in San Diego, but Controy Calhoun's team
keep their streak going a four straight this season nine going back to last year.
As again they're a ten and a half point favorite at home against San
Diego State, a team that w and two to start the season but have
since lost three in a row. Steve Yeah, and those two that they
won, you know, let's let's be honest. They they aren't the most
eliting football elite football forces in all of college football. They've got They had
wins at home over the Ohio Bobcats and over Idaho State before losing uh to
UCLA, who came down the five as well, and then going on the
road and losing two Oregon State, which is not uh not a bad team
either, neither was Ucla before Utah got ahold of them uh and then losing
at home in their first conference game to Boise State. We mentioned that's the
only other conference game that's going on so far this year in the Mountain West.
So really, when you look at what the Aztecs have done this year
when they have played teams that are worse than them, obviously they have beaten
them, but the teams that are that are supposed to be better than them
have have all gotten victories. And I certainly see air Force being able to
do the same, especially because this is the Aztecs having to come up into
the UH into the altitude and and take on Air Force on their turf as
opposed to uh, you know, going to San Diego. Uh for this
matchup. This is going to be a much different animal for the Aztecs.
Yeah. And the Aztecs led by dual threat quarterback Jalen Maiden. You know,
he started his career in two thousand eighteen at Mississippi State. He's a
guy that can do it all on through the air, and on the ground.
A little bit more effective though on the ground and sees the team's leading
rusher at five yards of carrious. It's thrown four touchdowns, but it's also
also thrown four picks this season. But he'll be a guy that the Air
Force defense I think we'll be certainly up to the challenge. Is Air Forces
defense right now second in the country, giving up just two hundred and thirty
three yards per game and their fourteenth and scoring defense twelve point eight points per
game allowed. As mentioned, Air Forces won eighth straight by double figures.
The only other FBS team with a longer active streak in the country is Penn
State with nine wins by double digits in a row. So another matchup of
a team that's you know in this case San Diego State and Brady Hoach squad
who Rocky long before Brady Hope took over. Steve, You now they have
had the Falcon's number, but you know that all obviously came to an end
last year and that thirteen to three loss. I think this is going to
be, you know, more up tempo in a higher scoring a game.
Hence the over under set at forty three and a half. We'll give our
picks here and just a little bit and continue on talking about this game,
Steve. But we've got our Travis Mannion Foundation Honor roll to do coming up
X and we've got picks as we close out this episode. But if you
want to find out more certainly about the Travis Mannion Foundation, you can do
that online at Travismanion dot org as Heroes runs. Nine to eleven Heroes runs
are continuing this month and even trickling into October, and you can sign up
online to find one in a community year near you and register online to get
involved in a nine to eleven Heroes run, or just simply to support TMF
in the work they're doing in communities across the country. All right, Steve,
let's take a quick break come right back with our Travis Mannion Foundation Honor
Roll Segment and we got picks of our two games here on Yards and Stripes
your own four Service Academy Football. In two thousand and seven, Marine First
Lieutenant Travis Mannion was killed in Iraq after saving his wooded 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
these words can live in you two 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 Travismanian dot org. Now time for our Travis Manua found Nation
Honor Roll Segment wary honor a fallen hero one that has given the ultimate sacrifice.
We do this in conjunction with our friends at the Travismanian Foundation who are
making a difference in communities across the country, carrying on the legacy of servicing
commitment of loved ones that have given that ultimate sacrifice. And this week we're
gonna honor remember Army staff Sergeant Ricky L. Crockett, who died on January
the twelve, two thousand and four, when his convoy was struck by an
ied while on amount of patrol in Baghdad. He was just shy of his
thirty eighth birthday when he passed away. He was a native of Broxton,
Georgia, one hundred seventy about one hundred and seventy miles southeast of Atlanta.
He was assigned to the fifty first Signal Battalion the eighty second Airborne Division,
based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Ricky joined the US Army right
out of high school, and he had been in the Army for twenty years
and was looking forward to retiring that coming August. Crockett, who was able
to go home for Christmas, and said his sister Katherine Brockington, said he
was looking forward to serving out in his remaining time in Iraq so he could
retire from the military that coming summer. Quote. He liked to cook for
us. He liked to cook greens and mostly everything. He loved to cook
hog chitlands, his sister Katherine said, and he also liked to make Pecan
pies. Ricky is survived by his wife, Maxine Crocketto of Fayetteville, North
Carolina, and his daughter Marvis. His wife, Maxine herself served thirteen years
of active duty before bad knees forced her out in two thousand and two,
and Sergeant Staff Sergeant Ricky Crockett. His service and sacrifice was honored during the
two thousand and sixteen Survivor Summit. In the twenty sixteen New Mexico Expedition hosted
by the Travismanion Foundation, we continue to take a step back every single week
to remember those fallen heroes that have given the ultimate sacrifices that protect our freedoms.
As we all know, freedom is it Free. Travis Mallion 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
eleven Heroes Run dot org. The latest with Navy, Army and Air Force
on Yards and Stripes Service Academy Football appreciate the Travismanian Foundation partnering with us once
again, and we appreciate the opportunity and partner with them on this season of
Yards and Stripes, your home for Service Academy Football. Steve Carney Price Atkinson
here as we motor on come down the stretch here of this episode of Yards
and Stripes and a couple games that we've got to pick. We just told
you what they were. Steve, South Florida at Navy Navy a four point
home favorite in Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium at three thirty on Saturday. Which
way you're going with this one, buddy, Well, I think that the
total in this one is way too high at fifty five. I think that
that's not going to happen. And a lot of that has to do with
the fact that the Bulls put up forty two against Rice last week, so
there is a little bit of recency bias when it comes to that total.
I think that total is little high. I probably would take the under on
fifty five. As for the line itself, I think this line is actually
pretty close. I think that I think they've got this dead on, so
I'm gonna take I think I think I'm gonna take Navy in this one.
I think I'll lay the points in this process. I certainly think that this
is probably going to be I think this is twenty four twenty. This that's
what this screams at me. Uh, this game screams twenty four twenty.
And I really do think that this is this is a push for the mids
and the Bulls. But I think that, uh, the middies are gonna
certainly be happy with themselves coming out, going back into their home locker room.
Middies. Man, you know you're not supposed to do middies, you
know what. And one way to offend the middies I had. I had
to only because only because only because I got USF on the other side.
I've got I've got to I've got at least I get at least give a
little bit of the needle uh to Navy. But the midshipman, I think,
are certainly going to be very very pleased with themselves. Uh. And
Brian Newberry is going to be very happy getting a win at home over USF.
Yeah. I I could not echo what you said any closer. And
you know I had my score and as soon as you dolled out twenty four
to twenty, I was like, oh man, well we're not exactly the
same. I like Navy twenty three to twenty. I definitely think, you
know, you know, you know, Navy's offense hasn't cranked it up,
and I think these defenses are going to kind of stand tall on Saturday with
you where I do think the the over under this one is gonna come and
come in. Well, I think it'll be fairly close, you know,
as I mentioned, you know, uh what twenty three twenty excuse me,
over under in this one's fifty five. I think it will it will definitely
be under. I think defense these defenses are stronger than both offenses. But
I like Navy to get it done and done at home and stay perfect against
usf uh there in Annapolis. All right, As we move along our second
game, part of the CBS Sports Network doubleheader, Steve San Diego State at
air Force. This one forty three and a half over under ten and a
half point favorite is the Are the Falcons there at home? Which way do
you see this one going? Yeah? This this this line seems like it's
a It's quite large, and I wonder how much of that is the recency
bias of what's happened with San Diego State and the fact that they've lost three
in a row, including two of them at home. Granted two of those,
the two losses that they have at home or against a team that was
up until this past Sunday in the top fifteen in all of college football in
UCLA, and then of course the first of their conference games against Boise State
at home, which was a three point game. So I'm kind of surprised
that the line is where it is. I probably would not take this line.
I probably would look more at that total of I think forty three and
a half is a little low. I would definitely go over the forty three
and a half. I probably would stay away from that ten and a half
if I want if I was air Force, if I want to take air
Force, I'm not looking to take air Force at ten and a half.
It's probably not gonna duck much lower than that. But I probably would if
I if you forced me to take the line, I probably would take the
ten and a half points from San Diego State. But I like I certainly
like the over forty three and a half a lot more than I than I
do the ten and a half. Yeah, I'm gonna go with air Force
in this one. I do think that they are going it will hit the
over and I think that air Force, I think they're gonna cover. I
think it's gonna be somewhere in the neighborhood of let's just say thirty five to
twenty three. I think right now air Force has just got I think it's
gonna be fairly high scoring. I don't think it's going to be as close
as maybe a lot of people think. I think air Force just has everything,
you know, rolling on both sides at the football and you know,
Brady Hoke, I know he's got, you know, a defensive pedigree.
While last year was thirteen to three. I just think this one being played
in this Springs at night, I think right now everything is trending air Force,
especially just a complete football team. I'm going to Air Force thirty five
twenty three. Steve, a little bit of a surprise for you. It's
not really much of a surprise. My my thing is this this uh,
this game, screams Brady Hoke pulling a Sean McVeigh and kicking a field kicking
a field goal as time expires to make a twenty eight seventeen game twenty eight
twenty and uh and covering uh that way, and so you I this,
this screams backdoor cover at me. And so I think that if you're a
if you're a if you're a Falcons fan, uh, you're you're not gonna
want to hear that. But I certainly can see Brady Hook doing that to
try and cover and still hit the over. Obviously, Millie doesn't like the
fact that I've that I'm taking San Diego State in the points. Yes,
exactly, all right. I think it'll be you know, if this is
a game, this should be a game that you like, maybe the here
and now of the you know, the mountain less power versus possibly one of
the past powers. Air Force in San Diego State, a what should be
just a fun old school mountain less showdown in the altitude on Saturday night,
eight o'clock Eastern Standard time, six pm there locally at Falcon Stadium as Air
Force ten and a half point favorite against the visiting Aztecs. I can't wait
for that one. Steve, that's gonna do it. Man. Appreciate you
all your hard work, you know, not just here but also as part
of our you know, the family here on the College of Gridiron Coast to
Coast podcast Network that you can listen to all kinds of podcasts, but certainly
Yards and Stripes, Army, Navy, and Air Force. That's all we
do here all season long, every tuesdays. As you download, listen and
subscribe, get a new episode. Wherever it is you listen to your podcast.
Man, you do a great job. We can't thank you enough,
Steve for everything you do keeping a sounding tip top right here. I appreciate
it. And you know, it's all the love. It's all the love
that we have for college football, and especially here on Yards and Stripes for
the Service Academies. You gotta give the love to those that certainly deserve it,
and they are deserving of all the love that we give them. And
then some that's right for the love of the game. If you obviously know
that phrase, well, that's what these players at both or all three academies.
I was gonna say both because I'm thinking of the two games this week,
but certainly all three academies. They do it for the love of the
game. All right, we'll do it again here next week on Yards and
Stripes. You're home for Service Academy football. Enjoy the games this weekend.
For Steve Carney on Price Atkinson, thanks for listening, Thanks for investing.
We'll do it again next week. Have a great week, enjoy the games.
Join us again next time for Yards and Stripes Service Academy Football. To
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