Speaker 1: Need to get your football fix on all things Army,
Navy and Air Force. This is Yarns and Stripes Service
Academy Football. Now here are your hosts, Pryce Atkinson and
Steve Carney.
Speaker 2: Welcome into Yards and Stripes Episode sixteen. But more importantly,
our Army Navy Preview Special, the greatest rivalry in all
of sports. Dare I say it, but it is true.
Army Navy Week is upon us and it all goes
down this Saturday in Baltimore with the Commander in Chief
Trophy on the line, the Army Black Knights, the Navy
Midshipman and we will get into everything and more here
on this episode of Yards and Stripes.
Speaker 3: I'm Pryce Atkinson.
Speaker 2: More importantly, he is Stephen Carney, the greatest producer co
host in the history of podcasting.
Speaker 3: And we have got a loaded one as.
Speaker 2: We are part of the College Grider and Coast to
Coast podcast network and available at last World on sports
dot Com. Loaded loaded seting the table for the game
in Baltimore. We got bowl games that bow teams are going.
We got guest interviews, we got a Travis Meaning Foundation
Honor Roll segment. Speaking of guests, we got some good
win Steven, Joe Miller, the play by play voice of
the Navy Midshipman, and then sal Enter Donado from Black
Knight Nation, founder editor of that Army website and does
a great job army beat writer for many many years
with the Times. Uh that Times here record up in
uh West Point. So we've got sal Or Donado and
Joe Miller. Can't wait to bring you those interviews here, Steven,
But I know it's a Tuesday night without further ado,
let's got a Killer Pizza Report to kick this baby
off in style.
Speaker 4: Yes, the the Killer Pizza Report unfortunately does not have
as on it.
Speaker 5: Uh No, we've been, we've been. We've been battling.
Speaker 4: We've been battling illness here in the Carney household. So
the Killer Pizza has been mostly chicken soup and and
the like. So oh no, yeah, no, it's no big deal.
It's it's this weather that's killing us here in Florida.
You and I talked about this before we started the
show here here here in Florida. It has been warm
the last five or six days, you know, the next
last week or so, and then all of a sudden,
I woke up this morning, it was forty eight degrees
here in Tampa, and I was like, this is for ree,
Like I felt like I needed to quote a very
esteemed philosopher I know named doctor Evil saying it's freaking freezing,
mister Bigglesworth. It was like it was, it was so
cold this morning, and the way that the weather has
gone back and forth, it just it's just given us all,
you know, the mong in the face.
Speaker 6: Uh.
Speaker 5: You know, my wife has been dealing.
Speaker 4: Uh she she always gets sinus infections when when we
have this like crazy you know, change of weather, and
then that usually you know, floats over to me and
then I it, I get all mungey. And so I've been,
I've been I've been thankfully working from home the last
couple of days. So uh, just a you know, dealing
with dealing with the head feeling like a concrete block.
Speaker 5: But uh, but we're still good to go.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 4: There will be pizza this weekend, uh for the Army
Navy game, that is for sure.
Speaker 5: There will be.
Speaker 4: I haven't decided if I'm gonna go with the meat
massacre or just go straight pepperoni, but uh, but there
will be plenty of cured meats. Destroyed on on bread
with cheese and uh sauce for this weekend.
Speaker 5: That is for sure.
Speaker 2: Nothing can make that Army Navy game better than some
killer pizza. And they do not pay us to say that,
so uh, that is just a ringing endorsement, is all
that is.
Speaker 3: Steven.
Speaker 2: Let's let's without further ado, because we do have a
loaded lineup here. We've got Joe Miller coming up in
the next segment, gonna talk Navy football, and then sal Enerdonado.
You caught up with him over the weekend, so we're
gonna talk. Gonna bring you both those interviews coming up.
But let's go ahead and set the table for the
game because Army six and five taking on the Navy
and Shipman nine and two. This one going down, of
course on Saturday at three o'clock M and T Bank
Stadium in Baltimore. Technically it'll kick off at three ten
for those scoring at home on CBS, and Navy has
been installed as a six point favorite over under set
at thirty seven and a half. And you know, Steve,
and I saw a headline about this game. I don't
remember exactly where I saw it, but you know, a
game that's needed now more than ever, you know, and
I can't echo that because I think the last several
years it's just you know a lot of stuff that's
happened to college football all at one time. Like it
seems like we got you know, transfer portal, we've got
nil we got all kinds of stuff that was happening
all at one time. And this, you know, kinds of
brings it back the purity of the game when you
see the Service academies playing and you know and almost
like grind it out fair. But the game that we
all stop, you know, that transcends, you know, families, you
know graduates, you know some family that was in one
of the branches of service. So you know a lot
of times a family member will latch on to one
of the teams. And that'll be no different when Army
and number twenty two Navy, you know, match up on
Saturday at Bank of America Stadium and the one hundred
and twenty six playing of what you and I would
agree is the greatest rivalry and all of sports presented
by USAA at three o'clock on Saturday.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, And you know this is not to disrespect Ohio
State and Michigan or Alabama or Auburn, or USC and
UCLA or you know, the Red Sox and the Yankees,
or the Packers and the Bears, whatever, whatever rivalry in
sports you want to talk about. This is the only
rivalry where everybody on the field would die for everybody
in the stands.
Speaker 5: And I love that.
Speaker 4: I love of putting that perspective on this game and
why it's so important for sports. And you mentioned, you know,
all the things that are going on in college football nowadays,
you know, with nil the transfer portal, coaches moving, you
know everywhere in the middle of the season. You know,
all these buyouts, you know, with whether it's Brian Kelly
getting fired at LSU or Lane Kiffin and all that
nonsense going on.
Speaker 5: You know, there's so much in college football.
Speaker 4: And then on top of all that, then you get
the crying programs, the one the ones that go, we're
not in the college football playoffs, so we don't want
to go to a bowl game. You know, thanks a lot,
Notre Dame, Baylor, you know, the all of these, all
of these, you know, the ones that are five and
seven and say no, we don't want to go a
bowl game. Okay, you know, I was fine with Temple.
I was fine with Florida State saying, nah, we're not
gonna go to a ball game because honestly, you don't
deserve to be in a bowl game.
Speaker 5: But for Notre Dame to go.
Speaker 4: We're not gonna be in the college football playoffs, so
we don't want to go to a bull game.
Speaker 5: You know, you're screwing your players over.
Speaker 4: First off, I feel bad for the players, but you
know it just you know that that sort of complaining
and you know, lack of gratitude for being able to
do what you're gonna do because you could be a
regular student. You know, how about that why don't you
pay for your Why don't you pay for your education?
Speaker 5: Then?
Speaker 4: You know it just it just kind of makes me
laugh that that they don't want they don't want to
do this, and I and you know, I, you know,
I I just I just love the fact that, you know,
these two teams, they're gonna play each other, They're gonna
play each other as hard as they can, and then afterwards,
they're gonna sing the Alma maters, they're gonna walk off
the field and they're gonna get to go to They're
each gonna get to go to bowl games, and they're
all going and I love that. I think that's just
fantastic that we have this. While this is the big game,
it's not the last game of the year for either
Army or Navy.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll get into we'll talk about bowl games here
just a little bit. But you know, you mentioned this game.
Speaker 3: It's just different. It is different. It's way different.
Speaker 2: It's it's different for many many reasons. You know, men
and women, servicemen and women that are stationed in all
corners around the world, not just here at home, but
around the world, listening on you know, on radios, on phones,
you know, some getting it on the Armed Forces Network,
getting the you know, the TV feed, and you know
families you mentioned that, you know got you served in
both branches in the military that you know latch on.
This might be the one college football game some of
them watch all year, you know, but you know, you
get to the game. There is no other game where
you've got an entire student body of one school in
one corner and literally the other school entire student body
in the other corner. I mean there is I mean
literally every single student there is no other one that's
anything like it.
Speaker 3: And then you throw in the brass and the pomp.
Speaker 2: This you know everything with the military that it's you know,
displays outside, you know, the jumpers that bring in the
game balls, the flyovers. I mean, there's just really nothing
like it, and you cannot understand it until you go
for the first time to see what it is, how
different it is.
Speaker 3: Because I remember my first one.
Speaker 2: I think Navy was one in ten, Army was zero
to eleven, or I might have a vice versa, but
I didn't know. I was like, what is the big deal?
I quickly learned what the big deal was quickly.
Speaker 4: Yes, the best part about this is you mentioned the
entire student body being in one end zone for one
school the entire student body being in the other end
zone for the other school. But you remember that everybody
in both of those school and both of those schools,
So everybody in that student body is an athlete at
these you know.
Speaker 5: They they are part of the athletics, the part.
Speaker 4: So you're gonna have the entire Navy basketball team over there,
You're gonna have the entire Army men's and women's soccer
teams there. You're gonna have you know, the Navy wrestling
team you're gonna have, you know, because they've got thirty eight.
They've got thirty eight programs that they've got to run.
At Navy, they've got thirty I think it's like thirty
seven programs, I think is what they have at Army.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 4: So everybody there is an athlete. Everybody at Army is
an athlete. Everybody at Navy is an athlete. They are
all there, They were all they are the student athletes,
and so I just love the fact that they all
get to be a part of this. And you know what,
they may not be football players, but don't tell them
they they members of Army or Navy's team.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Navy leads all time series sixty three to fifty
five to seven, including last year's thirty one to thirteen
win in landover Maryland. This will be the seventh time
the game has been played in Baltimore. Both teams games
have won three eight, so it sits even steven at
three and three in the matchups. Ironically, this is gonna
be the first time the Gay is the game has
been played in Baltimore since twenty sixteen, a game I
was at when Army won twenty one to seventeen. If
you remember that when Stephen, that's the game that broke
Navy's fourteen game winning streak over the Black Knights, the
longest winning streak in series history. Navy's last win in Baltimore,
you got to go all the way back steven to
two thousand and seven when they beat the Black Knights
thirty eight to three. So you know, a place that
you say hasn't been quite as kind and Navy as
it has certainly has been to Army. But he mentioned
the Commander in Chief Trophy that is obviously going to
be front and center on the line, presented annually to
the winner of the football competition. As we know, between
the three academies named in honor of the President of
the United States, Navy has won the CIC seventeen times,
while Army has won at ten. But what is really surprising,
at least to me, I just think it's kind of
wild that this is only going to be the ninth time.
And I say only because I thought it would be
more than that. But this is only gonna be the
ninth time that the CIC Trophy is going.
Speaker 3: To be on the line for both teams.
Speaker 2: The last time we remember it was last year, and
then before that it was twenty seventeen, twenty twelve. You know,
so I would have thought that, you know, it would
have happened a lot more than just nine times where
this game came down to it.
Speaker 3: But that's what we have, Stevens Saturdays. It's for all
the marbles.
Speaker 4: A lot of it has to do with the fact
that air Force had been you know, a big part
of the of the CIC Trophy.
Speaker 5: For all those years.
Speaker 4: I mean, they'd won it lot, and so you know,
so this game for many years was okay, if one
team wins, they win, they win it, and if they lose,
air Force then retains it. And so you know, so
they and there, and there are plenty of years where
when air Force had beaten both Army and Navy. And
this game wasn't for the for the Commander in Chief
trophy at all, you know, it was just for pride,
because the trophy at already taking up residents for another
year in Colorado Springs. But the fact that the Commander
in Chief Trophy once again is on the line in
this game for a second consecutive year, you know, I
love the fact that there's that little extra onus.
Speaker 5: There for this team.
Speaker 4: Not only are you going to be able to say
that you beat your main rival, but then you can
turn around and hold that trophy up high and make
sure that everybody in Colorado Springs can see it too,
that it's going to be sitting in your trophy case
for a year.
Speaker 5: And I love that fact.
Speaker 4: Of course, we wholly expect the Commander in Chief himself
to be at this game. I think his first term,
Donald Trump was there for every for all four of
those games, you know, from twenty seventeen all the way through.
You know, even in the twenty twenty game. I believe
he was there for that one. I don't know if
he did the crossover because they weren't allowing people on
the field. Although you know, you're the president of the
United States, I think they would let you on the field.
Speaker 5: But uh, but I would.
Speaker 4: I would wholly expect to see the President of the
United States at this game doing the the turnover at
the changeover at halftime, which is always you know, people
always talk about you know, great halftime you know, traditions
and the ceremonies. You know, whether you get a halftime
concert like at the Super Bowl or during you know,
the Cowboys game at four twenty five on Thanksgiving or whatever.
Speaker 5: You know you're talking about.
Speaker 4: You know, this is this is ceremony, Yeah, and ceremony
of the highest order that you're going to have the
Commandant of the US Military Academy, the head of the
United States Naval Academy on the field, you know, conducting
a change over over and you know, basically relinquishing custody
of the president from one side to the other so
we can spend a half on each side. I think
it's a It's one of those great moments that isn't
isn't brought up enough. You know, the football game is
one thing. You know, the the pop and the pageantry
of the of the march in for both sides is
talked about when the President is in attendance. That's that's
one piece that I really, I really take a lot of.
Speaker 7: Uh.
Speaker 5: I love being able to see it.
Speaker 4: I love when CBS shows it. Uh you know they
don't they hardly ever show it live, but uh, but
showing uh, you know, the sidelines, showing where the president is.
You know, when it comes to this game, it's always
it's always fun.
Speaker 2: I think I've told you that one year I think
it was one of my last Army Navy games, getting
trapped on one side of the press box because I
went over to get food and they said, you better
go get to food quick because President gets up here.
It's on lockdown, and I don't think we were able.
We were out of a lot locked down until you
know how the quarters to go, They go so quickly.
I think there was like eight minutes left in the
third quarter before we were religious and.
Speaker 3: I could go back to my seat.
Speaker 2: So I don't know if the hot dog was worth
it that year, but you know, Armies had they even
had a lot of success lately, Stephen, you know, obviously
they've struggled a little bit, and it was the shoot
seems like it's really on the other foot a little bit.
And Jill Miller kind of talks a little bit about this,
and I know Sal's going to allude to it. But
you know, last year, Army was without a doubt the
favorite going into the game, much like Navy was this year.
And then it was Army that was really doing the
hunting or Navy doing the hunting last year, and this
year it's going to be Army. It's only you know,
six and five but you know, Black Knights have had
a lot of success in these CIC games. I mean
they won the CIC Trophy four out of the lace
last eight season nine or six out of the last
nine meetings versus Navy. But Monkin and the Black Knights
thirteen and five in their last eighteen Service Academy games
dating back to that Army Navy game in twenty sixteen.
That's a high rate of success against Army and against
Navy and Air Force even.
Speaker 4: Yeah, but if you look at what Army had in
those games, you know, Army had the you know, for
the for the last couple of them, they had the
better quarterback. Uh, you know, obviously Bryson Daily being under centered.
They don't have Bryson Daily this year. They also had
the I think the more bruising of the running games.
You know, the last couple of years, Army gonna have
that this year, they they are I don't know, if
you know, I don't want to say that they're they're
having to play cute, but there this is not the
wrecking ball that we're used to seeing with the with
the Black Knights.
Speaker 5: This year, that wrecking ball is on the other side.
Speaker 4: And you know, you kind of saw it a little
bit last year with with Alex Tesca and and what
they were able to do. And I certainly think that,
you know, Armies, uh running game took a big hit
because of the transfer portal, you know obviously with with
him leaving I I and going to Arizona State, and
and that that I think is big because they really
don't have outside of cal Hellms, they don't have someone
that they can totally wholly depend on to get that
yard that they need. You know, I really do think that,
you know, whereas with with Navy, you know, obviously you're
gonna trust Blake Corvath implicitly, but if you need, if
you need a bowling ball to get a yard or
seventy five again South Florida a couple of weeks ago,
third on third and one, all of a sudden, sixty
four yards later, he's in the end zone celebrating.
Speaker 5: You know that's Alex Tesca.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well you know that. You know, Monkan was trying
to get it with Kate Helms. You mentioned Kate Hellams
and trying to get a yard. You remember, was it
in the Air Force game where they tried to go
for it on fourth and one, fourth and two. Yeah,
they couldn't even get that yard. Now, granted it happens,
but there have been several times this year.
Speaker 3: I know it.
Speaker 2: I don't have the stats right in front of me
to see what army is on fourth down. Usually it's
very good, but you know, they just don't have that bruiser.
You know, if you will, it's really dominated. And no,
nothing against Kate Hellams, but he is not a bright
He's not Rice and Daily Bryce and Daily was a
horse of a different color playing quarterback. I mean he
was an animal playing quarterback. And that's not to take
anything away from Helms. But you know, Navy, we obviously
know that the dynamic kind of offense that Drew Chronic
offensive coordinator is running with, you know, being able to
throw the football. You know, Eli hedin Wright is such
a weapon as a slot back slash wide receiver, and
of course Alex Tesca and then Horvath running the football.
But you and I always you and I know, and
many of our listeners know this game comes down to
several very basic things. Number one, who's gonna protect the football?
Who who is going to play a turnover free clean game?
Number one, Number two who can manufacture the yards on
the ground, and number three at the big plays, because
when you know each other so well, what is that
one missed assignment that might allow for a sixty five
yard you know, touchdown pass down the side, or a
guy getting you know, loose up the middle on a
really good trap block and he just bamed nothing but green,
you know, from linebackers you know, to the to the
end zone. You know, just those little things you know,
that can turn into a big play, one little mistake.
Speaker 3: That's typically what this.
Speaker 2: Game comes down to oftentimes. So there's no doubt about it.
When they know each other as well, and the coaches
whol Minium have coached at both places, they recruited the
same kids. That's exactly what it's going to come down
to once again.
Speaker 5: Stephen asolutely absolutely.
Speaker 4: And you were mentioning efficiency for the for Army, you know,
just forty percent on third downs this year, sixty six
of one hundred and sixty five, which it's it's not
very good fourth downs, you know, they're up around seventy percent,
but they had to go for it more than fifty
times this year on fourth down they only mean thirty
five of them, so so there were there were you know,
sixteen times so far this year. That's an average of
more than one per game that their opponent has gotten
a short field of some sort. You know, whether it's
you know, uh, you know, whether it's if that fourth
down comes in the middle of the field or if
it comes you know, on fourth and goal from the
one that they aren't able to to to convert. But
you know, so they've been able, you know, the opponents
have been able to get they get get the ball
back from Army without them, you know, scoring points on
on sixteen occasions.
Speaker 5: So more than one a game.
Speaker 3: Well, I know, you can't wait, I know, I can't wait. Wait. Yeah, man,
this is just the one that you just circle like.
I love that.
Speaker 2: One things I love is that college football stands still
for this game. I hope that this game always has
its own Saturday. I hope that never changes. Something tells
me it will in the maybe not too distant future.
But I hope this never changes because I love welcoming
the Big Ten fans, SEC fans. I love you know,
the people that are part of Alabama, Auburn and Iron Bowl.
And you know, Florida, Florida state to be able to
tune in and see football.
Speaker 3: At its finest form. Yeah.
Speaker 2: And you know, with all due respect, I've got a
cousin of mine that you know, he's a Georgia guy,
and I'm not gonna I'm not going to get into
too much, but you know, he we talked about Army
Navy several times and he, you know, calls it the
most boring game. I said, dude, you're just totally missing
the point. And he's a massive college football fan, massive,
but he doesn't get it because he's never been you know,
he just says, I can't watch you know, boring football
for you know, two and a half hours like.
Speaker 3: That just puts me to bed and said, well, you
just don't appreciate it. So I don't.
Speaker 4: I don't get why people call it boring football just
because you know, they don't spread the they don't have
you know, five wide receivers, they're not trying to throw
the ball every down.
Speaker 5: It becomes boring. It's strategic.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's what people don't That's what the people that
say it's boring, that those people don't understand strategy in
football and and what what football used to be.
Speaker 5: It used to be a.
Speaker 4: Game of of strategy and wearing down your opponent to
the point where they have to tap out. You know,
they're they're giving they're giving up, and and people that go, oh, well,
it's just so boring. All they do is run the football,
look at watch watch how they handle things pre snap,
Watch the movement that comes pre snap, and then even
during you know, after the ball is snapped, you know
some of them, some of the motion that goes on,
you know, and you're going, it's always fun to watch
the camera. And you know, CBS says, cameramen that have
been doing this for thirty, thirty five, forty years, and
even now, you know, thirty years into this, they're they're
they've got the they've got the camera on the guy
that doesn't have the football. And I always find that
fun because they're sneaky. They're sneaky guys out there at
West Point and in Annapolis. So you gotta you gotta
always keep your eyes open. You I have to be
forever vigilant when you're watching Army Navy.
Speaker 2: And I think it's I think the build up too, Steve,
because when when you've got well and what I mean
by the build up is, you know, I mean, it's
it's you know three and out, three and out, three
and out, and it's like it kind of builds because
you're like it's breaking through first right exactly. To me,
that is like I'm on the edge of my seat
the longer that goes, like, I'm like, who is going
to finally bust one?
Speaker 3: Who is gonna make the big play?
Speaker 2: A lot of times we know it's a it's a guy,
an unsung hero kind of guy, you know, like the
overtime stop a few years ago, or like a you know,
somebody coming up out of the blue forcing a fumble
and recovering it.
Speaker 3: Just I love.
Speaker 2: The unsung heroes where it's not maybe a Blake Cormath
or Bryce and Daily or Eli heyden Wright that we've
talked about so much. It's somebody that totally comes from
off the radar that makes maybe the play that that
they will walk into an o club forever and never
pay for a drink the rest of their life. You know,
that kind of game changing play because it went on
Army Navy game.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, it's good stuff. I can't wait. Uh you know,
I'm I'm with you. I hope they keep it separate.
Love having its own Saturday, and you can put the
Heisman Trophy award after it. I'm I'm okay with that.
You know, if you want to, if you want to
make some of the other college football awards around the
game so you can keep you know, you know, if
you wanted to have like the the Walter Camp Uh,
you know award or the Maxwell or what or whatever
you want.
Speaker 5: If you want to have a college football.
Speaker 4: Awards ceremony in the in the afternoon leading into it,
and then have the Heisman after after the game, I'm
okay with that. But yeah, let's let's not move this
game and make it just another game on a rival
arrivalry re weekend. This is a this is a this
is this game is special and it deserves its own Saturday.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: For those going to the game wondering, you know, you
can usually always see it on television. What if you're
going the Brigadeimen Shipman, they will march on at twelve ten,
and then the core Cadets there march on will be
at twelve forty h The exchange of prisoners that will
be at two forty five.
Speaker 5: Those it's so much fun.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 2: The Elite Frogs and Gold Knights will be at two
forty eight, National Anthem three oh one and the Navy
flyover at three oh five when the Midshipman take the field,
follow by forty five seconds later the Army flyover and
the Black Knights taking the field second and kickoff at
three ten. So it is around the corner Stephen Were's
days away. Before we get into our guest interviews, want
to mention the Bowl games because the Bowl matchups were
announced on Sunday, and we did record with with Joe
Miller and Sal before the matchups or the Bowl matchups
were announced on Sunday, So programming note that that we
talked to both our guests before we found out bold
destinations for for Army and Navy. But the Wassabi Fenway Bowl,
it'll be yukon nine and three overall versus Army.
Speaker 3: Obviously six and five.
Speaker 2: That the Wassabi Fenway Bowl, of course, will be played
at Finway Pac in Boston on Saturday, December twenty seventh,
two fifteen kickoff A week to me a weird kickoff time,
but two fifteen on Saturday December twenty seventh on ESPN.
I believe Army, well, no I thought I had a
line on that.
Speaker 4: One line yet, okay, because because they were they're gonna
wait yeah after Army Navy to put out that line.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So an awesome destination for for Army staying in the
Northeast and what.
Speaker 4: Will be annormation that I wish that Florida had gotten
because I was like, I was like, I would much
rather have gone or had the South Florida Bulls at
fen at Fenway for the Fenway Bowl, and then Army
could have played where USF is at the Cure Bowl
in Orlando, UH at Camping World Stadium against Old Dominion.
But uh, you know, I'm excited for for Army. It's
a great it's a great Bullet's one of the four
bowl games that the American Conference has to have UH
a member in. So you knew that there was going
to be somebody UH in there and and you know,
good on the UH on the Black Nights they're gonna
you know, it's good. It's good for the cork deets.
You know, it's an easy it's an easy ride up there.
It's two days after Christmas, so you know, you don't
have to worry about getting back for a for a
class that following Monday yet, so it'll be a good.
Speaker 3: One, all right.
Speaker 2: And then the Navy min shipman they of course are
goaling bowling as well. Mayvy will be heading to Liberty
or they'll excuse me Memphis to take to play in
the Liberty Bowl, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. That is so
going to a familiar place in Memphis, Tennessee. Maybe nine
and two going to be taking on Cincinnati's seven and
five the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Steven. That's gonna be a Friday,
January the second showdown at four thirty pm on ESPN.
So a place where Navy certainly had a big moment
just on Thanksgiving weekend just just recently. They will be
going back there where they played what was in a
thriller against Kansas State that came down to the end.
It was one of the best Bowl games of the
entire season just a few short years ago.
Speaker 5: Yep.
Speaker 4: And of course, as you mentioned, you know, Navy got
a big win over Memphis in that in that very
building just a couple of weeks ago, and so now
they go back for seconds. Obviously nobody got enough of
the rendezvous while they were there.
Speaker 5: So so it's.
Speaker 4: Gonna be ribs for days as they go back on
right after New Year's you know, to start twenty twenty
six with the Liberty Bowl matchup against that.
Speaker 5: He should be a good one.
Speaker 2: All right, Let's pivot to our guests, because coming up next,
Joe Miller, the play by play voice of the Navy
Men Shipman, certainly has seen a lot. We talk about
some of the big moments Navies had this year. We
certainly talk about our good friend Pete Medhurst, who, yes,
who lost his battle with cancer at the very beginning
of the season. So we talked with Joe about that
and a whole lot more. Here are on Yards and Stripes,
your home for Service Academy Football is. We're part of
the College Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast network also available
and last we're on sports dot Com. Stephen tell everybody
what else they can find this week and throughout bowl season,
playoff season on the College Gridirn Coast to Coast podcast Network.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it is very.
Speaker 4: Bowl heavy this week when it comes to the of
the other podcasts, as expected here on College Gridiron Coast
to Coast. Of course, this week in the ACC, the
guys are definitely talking talking a lot about Dukes win
in the ACC Championship game over Virginia, a five lost
duke team that caused chaos when it came to the
college football playoffs. There are two group of five teams
in this year and that is caused every pundit that
I have heard to lose their collective minds. You know,
oh my god, you can't have both Tulane and James
Madison in.
Speaker 5: Where's Notre Dame?
Speaker 4: You know, it's like, you know, So there's there's a
lot of that this week when it comes to this
week in the ACC as they only got one team
in and it wasn't the champion. It was only Miami
that is in for the ACC and the College Football Playoff.
Of course, Get Off My Pylon out West Matt SEMK
talking a lot about Oregon and their turn in the
College Football Playoff as they will actually be playing James
Madison in that first game of the of the college
football Playoffs, so they there's plenty of talk there from
from Get Off My Pylon, Pigskin and Burnt Ends talking
about Texas not getting in to the College Football Playoff,
but of course Texas Tech getting a bye in the
in it as well.
Speaker 5: So and Texas A and M as well.
Speaker 4: So you've you've got you've got great Texas football from
Pigskin and Burnt Ends. And then of course the Big
twelve sec breakdown with Tyler Jones and Thomas Bridges talking
all about the college football Playoff and Florida Football Insiders
going heavy on Brian Hartline, the Ohio State offensive coordinator
who this week was named the new head coach of
the South Florida Bulls. What a get by by USF
to get to get Brian Hartline to come. So there's
plenty of that and more on the College Gridiron Coast
to Coast podcast Network this week.
Speaker 2: We got something forever everybody, Steven, we have something for everybody.
Indeed the producer djore that sets the table for all
the great college football action on the College cur on
Coast podcast Network. But we're going to talk a lot
more about Army and number twenty two Navy the one
hundred and twenty six meeting of America's Game on us
are but presented by USAA Saturday in Baltimore, M and
T Bank Stadium. We're talking about the navymanshipman. When we
come out with Joe Miller, the Navy Playboy play voice
here on Yards and Stripes.
Speaker 4: This episode of Yards and Stripes is sponsored in part
by ticket Smarter. The twenty twenty five college football.
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Speaker 1: The latest with Navy, Army and Air Force on Yards
and Stripes Service Academy Football.
Speaker 2: All right, as we continue in here on our Army
Navy Previews special here on Yards and Stripes, you're home
for Service Academy Football on Pryce Atkinson. He is Steve Carney,
and we have a very special guest. We're gonna talk
some Navy football as the number twenty three, number twenty
three ranked Navy midshipman nine and two on the season,
obviously prepping for Army getting ready this obviously this Saturday,
but we're going to talk with the voice of the
Navy Midshipman, Joe Miller. Some might have known, and I guess,
going back now, it's probably twenty six years since I
first met him in somewhere around circa two thousand, when
Scott Strasmyer hired me there. So it's been a while, Joe,
but it's damn good to see your smiling face.
Speaker 3: Brother. How are you?
Speaker 7: Thank you, Pryce.
Speaker 8: It's it it's been a long time that we met.
Speaker 7: I mean I was. You know.
Speaker 8: It's funny because obviously you know Scott and Stacey they're
still there, and I used to be the young guy
amongst the group. Now I'm right with them as the
veterans of the group. But yes, we had some fun
times back in our early twenties.
Speaker 4: I used to don't lie here, Joe, you're still the
young guy compared to Scotten States.
Speaker 8: Well, yeah, that's why I like that they're still there.
I mean, my reference is they get some of the
younger people.
Speaker 3: You know, Joe.
Speaker 2: I always I joked with my wife from time to time,
because I met my wife when she was GA at
the Academy.
Speaker 3: I always joke with her.
Speaker 2: I said, there's one place I can go ahead and
guarantee I made the best career decision.
Speaker 3: It was.
Speaker 2: Unfortunately it was leaving the Naval Academy. But the reason
I say that is because the three people in the
office that were ahead of me, they're still ahead of me.
They would still be ahead of me if I worked there,
and that was twenty.
Speaker 3: Six years ago.
Speaker 2: So I mean, it's just an affirming thing when I
see Justin, Stacey and Scott still running the show, but
you're running the show with the Navy Radio Network obviously
the Playboy play Voice. But let's just go back, just
real quick, because we talked a few minutes before we
started recording about our good friend Pete Medhurst, one of
your best friends, if not your best friend, somebody I
knew going back twenty six years who obviously tragically passed
away to cancer back in January. And we're not going
to go back and recount the tough times, but I
know he was somebody that meant so much to you,
especially in this craft of broadcasting, because you guys would
do podcasts together.
Speaker 3: You guys would do across I mean, you guys would
hop in.
Speaker 2: The car and go do a game on any if
they would give you the airtime, you guys would do it.
And that's how close and tight you were, Joe. So
I mean, just obviously moving over into that chair he
occupied for so long, I know that's just an incredible
honor for you.
Speaker 7: Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 8: And it's funny because you know, I go back to
the first game this season, and I knew I probably
should have expected it, but it didn't really hit me
until you know, in radio you have the the intro
voicers and everything like that, and they introduced me as
the voice of the Midshipman. And honestly, I probably should.
Speaker 7: Have known that was coming, but it took me by surprise.
Speaker 8: And I actually kind of stumble over the first couple
of words because I was like, oh, snap, I'm actually
am that guy. Because I honestly, even though I did
the games last season after he got sick, I didn't.
I didn't think of myself that way, and I still
to some degree don't think of myself that way. I
think of him as the voice of the Midshipman, and
and I look like, I like, I know you when
I was, you know, twenty years old. I mean I
I started doing Navy stuff. I was still in college,
and I met Pete when I was, you know, nineteen
years old.
Speaker 7: I you know, it's funny.
Speaker 8: I when I spoke at his funeral, I talked about
how he went to the same high school that I
went to, but I was about ten years younger than him.
Speaker 7: But you know, I always looked older.
Speaker 8: So people like thought we like went to the same
high school and stuff like that. I mean, we went
to the same high school but were class buddies and
stuff like that. But actually the first time I ever
heard his name, my oldest sister was in his graduating class,
and she had a boyfriend at the time that used
to make fun of me because you know, I was,
you know what, eight nine years old, and I was like,
I would do these box scores because I was a
sports fan. I would come home from school and I
would get the box scores from the newspaper and I'd
write my own stats out. And he's like, he would
make fun of me, like you're you think you know
you're you're like that weirdo, Pete Medhurst. And I'm like,
I never even knew who he was until because you know,
he was big into sports and he was, you know,
broadcasting and stuff like I didn't even know who. I
knew the name, but I didn't really know him till
I met him one day because we're both from relatively
the same area, and he came into my dad's garage.
My dad used to own a garage and a gas station,
and he introduced myself and honestly, like the next week
I did a radio show with him.
Speaker 7: So so it.
Speaker 8: Was a and like you said, we tried to, you know,
both trying to get our ways in the in the broadcasting.
I had no idea what the heck I was doing,
and he helped me along the way. And I like
to think I helped him along the way with different
things as well. And yeah, it's it really hit me
at the beginning of the season, and I still kind
of I still kind of chuckle every time I hear
the sounder because I still really don't think of myself
that way. And and to me, he will always be there.
I have a little thing in the booth at home
at Abra Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, a little sticker that
we got last season when we were down to the
bowl game, they had all these they wore these PM
stickers for Pete Mehurst down there, and I had that
in the booth and I think of him every time
I go in there, and I don't know if that's
ever gonna change. So so yeah, it's it's a it's
a it's been a great year, but uh, you know,
he got me where I'm at and you know, I'm
I'm forever grateful for that, and he was a great
friend of mine.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm glad you brought up the great year. I
have to ask you, as someone that has known Michael
Kelly for the last seven or eight years, being down
here in the Tampa Bay region. Of course he came
to the Naval Academy from the University of South Florida,
I just would love to hear your experience in year
one under Michael Kelly.
Speaker 8: I'm blown away by how great a person he is.
You know, It's it's interesting, like because of when he
was hired, and I do both the men's and women's
soccer for Navy as well and ESPN. Plus you know,
I probably got to meet him pretty you know, a
lot sooner than a lot of other people got to
meet him because you know, we were doing you know,
women's soccer games in the middle of August. You know,
they start a little bit earlier than football, so you know,
I got a chance to meet him. Then he was
at every game. It's amazing how many games he gets to.
But he is a tremendously nice person, warm, you know,
It's it's one of those things where you never you're
meeting somebody for the first time, and obviously he's a
he's a big deal.
Speaker 7: He's the athletic director. You want to make a good impression.
Speaker 8: But he kind of eases any sort of fear that
you have about that the way in the manner in
which he communicates. So it's been a it's amazing. It's
been amazing to get to know him. Uh, you know,
he's he's at a tremendous amount of events. Like I said,
so I see him all the time. We do a
pregame interview each and every week on the on the
radio network. And uh, it's been a joy to work
with so far. And uh, like I said, you couldn't
meet a nicer man.
Speaker 2: As we're talking with Joe Miller, the Playboy play voice
of the Navy Midshipman. Here on you archs and stripes,
let's go one row or one rung under the totem
pole or down the totem pole there, you know, under
Michael Kelly and that's Brian Newberry. Joe, there's a lot
of handwringing and I'll throw my hand up, you know,
as high as it goes.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: When Ken Neamatalolo was shown shown the door, and a
lot of it was the way he was shown the
door by by Chuck Glad Chuck. But you know, obviously
you have a couple of years to let things settle
and see how things are going to go. And I
don't think many Navy fans at this point were probably
bad and I at that decision.
Speaker 3: But what is Brian Newberry? How has he?
Speaker 2: You know, kind of I don't want to say engineer
to turn around, if you will, because Navy football has
never really been far from the top. But you know,
going five and seven, but then ten and three last
year and sitting on the precipice of another, you know,
potential double digit win season. You know, is the head
of the midshipman? How has he done it? What is
different about Brian Newberry?
Speaker 8: Yeah, you know, they've never won back to back ten
games in a in a season, never done that back
to back years, which they're on the obviously on the
cusp of doing as you said, you know, Brian is
another He's a tremendous person first and foremost. Again that
I think it starts there, but I think, you know,
I go back to when you were there and Paul
Johnson got there, and this this expect to win mentality
that was that needed to be embedded into this football
program and it and I don't think it lost its
way along the way, but I think maybe it just,
you know, things got I hate using the word stale,
because I don't think that's the right word, but I
think things just needed an adjustment and an interjection.
Speaker 7: Of somebody else.
Speaker 8: And and that's taking nothing away from Kenny and the
tremendous job that he did, But I think that what
Brian has brought to the equation is relentless pursuit of winning.
Speaker 7: I mean that there is I think something to be said.
Speaker 8: For you know, it's funny because all these guys get hired,
most of them are offensive guys, you know, a defensive
side of the football field. As far as head coaches
are concerned, I don't give a lot of love a
lot of times.
Speaker 7: Obviously there are a lot of dif and coaches that
are head coaches.
Speaker 8: But I do think sometimes it brings a different mentality
to the position. And I think he's always been since
he got here in twenty nineteen, he was always some
guy that a guy that was on the precipice of attacking.
He wanted to put you on your heels defensively, and
I think he has taken that to a team wide
approach this season, not only this season, but in the
years past, and I think that's a big part of it.
Speaker 7: And they really do believe in him. There's no doubt
about that.
Speaker 8: He's built. I mean, the culture was already there, but
it is just it really is something special that's going
on here the last couple of years. And I think
carrying over the momentum last season, not only the win
against Army, but the win against Oklahoma last year in
the bowl game, it carried over this entire offseason and
I think that was at least early on this season
yet a sense of how special this season could be
because of what happened last year. And sometimes people will say, well,
you know, it's really momentum go year to year, and
I really think it did go year or year with
this team, and I think it's just taken off and
right now they've developed something that's really special. I mean,
it's I know everybody says this about teams, but it
is a team first mentality and that's what he's always
talked about. And you know, he's had a tremendous amount
of success, and you know, I don't see it anytime soon.
Speaker 7: I mean, they've really built something.
Speaker 8: Special here with these guys, and I know they have
sort of a historic senior class of offensive talent and
Landon Robinson on the defensive side. So it's gonna be
tough to replace those guys going forward. But there really
is a strong belief in Brian Newberry and and I
think that drives a lot of this.
Speaker 5: I'm kind of curious, Joe.
Speaker 4: You mentioned Brian's dry of relentless and you know, and
of course last year's game where Army came in the
huge favorite, you know, Rice and Daily and the show
and winning the American Conference championship before the Army Navy game,
and then Navy coming up and punching them in the mouth,
so you know, to probably make it as blunt as possible,
I'm curious if they learned something from last year's game
that would help them not have that happen to them,
because it almost seems like the shoe is on the
other foot.
Speaker 8: Yeh yeah, I think they're I mean, I think the
shoe is on the other foot this year. As far
as like the perception of the game. Like, I think
a lot of people from the Navy perspective going into
last year thought, well, yeah, Armies having a great season,
but we know what that personnel is like, we know
what that team is like, and I don't think they
looked at it as oh, we're a big underdog coming
into this game.
Speaker 7: And I'm granting.
Speaker 8: That Army coming into this year is also having the
same conversations like, we know what this team wants to do,
we know the personnel, We're not going to be surprised
by anything. I think it was the public perception a
little bit more last year than within the two football programs.
But I think there's probably look, they want to win trophies,
they want to win things, There's no doubt about that. So, yes,
they beat Memphis, and we kind of sat around to
see what would happen on Friday with Temple and what
would happen with Charlotte on Saturday, and they were certainly
ready to play in.
Speaker 7: The American Conference Championship game.
Speaker 8: But I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that
they're not playing in the championship because of the schedule
with service academies and trying to figure out guys going
away for Thanksgiving and all that stuff that would have
been complicating the message coming into this week and then
also have an Army on the back end on the
next week. So I think that helps Navy to some
regard when it comes to this game. So, yes, they
wanted to play in the American Conference Championship game, but
I think you know, not having to play in that
game is it is certainly going to help them a
little bit coming into the game against Army, But I
think they know what the deal is.
Speaker 9: Like.
Speaker 7: I don't think anybody goes into this.
Speaker 8: Game like, uh, you know, wide eyed and not ready
for what's gonna happen on Saturday. So I think they'll
be ready from that perspective, but it probably does help
a little bit. It'll be interesting to see what the
build up for this game is because last year it
was more on the Navy side of I mean on
more on the Army side of things.
Speaker 7: It'll be interesting to see how the public perception of
this game coming in it will be.
Speaker 8: I'm guessing it's going to be more favored on from
the Navy perspective and what their season has, especially coming
off of you know, Thanksgiving Day victory over Memphis. But
I don't think it's going to change the way they
prepare or the mentality for this game.
Speaker 2: All right, just we begin wrapping up with Joe Miller. Joe,
it's certainly doesn't happen on this podcast because we're called
yard and striped Service Academy Football. So Service Academy Football
does not get.
Speaker 3: A bad rap here.
Speaker 2: But nationally, you know, you hear the you know the
ground and pound. You know, it's a one trick pony.
That's not the case this year for the Navy midshipman,
especially with a guy named Blake Corvath direct in that offense.
You've seen a lot of great quarterbacks that have come
through the academy, especially in recent memory of Malcolm Perry,
the Keenan Reynolds, and it's so many others. Blake Krvath
is a horse of a different color. He gives that
dimension where he has full command of that offense and
can run the triple option. But this is a guy
that can go back and sling the football, and to me,
that's a reason why that this Navy team is maybe
more dangerous, just maybe much different, you know, and being
able to line up and go toe to toe with
a South Florida or a Memphis like they did and win.
When you watch this Navy offense operate, how is it different?
Speaker 3: You know, obviously they're.
Speaker 2: Throwing the ball more, but it just seems like it's
a more versatile. It's got more weapons, certainly a senior
led weaponry, and a lot of the different offensive skill positions.
But this just seems like it has just a different
field than almost any Navy offense has had in many years.
Speaker 8: Yeah, And I think the thing that is the biggest
difference in my estimation and being around the team is
there are more there's more adjustments to be made in
case of what a team is doing in the way
you're attacking them defensively, because I think in years past
it was very much like let's wait and see how
the team lines up and make adjustments, Like you know,
we'll see how they line up, and then we'll make
adjustments to what they're doing. They make adjustments, and this
team is a little bit more on the front foot,
if you will, that they want to attack and they
want to sort of make the defense make their.
Speaker 7: Own adjustments, you know.
Speaker 8: And I think what you've seen is a versatile attack.
Speaker 7: I mean, you think the thing. You're right.
Speaker 8: I mean, I think there's a lot of times where
the national perspective is we're like doing this with the know,
smoking mirrors, somehow weird way. Nyve just wins games and
you know, at the end of the day they have
three hundred yards rushing and you know whatever, it's just
some weird thing that happens and they win games. But
they're not tricking anybody with that from that perspective. And look,
the talent is really good on these Elfins's side of
the football field. I mean, they have a chance. You know,
it's the numbers need to get there, because I think
TESCA right now is closing in on eight hundred yards rushing.
They have a chance as an offense this season to
have two thousand yard rushers. Four vasts already over that
at this point that Tesca is, you know, two hundred
plus yards away. They have a chance to have two
one thousand thousand yard rushers one thousand yard receiver hide
and right is that eight oh five with two games
to go. Navy's never had a one thousand yard receiver,
and I didn't necessarily think I'd see the day when
they would have an a thousand yard receiver, and they
could also have possibility of a quarterback that throws for
fifteen hundred yards. That's probably of the things you know,
Horvass at thirteen ninety right now. So but to say
that a Service Academy team could have two one thousand
yard rushers, a fifteen hundred yard passer, and a one
thousand yard receiver, I mean, that's really unheard of from
that perspective. And Eli Heinreich to me, is the difference
maker in all of this to the degree that he
is a special a really special player, you know. I
think he's a guy that a lot of scouts are
very interested at the next level.
Speaker 7: What happens with that will see.
Speaker 8: But he has gotten a lot of attention this season,
and he's a special player unlike a lot of players
that they've had at Navy, and I think he allows
them to do some things in the passing game that
maybe they haven't been able to do in the past.
Speaker 7: But Horrorvask the kind of you know, the straw.
Speaker 8: That stirs the drink from that perspective, and he's been
very adept this season. Drew Chronic came into this season
first couple of weeks and said, look, we've given Blake
a lot more to work with. You know, last year
is his first year in the system. This year, we're
allowing him to make adjustments of the line of scrimmage.
We're giving Blake a little bit more of a knownus
to take this system on by his own own. And
I think you've seen that this season from Blake. And look,
he had a string of I think five hundred yard
rushing games in a row. He obviously had the huge
passing day against air Force earlier this season. I thought
you saw the perfect you know, balance last game against Memphis.
So I mean the offense to me is you mentioned
some of the guys before, like Malcolm Perry and Keenan Reynolds.
You know that was a more run oriented, explosive type
of offense. They still have that portion, but they've added
the explosiveness in the passing game. And I think this
is as dangerous a Navy offense is. I think I've
ever seen from that perspective that they can get you
a couple multiple different ways. And the fact that the
talent level at those skill positions is so high, that's
what kind of separates you know, will Worth had a
great season individually, slightly better numbers than Blake coming into
this year. You know, Keenan obviously had unbelievable rushing numbers
and touchdowns and everything. But they've kind of all put
it together this year with this group, and I think
that's what kind of separates them from what you've seen
in the past and Navy offenses.
Speaker 4: As we wrap things up with Joe Miller, the voice
of Navy football here on Yards and Stripes, Joe, I'm
kind of cure. I was kind of curious, you know,
being a Navy guy, I was enlisted, so I never
got a chance to be in Annapolis for any of
these games. You know, sucks to be me, but I'm
you know, but I remember the was it thirteen or
fourteen straight years that that Navy beat Army in this game,
and then things have started to swing started to swing
back the other way. I'm curious as to what you
think this senior classes legacy is winning this If they
win this game.
Speaker 8: I mean, if they win this game and they go
out and obviously get back to back ten win seasons,
which nobody's ever accomplished, and then it's look, I think
I was debating this with the with Mike James, who's uh,
you know, we were talking about this and sort of
trying to wait till the final numbers come in to
sort of make our grand uh you know, assessments of
the senior class. But they I think they have an
outshot shot of being one of the best in the
history of Navy football if they go out and win
uh you know, back to back ce ICs, depending on
what they do in the bowl game. I think there's
I think you can write that story, you can make
that case that Look, I mean we haven't even talked
about the defensive I mean it's crazy that Landon Robinson
won the American Conference of Intive Player of the Year.
I mean that is that is an unbelievable achievement for
a Navy football player. And you know, so this this
senior class has a lot of things, a lot of
feathers in their cap right now, and I think you
could make a pretty good uh you know, we could
start that conversation about where they rank amongst great senior
classes in Naval Academy football history. And we got to
wait till the final numbers come in, but I they're
up there.
Speaker 7: There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 8: I mean, you can make a case with these guys,
and I think I think there will be multiple guys
from this team, you know, whatever we see what happens
going forward, that are gonna be guys that that have
good NFL careers and we'll see where that takes them
if they get that opportunity, and like then you could
make a real Then that's the cherry on the top
when you talk about this team. But I think they're
up there and if you if you come away with
another victory, that's really saying something. And then you look
at the where they sit in the American Conference right now,
they tie for the conference championship. I know they're not
technically playing in then they're a regular season champion. That's
a heck of accomplishment obviously, just like Armies accomplish it
to win the championship last year in their championship game
against Tulane, is is an amazing accomplishment. This is right
there with them. And I think if you go back
to back then you and you do win ten games
for the first time in a row back to back years,
that you're talking something special. So I'll wait Steve to
get the final numbers before we make any gulations at
this point, but they're right up there, that's for sure.
Speaker 3: Joe.
Speaker 2: Have known you a long time, brother, I really, we
really appreciate this.
Speaker 3: It's been a while. It's been a long while.
Speaker 2: But I also know that this Saturday, calling this game,
you did it last year. You've been a part of
this game for a long time, you know, But calling
this game what it means to service men women Not
here you're just to hear at home, but in all
corners of the globe and all hours of the night morning,
you know, and especially the first one that we will
be without Pete.
Speaker 3: It's gonna be a little it's.
Speaker 2: Gonna have a little bit of special more specialness to
it on on Saturday, Joe. But we we just, I mean,
we just can't say thank you enough.
Speaker 3: Brother.
Speaker 2: You've been a friend for like I said, a long time.
And just have a great call because I know I
enjoy listening to you and Rich Rich DeMarco who calls Army.
I listened enjoy listening to y'all's calls, you know all year.
You guys are two of the best. But just can't
wait to hear you on the mike again on Saturday.
Speaker 8: Joe, I appreciate it, Price, and I will always remember
going into the uh uh.
Speaker 7: Picking up andre Ware with you for one.
Speaker 3: Of the.
Speaker 8: Pick andre Ware. I don't know why I was there.
I honestly don't even remember why I was there.
Speaker 3: But it's it's crazy that you.
Speaker 2: I told that story literally just five days ago to somebody,
and I will tell it right now. As we went
to I think we it helped me out. We went
and picked him up at the airport where we were
going to dinner, and we were going down West Street.
I get lost and we're in my tahoe is me
and andre were and Joe and I think we're getting
ready to go to the like the pre you know,
the dinner we have when the TV guys are in town.
And I take a wrong turn. I hang a left,
and we are in a not a very good spot,
let's just put it that way, and andre andre Wear
is in the back seat and he says he starts
looking around, like well where are we? And I was like, well,
I'm not exactly sure. And he says, Price, go up
here and do a loop. Let's let's get out of here,
he said. And I remember him specifically saying Price, if
anybody comes to the window, let me do the talking.
Speaker 5: I figured Andre just hit him with his Heisman trophy.
Speaker 2: Oh god, Joe would have to bring that special moment
off and one I never wanted to tell Strass about
if we.
Speaker 3: Had gotten killed.
Speaker 5: Oh my god, leave it to.
Speaker 3: Joe Miller to bring that one out. I'll try and
keep that one quiet. Thanks Joe. All right, Joe, have
a great call. Brothers. Great to catch up with you. Man.
Speaker 7: All right, Thanks Bryce, I appreciate it.
Speaker 4: Thanks Steve, and our thanks to Joe Miller for joining
us here the voice of Navy football. Coming up, we've
got the Travis Manion Foundation on a roll. We'll also
give you our picks for the one hundred and twenty
sixth Army Navy game. But coming up, we will switch
sidelines and take a look at the game from the
Army perspective, as sal inter Donado of Black Knight Nation
dot com joins us when we return here on Jords
and Stripes, your home for Service Academy Football tailgate with
Travis Manion Foundation ahead of the one hundred and twenty
sixth Army Navy game on Saturday, December thirteenth in Baltimore,
Maryland celebrate this historic rivalry while supporting tmf's mission to
empower veterans and families of the fallen to develop character
in future generations. Festivities we'll start at ten am at
eight oh one West Austin Street in Baltimore and run
until game time. Tickets include food, drinks, access to private bathrooms, heaters,
giveaway items and tailgate games, plus get exclusive vendor experiences
and adult twenty one plus tickets will include access to
an open bar. Tickets are limited and non refundable, and
due to the limited capacity, same day ticket sales cannot
be guaranteed, So go to Travismanion dot org now and
get your tickets.
Speaker 1: The latest with Navy, Army and Air Force on Yards
and Stripes Service Academy Football.
Speaker 4: It is the one hundred and twenty sixth Army Navy
Game Spectacular. Here on Yards and Stripes your home for
Service Academy Football, and this time we take a look
at the Army.
Speaker 5: Black Knights sideline.
Speaker 4: Of course, Army is now four and four in the
American six and five. O'reall as they get ready for
their final matchup before going on to a bowl game.
We don't know what that bowl game is as of
yet as we're taping this, but definitely want to get
the thoughts of our good friend sal Inner Donado, the founder,
the man the Grand puba off Black Knight Nation dot com.
Speaker 5: Sala. First off, it is very good to see you here.
Speaker 4: I hope you've had a great holiday so far, and
because we haven't had you on yet here this year,
I want to get your thoughts on the Black Knights
season as a whole so far, because if you look
at the mainstream college football media, they see Army as
a team that finished five hundred in the American after
winning the conference last year. They see the loss at
at home to Division one FCS team to start the season.
They'll point out the loss to Tulsa, who is winless
in the conference up to that point. Later on in
the season, they'll say it's a step back for the
Black Knights this year. Of Course, those of us that
pay attention to Service Academy football have to remind those
folks that the lost to Charleton State. They just went
eleven to one this year and they got a first
round by in the FCS football playoffs that are going
on right now. And I personally think Army schedule might
have been the toughest in the American Conference this year
because if you look at all the other contenders in
the conference, North Texas and Tulane did not play each
other until the conference championship game. South Florida and Navy
did not play Tulane, and East Carolina and Memphis didn't
play North Texas, whereas Army played both teams in the
regular season and had a chance to win both games,
including in New Orleans. Love to get your perspective on
how the Black Knights handled this schedule.
Speaker 9: Well, you almost broke it down for me, Steve. Thanks
for having me on. You know, it's been an uneven
season up and down. You look, I have had eight
games decide by one score or less this year, and
I did the quick math. Twenty eight points is the
difference in those eight games total. So you're looking at
three and a half points, basically a field goal. And
you know it didn't really start well for them at
all against Charleston State, and then they're you going on
the road and beat Kansas State game they should probably
are not shouldn't, shouldn't have win but one, and you
know then they come back and the North Texas game
is a crazy game. I mean, had a chance to
win it at the at the end of the regulation,
but kicked the field goal instead for overtime and lost
in overtime. And then they you know, they have to
quick turnover on a Thursday night at East Carolina. Was
a very favorable schedule there, you know, usually you get
the week off on those Thursday night games. Sometimes didn't
get it and lost twenty eight seven twenty six. Gave
up a lot of points early but kind of settled in,
but the offense couldn't get going. You know, they're closed.
I mean you look at it, you're right.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 9: The two teams that played in the championship game, they
had too lane with less than six minutes left up
by seven, couldn't finish. They had an incredible comeback against
North Texas at home, just couldn't finish, you know. So
you know it's it's just really this season's kind of been.
You don't know what you're gonna get for them in
half of these games. And as long as they play
sound like offensive football, don't turn the ball over, they
can stay. They can play against anybody. You know, they
can really play against anybody, I think, and it's just
been you know, yeah, could they be eight? Could they
be eight and three?
Speaker 7: Maybe?
Speaker 9: You know, could they have gotten a couple more wins here?
They played good on the road, you know, they played
their four and two on the road this year. You
know that's this didn't take care home. You know, you're
two and three at home? Not good and I lose
to Tulsa and Tarleton State. Granted, Tarleton State, like you said,
is pretty good, but that Tulsa game is you know, Steve,
just after that Tulsa game, you're like, they're they're done.
They're not gonna beat Utsa. You know, you Testa's won
twenty five games in the row, and what they do
They beat you Tsa and they found a way. So
this team has found a way in some games, has
kicked itself in the foot or stumped itself in the
tow whatever how you want to say it, you know
hasn't gotten you know what, Steve, This team and you
watch Service Academy football. The fourth downs, right, they go
for it probably the most times in the country on
fourth down, and you know you're not gonna get every one,
but you hope you're maybe at least above sixty sixty
seventy even higher in that and sometimes they made decisions
to go and it hasn't worked out, and that's been
the deciding factor and why they lost the game in
my opinion. So I think the players have played their
tails off this year. I think they deserve better. I
said it against Utsa when they steal the Bowl. I
think sometimes they've been let down. They've been let down
by the coaches this year. I'm playing simple. I'm just
gonna say it. They've been let down, and now we'll
see what happens, uh, you know, Saturday in Baltimore, see
if they could put all together against a very very,
very very good a team.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 4: We we said that about about Army in the after
the Tulane game. We saw we said that about Army
after the Tulsa game as well.
Speaker 5: So I certainly know where you're going, uh with that.
Speaker 4: When it comes to the coaching staff, want to get
into one of the guys that really has had probably
one of the toughest jobs this year, because you never
want to be the guy that has to follow the guy,
and that's what cale Helems has had to do this year,
taking the reins under center from Bryce and Daily who
may have been one of the best Army quarterbacks of
all time.
Speaker 5: Let's let's put it that way.
Speaker 4: I mean, he's up there when when you think of
Army football quarterbacks, his name is going to be mentioned.
So with the regular season done, going into the biggest
game of the year for the program, how would you
rate how would you grade the junior from Tumble texas.
Speaker 9: Well real quick, Bryce and Dally. I think among Service
Academy teams in general, he's one of the best quarterbacks.
I know, maybe we'll say Keenan Reynolds, fine, but that
year was incredible and to follow your right to follow
Bryson Daly's hard. But cal Helms wasn't even the guy
when the season started. He was third string in the
preseason and you know, Ethan Washington, promising sophomore, tears his
ACL in the first preseason scrimmage.
Speaker 7: He's out.
Speaker 9: Cal Helms moves up to number two. Dwayne Coleman gets
banged up in the opener against FCS Charlton State, cal
Helms has to come in. He played a little last year,
but it was a mop up, you know, when they
were blowing out teams and at the beginning of the year,
he got into games and he is he is the
heartbeat of the offense. You know if he as Helms goes,
you know, Army goes and he's I tell you he's
not Bryson Daly. He's not as big as Bryson Dally.
But he's a physical runner like Bryson Dally. He takes
the contact, he gets yards after contact. Can he break
off the big runs like Bryson could not? Really not
his game. His game is more moving the sticks and
you know, converting those third and fourth and shorts. And
you know he's come up clutch in the passing game too.
Speaker 3: This year.
Speaker 9: Where thought, okay, here we go. You know, I thought
against Utsa, I thought noeh Short was going to complete
more passes than cal Helms at the beginning of the game,
you know, and just the way they were running. And
then he really comes alive on that final drive, completes
two fourth down passes, keeps the drive going and then
has that touchdown pass Parker Polowski. And you know, he
he gets it. He's hard on himself. Cal Helms. He
wants to be the best. He thinks he deserved. He
thought he deserved to be the starting quarterback. He wasn't
that field is fire? He and you looked at this
set his first start against Kansas State, what he did
in that game, you know, going on the road and
beating the Pac twelve team. He he We try to
come up with descript like how you describe cal Helms,
you know, how would you describe him as a quarterback. Well,
he's a gamer who is very close to being a winner.
You know, he won in high school, but he's very
close to being a winning quarterback most of the time
in college football. You know, he's this far away sometimes
from and armies, this far away sometimes from getting those wins.
But I mean, look at the future at that position.
At the beginning, he thought, great, you know, you gotta
replace Bryce and Daily. Dwayne Coleman, you know, is a
senior who waited his turn. Wait, d Wayne's not really
working out. What are they going to do? They have
no depth at all, you know, behind Coleman and Helms,
they have no depth. And Kells made it. You know,
he's you look at like the forty carry games crazy.
Speaker 5: Yeah, absolutely, he has been. He has been.
Speaker 4: He's been really really spectacular in some games and there
are other games where it's like, Okay, you can understand
that why he was behind, you know, some of these
guys to start the year as well. You know, I've
had those those times where I'm like, what is he doing?
Speaker 5: You know?
Speaker 4: But I mean, I guess, I guess all quarterbacks have that.
It's just, you know, the really good wins limit the
times that you're that you're scratching your head when it
comes to when it comes to his play. All right,
let's get into the.
Speaker 5: Game at hand. Now you've known this. I've known this.
Speaker 4: Jeff Monkin has had this date circled on his calendar
since the moment he walked back into the coach's office
at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
Speaker 5: Last year.
Speaker 4: There was a calendar in his office and he circled
December thirteenth, twenty twenty five after what happened at Northwest Stadium.
Speaker 5: I don't know about.
Speaker 4: You, This game feels to me almost like it's a
mirror image of last game and that the shoe is
on the other foot for both of these teams. Sure, players,
you know, if you were to talk to players, they
will tell you that's absolutely not the case. But do
you see these same similarities between last year's Army team
and this year's Navy team and vice versa, where Army
is now the team that's looking to go in here
and punch Navy in the mouth.
Speaker 7: A little bit, a little bit.
Speaker 9: It's a little bit different situation because last year Army
did maybe he's getting the full two weeks. This year
Army only had the week after they got They got
beat up in that two laying game. They won handedly,
but that was a pretty physical game at the beginning,
so they were a little banged up in that game,
no excuses. Navy out played them. And now you look
at I think Navy's team last year was better than
this year's Army team, no doubt. You know, the way
I look at it, I think I think Army's team
has a lot to prove still, you know, I think
they're six and five and maybe they have a chip
on their shoulders saying hey, the players at least do say, hey, man,
we get there's an we can play. We can win
the Commander in Chiefs Trophy on Saturday in Baltimore if
we can pull off. I guess they're they're like a
four and a half point underdog right now, you know,
if we can and that's not much considering the seasons
the two teams have had. You know, that's not that's
not much Vegas is saying. I think that they come
in with the mindset, Hey, one of our goals is
our main goals to win the Commander in Chief Trophy,
and it's there, it's there for us to win on Saturday,
and they will. I think they will give a very
you know, their effort will be there at a high
level as.
Speaker 3: It always is.
Speaker 9: Now is their skill and the way they operate and
you know this this play era free ball, will that
be there because yeah, last year, I mean they had
maybe handed it to him, maybe handed to him last
year and that was maybe got a little bit of
jump on them, and Army tried to play catch up.
And if this is the same this year, it's trouble.
It's Black Knight's team. Really the North Texas game, you're
down a couple of scores, you know you got you
got a lot of work to do, So we'll see
it is the scenarios are slightly similar, but I think
last year's Navy Navy team was much better than.
Speaker 7: This year's Army team.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and we'll get into the keys for this game
here in a second. But to follow up on that, Yeah,
last year, Navy didn't have a bowl that they were
going to. So last year's Army Navy game, especially for
the senior class, that was their bowl game.
Speaker 5: That was it. Those guys were done after after that game.
Speaker 4: The fact that Army now has a bowl that they
can look forward to after this game, does that kind
of change? I know everybody want the Commander in chief too,
There's no doubt you know that that is that is
absolutely you know, on the when when you look at
the list of things that they want, you know, that's first, second, third,
and tied for fifth, with fourth being fourth and fifth
being beat the tar out of out of the Navy
players on the field no matter what. But the knowing
that they have another game after this that they're going
to play in somewhere, does that kind of change the
perspective a little bit?
Speaker 7: Not at all.
Speaker 3: I don't think.
Speaker 9: I really don't. I really think this is their game,
this is their super Bowl. This is almost like their
bowl game, you know. And in the years before the
twelve last year, the twelve win season, when they were
coming into this Army Navy game and they were fighting
just to get that six and six, you know, be
six and six at the end of the year.
Speaker 7: This is this is this is it for them.
Speaker 9: I mean if this season ended here and they won,
they beat Navy and brought the Commander in Chiefs Trophy home,
they'd be happy. I mean, I think that that Bowl
game is is just for I guess to send the
seniors off pretty you know, and just a cop you know,
compilation of the whole season. But not nah, I think
that they're gonna come in. I don't think it changes everything.
I think they got a good seniors leadership on this team.
I think this team at the beginning of the preseason
was tested a little bit in camp. I think they
came out of it, you know, kind of uneven the
one in three, but they kind of right to ship.
And that's because of the leadership on the team and
the seniors who have been here before. You know, Caleb
Fortner's who had the big play his sophomore year in
the in the in the Army win.
Speaker 3: The last year.
Speaker 9: You know, Cale, Caleb Fortner and Thomas Starting.
Speaker 7: No, it's short starting.
Speaker 9: They have a lot of guys who started in this game,
especially the defensive side has some few guys in there,
and I think they're gonna take this, you know, sixty minute,
you know, like they say fight in the phone booth,
I guess, and that team.
Speaker 4: Is yeah, absolutely so offensively outside of Hellam's who do
you think has to have a big.
Speaker 5: Game in order for Army to have a chance of
victory here?
Speaker 9: Well, I would say Noah's short. But you know, the
outside other than last game against Utsa hasn't been there
a lot. So I think they got to get something
at the full back position, anything at the full back position,
and it's been a position kind of revolving door, so
to speak.
Speaker 7: The big thing to me is going to be is
it can't.
Speaker 9: Briggs Bartash play Brigs Bartash as a sophomore, he has
some a little bit more game breaking ability than the
other full backs. If he gets out into the open field.
He has a seventy five yard touchdown against Utsa. I
mean he can go. But he's missed the last three games.
I'm not sure. I think it could be an ankle,
maybe not, but you know, they need something from their
full backs, and you know they moved Hayden Reed at
the full back position. They fumbled me a couple times
that Jeff Munkin didn't like. But I think he's their
best fullback. But he's playing slot back and only playing
really the block these days, so you know, they need
something out of the full back position if they're they're
gonna win. They do need Paulo generally back to at
right guard.
Speaker 7: They needed.
Speaker 9: He's missed the last two games with an injury. If
he can come back, even though Brandon Bartash has played well,
you know generally has the experience playing in these games too,
and you can't. That's that's hard to you know, you can't.
Can't lose that. So, yeah, that offense, that's that's my thing,
That's what that's my keys rim on offense.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I I I totally agree with you. And and
having Noah short having having a game like you said,
with with him not having the statistical UH numbers that
you would have expected out of him, has definitely been
very strange here this year.
Speaker 5: So let's look to the other side. On defense.
Speaker 4: Stopping Blake Corvath obviously is going to be the number
one thing to do. Stopping you know, Alex Teska is
gonna be number two, and keeping an eye on number
twenty two UH out out wide is gonna be number three.
But what else does does Army have to do, uh
to to hold back Navy.
Speaker 9: I honestly think that Ian Heinrich is the key in
this game. I mean, you gotta you cannot allow the
big plays. And what Nate wood He will do is
they're gonna play like kind of a deep You know
that they're not gonna allow ball throwing over their head.
But you play that kind of defense, then you gotta
be pretty good in between the tackles, right, and you've
got to get a really good performance from Cody Harris
Miller or nose tackle. Cody's been banged up a little bit.
He's come back in the last two games and looking
more like himself. Last year in the Army game Navy game,
he was he was hurt and that didn't help them
at all. He's a big player, He's a dose tackle.
He could be as important to Army's defense as Landon
Robinson is the Navies. So if they can if he
can take up a little bit of space inside, it
allows Thomas and and the Thomas and kill Forton to
make plays. I'm gonna say the safeties are gonna be
big in this game. You know, when Colin Madison has
played very well at elite level, they've won. They won
at Kansas State when he had just an incredible, amazing game.
They won at UTSA when you know he had four
past breakups in the game. Four that's a lot. He's
had a couple double digit tackles towards the end of
the season. Casey Larkin got banged up against UTSA. Coach
Mounkins said earlier this week that he's gonna he expects
Casey to play. They need Casey back. They're a senior
who's been through a lot of really important games. And
so I think the secondary is big in this game.
And I think that you know, Cody Harris Miller is
and if they can, they gotta find a way to
get Navy's offense off the field and get Armies offense on.
You gotta get some I'm not saying three and outs,
but you you gotta get Navy to punt the ball
once or twice in this game if you're gonna have
any chance of winning the game.
Speaker 4: So yeah, or if you're able to get those fourth
down stops like Mike, you and I we we're talking about.
You know, if you get a fourth down stop that
that is almost two to one because you get Navy's
offense off the field and you get a short field,
a shorter field to work within normally. Uh So, I
think that's a that could be a certain key as well,
because you know that much as much as the Black
Knights go for it on fourth down, you see the
Midshipman do exactly the same thing as well. All right,
here's here's the big question. Who wins this game.
Speaker 9: Yeah, it's gonna take a really, it's gonna take Army's
best effort to beat Navy. You know, I do think
Navy wins. I hope Army can keep the game closed.
I guess it's almost the same thing I said in
the US UTSA game. If the defense can play and
hold their own and they get points from somewhere other
than their offense, like Jaden Mays's interception pick six was
huge for them last game. If they can make a
big play on defense, even if it's an interception, forth, fumble, anything,
anything to change up the momentum, they can stay in
the game. But if their offense is slowed down and
we get into like you know, these long drives that
net a field goal, or an empty possession. Not good
for Army.
Speaker 3: Not good.
Speaker 9: I think that Navy wins. I would say that Navy
would probably now normally Nate Woody is pretty good against Navy.
Last year it wasn't. I mean, Navy's gonna be in
the twenties, and if Army can get in the twenties,
it'll be a game, maybe like a twenty four to
seventeen game, maybe somewhere around there. Right now, I say Navy.
It all depends to me on the guys who are
gonna play for Army. If Larkin's gonna play, if Bartaje
is gonna play, if General is gonna play, give him
a little bit better chance. But right now, I say
twenty four to seventeen Navy.
Speaker 4: And you can follow sal at Black Knight Nation dot com.
Everything West Point Athletics you can find up there. I'm
always on there checking out because I love the fact
that we can. You can see I think they've got
what thirty eight varsity sports or something like that at
West Point, and so you love being able to check
out everything going on with the Army Black Knights, not
just football, but also with basketball and lacrosse and soccer
and wrestling, and everything going on up there in New York.
So Sal, enjoy the game, have a great holiday, and
we look to talk to you again soon.
Speaker 9: Steve, I appreciate you having me on and happy I'll
lay see you too.
Speaker 4: Thanks a lot, our thanks again to Sal inter Donado
of Black Knight Nation dot com for joining us here
this week. Still to come, Price and I will give
you our predictions for the one hundred and twenty sixth
Army Navy Game. But up next, Price will honor a
fallen service member with the Travis Manian Foundation Honor Roll
that is up next here on the one hundred and
twenty sixth Army Navy Game. Spectacular of Yards and Stripes
your home for Service Academy Football.
Speaker 10: In two thousand and seven, Marine First Lieutenant Travis Mannion
was killed in Iraq after saving his wooted teammates. Travis's
legacy lives on through the words he spoke before his
final deployment. If not me, then who words that today
fuel the spirit of Travis Manion Foundation and through TMF
these words can live in you too. Show the world
what you're made of. Because character is invisible until it's not.
Find out how you can strengthen the character of your
community alongside empowered veterans, families of the fallen, and inspired
civilians at Travismanion dot org.
Speaker 2: All right, welcome back into our Army and Navy preview
special here on Margin Stripes, your home for service Academy
football and certainly for those who have listened to us,
you know what time it is. It's time for a
Travismenion Foundation honorable segment. Worry, honor, remember a fallen hero
one that has given the ultimate sacrifice. And then the
words of Travis.
Speaker 3: Himself that he spoke before deploying, deploying on the final time.
If not me, then who?
Speaker 2: And the Travismening Foundation doing work all across the country
and local communities carrying on the legacy of servicing commitment
of fallen heroes and loved ones. You can find out
so much more about Travis Manion Foundation at Travismanion dot org,
including ways to get your tickets to Saturday's Army Navy
tailgate sponsored by the Travis Manion Foundation to benefit TMF.
Speaker 3: But this week on.
Speaker 2: Our TMF Honor Role, we're going to honor remember a
Gunnery Sergeant David mac McFarland United States Marine Corps Gunnery
Sergeant Mac McFarland served in the Marine Corps for sixteen years.
Began his military career in the infantry, but was soon
selected for counterintelligence school and became a CIA A C
one agent with tours of duty in Panama, Haiti, Africa, England,
and more. In two thousand, he became a Credentialed Special
Agent with the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service otherwise known
as NCIS. During his time within CIS, Gunny Mac was
assigned to the Combating Terrorism Dictorate. He worked on task
forces investigating the events of the bombing of the USS
Cole and Yemen one and also nine to eleven. Born
on April the twentieth, nineteen sixty seven and Dundeede and Florida,
Gunny Mack earned a Bachelor of Science and Strategic Intelligence
from the National Intelligence University. The height of his military career,
Mack became seriously ill and was forced to retire early
at the age of thirty five. He lost his battle
seven years later, on February the twenty first, twenty ten.
Mack was known for his mission attitude, his larger than
life personality, his love and dedication to his family, especially
his wife and three sons, and his unwavering faith in God.
He was survived by his wife, Jennifer and three kids,
and his character strength story is just amazing. If you
go to Travismannion dot orgon their Fallen Hero section, you
can read all about his character strength story that his
wife Jennifer wrote on there is incredibly moving, incredibly touching.
It's also pretty long, so I don't want to read
the whole thing right there, but it really is something
that will move a lot of people if you take
a look at it on Travismanion dot org their Fallen
Hero section. For David, I'm tired Gunny Sergeant David mac McFarland,
United States Marine Corps.
Speaker 6: Travis Mallon Foundation's Nine to Eleven Heroes Run five K
race series units 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 Heroes Run
dot org.
Speaker 1: The latest with Navy, Army and Air Force on Yards
and Stripes Service Academy Football.
Speaker 2: Final segment here on Yards and stripes are Army Navy
Review special again Pryce Atkinson, Stephen Carney, as we appreciate
Joe Miller and sal Erdonado for joining us this week
to get ready for the game. Also Travis Manning Foundation
Honor Roll segment that we just brought to you. There,
don't forget you can get tickets to the Travis Manning
Foundation tailgate.
Speaker 3: Just go online.
Speaker 2: Uh there at travismannon dot org and so get your
tickets for what will be an awesome tailgate.
Speaker 3: There.
Speaker 4: I was gonna say, I'm I'm, I'm I'm still pretty hungry.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I gotta I gotta see. Uh, we're gonna, We're
gonna look this up. It isn't that far from me
to get to Baltimore.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I might be coming.
Speaker 5: I might be coming, Ryan, Ryan, I might be coming.
Speaker 3: There you go, there you go real quickly.
Speaker 2: While Steven is looking that up and trying to figure
out his killer pizza order for Saturday's game. Uh, a
couple of news and notes pass along.
Speaker 6: Uh.
Speaker 2: We'll start uh with Army Army center Brady's small name
to the All uh the American All Conference first team
linebacker and Thomas was a second team Honoree. All Defensive
lineman Jack Bossom was a third team honoree. Navy midshipman
senior nose guard Landon Robinson named the American Conference Defensive
Player of the Year. Wow, that's something to see. You think,
if it was going to be a conference Player of
the Year, you almost can always think it's probably gonna
be on the offensive side of the ball.
Speaker 3: Nope, not this year.
Speaker 2: Landon Robinson the Defensive Player of the Year in the
American Conference, while junior long snapper Rain Frye was named
the long Snapper of the Year by the leagu's head coaches.
So two big awards for the Navy Midshipman. Surprising, they
were the only two name First Team All American Conference,
but senior guard Yeah senior guard Ben Purvis, and then
senior Eli Heinreich and senior running back Alex Tesca they
all Garner's second team All American Conference honors. The Air
Force Falcons, they had four players names to the All
mount Less Team according to the vote last week. Senior
offensive lineman Costin Cooley a first team honoree, while senior
offense of lineman Jack Burnett, senior nose guard Peyton Drake
and then junior inside the linebacker Blake Fletcher, all earning
second team All mount West Conference honors. So congratulations to
all those student athletes awarded and recognized by the American
and the Mountain West Conference.
Speaker 5: Stephen, all right, that's congratulations to them.
Speaker 4: By the way, I'm they've got the pictures of all
the food and the festivities on the Travis Banion Foundation
tailgate going on on on Saturday, And yeah, I'm really
jealous right now. If you're going to this, take pictures,
send them to us on social media for sure.
Speaker 2: Yes, I have been to the TMF tailgate before and
it is quite festive.
Speaker 3: I went.
Speaker 2: The one I went to was in Philadelphia, so right
there in the heart of Manion Country as it was.
Speaker 3: A heck of a party. I can tell you to
believe it. All right, Steven, we've come to that time.
You know we can.
Speaker 2: We can break this thing down a whole lot more
X factors, injuries.
Speaker 3: You know. Weather. We haven't even talked about weather. Have you.
Speaker 2: Have we seen a weather report yet? I have not
looked to see what the weather report is going to be.
I imagine if it's going to be trending like it has
been around here. It's going to be a pretty cold day.
I remember, I think it was my I think it
was my It was my very first Army Navy game
in two thousand. It was in Baltimore at M and
T Bank Stadium. My parents came up from South Carolina,
and I don't think my mom and dad warmed up.
Their bones were still chilled sometimes Sunday as they believed
heaving back to South Carolina. So it was eighteen or
nineteen degrees I think was the high twenty degrees.
Speaker 4: It is not going to be that cold at M
and T Bank Stadium on Saturday. Right now, the forecast
is for clouds but no precipitation and about forty degrees.
It's gonna be it's gonna be brisk, but but it
is not going to be freezing cold, uh at M
and T Banks team. This is not like you know
a couple of years ago when when the game was
in Boston and it was really cold, and then of
course we all remember was it twenty twenty one the snow,
the game in the snow, that that was one of
those wild days, one of those wild games. I don't
think we're gonna have to worry about that this year.
Speaker 2: And then I don't remember if it was one or three,
but one of those years it was. I think it
was seventy two degrees in Philadelphia.
Speaker 4: It was hot like that hot, I would bet that
was That was probably sounds like one. I watched the
the one game on the flight Den or I should
say the hangar deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt that year,
and I remember them talking about how hot it was
in Philadelphia.
Speaker 2: I think the game because it was I was dating
my now wife fit the time, and that was our
first one together, and I remember seeing her like in
a basically a golf shirt on the field. I was
like whoa, And I was in a suit, sweating my
tail off, so almost positive it was oh.
Speaker 5: One, yeah, I was.
Speaker 4: And people are talking about it being you know, oh,
it's it's so hot here in Philadelphia at seventy two degrees.
Speaker 5: I'm like, let me tell you something, son, I'm.
Speaker 4: Off the coast of a Pakistan shooting planes.
Speaker 5: It's really hot here.
Speaker 4: Like we were in the we were in the in
the engine room, it was like one hundred and fifteen degrees.
Speaker 5: So thanks a lot. Well, we'll take seventy two in
the kneandroom anytime.
Speaker 3: No doubt about it.
Speaker 2: Well, we're ready to celebrate America's game, the one hundred
and twenty six playing of the Army Navy Game, presented
by USA on Saturday, Army Verse number twenty two Navy
Stephen Navy giving six points over under thirty seven and
a half in this one. Kick off at three ten
in Baltimore on CBS. Let's get to some picks. I'll
let you fire first. So are we gonna go the
same way? How gonna be? It seems like you and
I trend more and more that we, you know, smart
guys think alike, where we are a lot more similar
than different than these days. But we'll find out right now.
So which way can Army pull the upset that Navy
did last year and put the shoe on the other
foot this year? Or do you think Navy continues this
run and gets to you know, Joe Miller talking about it,
back to back ten win seasons for history.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, Navy, Army can do it. I totally
think that they can. They have to do what Navy
did last year to the Black Knights. They have to
punch them in the mouth and hope for them to
shrivel up and go away. You know, Navy did that
last year. I have a feeling that Army will will
try that, they will try the punch you in the
mouth and watch you shrivel away. It isn't gonna happen, though.
I have a feeling that that Navy, that Navy can
take a punch, and we've learned that over the course
of this season. The Navy can take a punch, and
so I think that they'll be able to take that
punch and they'll be able to deliver two of their
own to Armies.
Speaker 5: So I have Navy winning this game.
Speaker 4: I have it twenty eight to twenty. So I give
me the over as well. So I am going to
say that history will be made in Baltimore.
Speaker 2: All right, Well, I too, I think that it's going
to be an over affair. Thirty seven and a half
being the over under, I think it's going to be
over for sure. I like very similar to you. I
do like Navy to win the game. You went with
twenty eight to twenty. I went with Navy twenty four
to twenty. So we were very very close. And I
think the reason why Navy wins this year is I
think the big playability of the guy's nay name Blake Krvath,
Alex Tesca, and Eli heydright to me, that's the difference.
Not to say Army doesn't have that ability, but Armies
had a lot more grinded out drives than you know,
the big that what they would call them basketball spurt
ability with that ability to kind of spurt past you
with like a lot of you know, big plays and
that can ride that momentum. I think Navy just has
that ability more to generate to pop one. But of
course on on defense, you know, it could be a
you know, defensive play versus an offensive play, popping the
ball loose, returning an interception or something like that. So
you know, obviously we talk about it ad nauseum. The
team that makes the least amount of mistakes, the team
that can run the football, and then usually the team
that's gonna come up and make a big play here there.
It's it's who's going to win the game. But we
know that the turnover battle is just absolutely crucial to
winner this game. And I think that Navy's big playability
with all those seniors and playing in their last Army
Navy game.
Speaker 3: I think that's the difference even yeap.
Speaker 4: And then comes the legacy. As we mentioned with Joe Miller.
You know, they've got they've got a chance with a
win in Saturday's game, to be one of the greatest
senior classes in the in the history of Navy football.
Speaker 3: Yeah. And I say upset.
Speaker 2: I should say this loosely because in a lot of ways,
while technically people would look at as as an upset,
I wouldn't be. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised
if Army wins the football game. While I do think
Navy does win it. We've seen this time and time
again because the underdog, you know, playing with a chip
on their shoulder, and this game is filled with kids,
I say kids, but you know football player student athletes
that came to the academies in a lot of ways
with chips on their shoulder because they were undersize. A
lot of them, they were looked at as maybe too small,
not as fast to play it a Notre Dame or
a you know, a Tulsa or a South Florida, if
you will, or a meant this, you know, And so
they play that that kind of chip and thank god
they're gonna be the ones defending our nation, you know,
on the front lines of freedom as officers in the
United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps, the
United States Army because of these guys do having chips
like that and they're having this kind of edge and
so it's a great display and everybody that watches on
Saturday should be thankful that about these young men, with
these young men that are gonna be on the field
playing in this football game's medium for the final time,
leaving the blood literally on that field.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it'll be fun, It'll be it'll be a I
I think it's gonna be a very it's gonna be
an experience that's gonna mold these these young men into
the into the leaders that they're destined to become. So yeah,
I'm really looking forward to to Saturday and mentioned let's
get the pizza.
Speaker 5: Let's go ye, all right?
Speaker 2: Thanks to Joe Miller, Thanks to salth Erdonado. Our guests
once again appreciate the Travis Man and Foundation loves spotlighting
the work that they're doing, and local communities across the
country appreciate my man Stephen Carney, the best co host
producer in the business. Appreciate all our listeners on the
College Grid are and Coast to Coast podcast Network. Hope
you enjoyed the Army Navy preview special, because we will
be back because we got to preview some bowl games.
We got to recap this game, Stephen, but we also
got to get ready for the Wasabi Finway Bowl and
all of his own Liberty Bowl. So good news that
we've got two out of the three playing in the
postseason and a lot to talk about as we get
ready for bowl season. So we will do that here
in the coming week, Stephen, but we'll get out of here.
Hope everybody enjoys the games. Go Army, Go Navy. Hope
everybody enjoys it, and we have a thriller down to
the end. But we'll talk to you again very very soon.
Speaker 1: Join us again next time for Yards and Stripes Service
Academy Football. To get more on all things Service Academy football,
like Yards and Stripes on Facebook and follow them on
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Speaker 7: M