Speaker 1: Need to get your football fix on all things Army,
Navy and Air Force. This is Yards and Stripes Service
Academy Football.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: Here are your hosts, Pryce Atkinson and Steve Carney.
Speaker 3: Here we go, Here we go, Here we go, twoenty
twenty five edition of Yards and Stripes. It has arrived,
and so has Stephen Carney, and so have I on
Pryce Atkinson, we appreciate you for tuning in to episode one.
I can't even remember what season we're on now because
it has been many, many seasons since we've been doing this.
But this is your home for Yards and Stripes, Army, Navy,
Air Force, service academies. That is what we do here
on Yards and Stripes. Welcome in. We have got your
preview addition here as we are going to kind of
recap an offseason. Beget into all three of these teams.
We got three games kicking off this weekend, actually starting
Friday night with Army and Action and then Navy and
Air Force and Action on Saturday. But the twenty twenty
five college football season is here. Steven, the weight is
over before we get into it, brother, how the heck
are you? Man?
Speaker 4: It has been quite the amazing off season of college football,
and for me, like the sports year never ends, because
it seems like as soon as I get done doing
college football, I'm stuck right smack dab in the middle
of hockey season. Hockey seasons turns right into baseball season,
and baseball season turns right back into college football season,
and I'm back here with you on Yards and Stripes
for another year.
Speaker 2: I believe this is our fourth year.
Speaker 4: Together together, miss yep so, and then of course you've
had this this baby for another decade before that.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I want to say it's year nine. If
I remember right, I will go back and double check it.
I think it's year nine, but we're getting close to ten.
But it is definitely a year four for you and I, yes,
because it has been four joyful years. As we were
just talking, I love the games, but believe it or not, folks,
my favorite part about the fall. Yes, I love the
cooler weather. Yes, I enjoy the games, but it's having
fun with Steven for an hour every single week. And
we hope you have fun with us, because we like
to have a lot of damn fun here talking about Army, Navy,
and Air Force. Steven and I also like to have
a lot of fun by getting a Papion's Pizza report
from you, because if our listeners is if this is
your first time tuning in Steven, typically we're usually recording
this late at night, not late late, but usually after
the kids have gone to bed, and you know, we're
usually you know, eating a late dinner and we're multitasking
by eating and recording and talking college football. So Papa
Yon's does not pay us to say this. I just
like to get a Papion's Pizza report because oftentimes Steven
is eating said pizza. What do we got tonight on
the menu, Stephen?
Speaker 4: Usually it is a pizza night whenever I do Yards
and Stripes, but not tonight.
Speaker 2: There is no Papa Yans tonight.
Speaker 4: And that is because I was supposed to be at
a minor league baseball game for Major League Baseball in Duneden,
a Florida State League matchup between the dun Eden Blue
Jays and the Fort Myers Mining Mighty Muscles. Very you
gotta love some of these names in minor league baseball. Yeah,
the Blue Jays and the Mighty Muscles were supposed to
be going at it. Unfortunately, we've had so much rain
here in the Tampa Bay region that some of these
fields they're not really good to play on. And so
tonight's game was actually postponed due to unplayable field conditions.
But that meant that I had stopped to get food
to go to the ballpark, and then I had to
come home, so I just ate the food that I
was gonna I had a pub sub you know, shout
out to publics, and some snacks that went with it.
And so the Papa Yon's pizza will have to wait
for next week.
Speaker 2: Sorry, Papa Yon's all right.
Speaker 3: We will get the Pabian's Pizza report next week. But
what we won't get next week, we will get it
this week. And that is a guest interview that Steven
had with the new athletic director at the Naval Academy,
Michael Kelly, coming from Steve's neck of the woods right
there in Tampa as he comes from USF back to
Annapolis where he's got some roots Steve with family, and
you know, it's really going home for Michael Kelly. So
I know you guys touched on that, you know, give
the listeners a little bit of a taste on what
all you guys talked about. I know you talked with
him about how he found out, like when he got
the job.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I've known Michael Kelly now for probably
close to a decade. Not only has he been the
athletic director or what they would call the vice president
of athletics here at the University of South Florida, MI
alma mater for the last seven years, but before that
he was the CEO of the College Football Playoff And
so that's where I first met Michael was when he
was with the CFP getting the playoff going in college football.
Speaker 2: And you know, this is a guy that.
Speaker 4: Has really turned around athletics here at the University of
South Florida. It's definitely in a much better direction than
it was when he came aboard. And now with check
Gladchuk retiring in Annapolis after twenty four years, he gets
an opportunity to go back to the Naval Academy where
basically he remembers being young because his father was a
graduate of the Naval Academy in nineteen sixty seven, and
so he's got many friends and colleagues and some great
memories of being around Annapolis. And then his father was
back in Annapolis as his career wound down in the military,
so he certainly has plenty of great memories already in Annapolis.
Speaker 2: And I certainly feel that.
Speaker 4: And I said this to him, and you'll hear me
say this to him in the.
Speaker 2: Interview.
Speaker 4: I'm sure that Navy had plenty of good choices to
replace check lad Chuck, and they picked a great one instead.
Speaker 3: All right, well, I can't wait for that interview, Steve,
with Michael Kelly and here and everything he had to say.
Like you said, you guys go back a long way,
so I'm sure you were able to prize some good
stuff out of him. Maybe not even pride. I'm sure
he's probably giddy in the excitement of his first college
football season ahead at the head of the midshipman. But
of course that's Brian Newberry and Brian Newberry the head coach.
Let's get into these three teams, Steve, and let's start
with Navy, not just because you talked with Michael Kelly,
but I think because they're the reigning CIC champions, they're
the ones that took home the Commander in Chief Trophy
last year. And Navy also is probably the one if
we're gonna look at all three of these teams, and
you're gonna pick a favorite to win the CIC. I
don't think there's much doubt in anybody's mind. Navy is
that betting choice this year, especially with all the pieces
to the puzzle that they have back. I mean, Blake Corvath,
Eli Heidenreich, Landon Robinson, The list goes on and on,
playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, Alex Tesca,
so many guys back on defense. A team that won
that went ten and three last year mentioned the c
I C Trophy. Of course that's always the name of
the game for these three teams. But maybe Caps with
a Bowl win over Oklahoma, Boy, the pieces are there.
Boise State the massive favorite in the group of five,
steve to find a way into the playoff, but maybe
maybe could be that dark horse because there is an
awful lot to light this year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the.
Speaker 4: College Football Playoff Group of five pick is a little tough.
I think that the back end of Navy's schedule is
going to really do that because, I mean, they have
to go to Memphis, they have to go to Notre Dame,
and then of course they have the two c C games.
But I certainly feel that you know early on, you
look at what NABE has got early on in their schedule,
and the fact is that you could say that, especially
on offense, they are improved over a ten win team
last year. I think their offensive line this year is
so much better than what they had last year. And
I think all that can do is help the premiere playmakers,
whether it's Blake Corvath, you know, coming off of a
season where he was only the third quarterback ever at
maybe to rush for twelve hundred yards and throw for
twelve hundred yards in the same season, I think that really,
you know you're looking at I would say the odds
on favorite right now for the American Conference Player of
the Year right now, I would say he's probably the
betting favorite, at least I would say that I would
put money on Blake Corvath if I did that sort
of betting. But I certainly feel like with him. You know,
Eli Heidenreich was named to the Senior Bowl three hundred
watch list. Corvath was one of the top one hundred
college players in the game this year according to a
preseason poll.
Speaker 2: You mentioned alec Tesco.
Speaker 4: I really do think that it all starts, though, with
the front five and when they and they're better this
year than they were last year, I would think that
Navy is a very scary appointed for anybody on this schedule.
Speaker 3: Yeah, without a doubt, I certainly think you're spot on.
You know, it's certainly one of the favorites to win
the American Conference. You know, so many players on this team,
Steve that are. You know these preseason watch lists, I'm
not going to go through them. All Armies got several,
air Force has got a couple, Navies got a ton,
and there's just too many to probably name to get
out of the gate here, which you're gonna hear a
lot of these names that we talked about, but one
of them is Landon Robinson. On the defensive side of
the football. You know we're talking offense. You know when
you usually talk service academies boy defense. Last year, Navy
played some pretty darn good defense last year, especially with
the takeaways. You know, it all starts up front in
college football, at any level of football. But when you've
got a guy in the middle of that defense and
a guy named Landon Robinson who was a first team
All Conference guy, First team All East recognition sixty one tackles,
five and a half for a lost, four sacks, two poorts.
I mean, he was I think he was one of
the MVPs. He shared MVP honors with Blake Cormath at
the Army Navy game last year. You know, having such
a big game there with career high thirteen tackles and
forcing that fumble, including nobody will ever forget, especially if
you're a Navy fan, the twenty nine yards on that
fake punt. He's back and he is going to be,
without a doubt, the unquestioned leader on the defensive front
for Navy, because that was a side of the football
that was vastly, vastly improved last year for Brian Newberry.
Of course, we know the head coach and Naval academy
has his roots on the fensive side of the ball,
but there's so much to like. You know, losing a
couple of linebackers never helps, but by large, you know,
on this Navy defense, they've got most of the guys
returning that you want to see. And again, Landon Robinson
is going to be the first name out of most
everybody's mouth.
Speaker 4: Oh absolutely, The big question mark for Navy on defense
is going to be the defensive secondary. You know, you
don't have Raywan Lane, you don't have Sean Peel.
Speaker 2: I think that's going to be big for them.
Speaker 4: I think that you have to figure out early on
who your playmakers are in the secondary and make sure
that they are put in the position to make those plays.
You know, not having Colin Ramos is also another piece.
You know you're looking at, you know, the leader on defense,
the one that the other ten guys on the field
always looked toward. H And so I think have not
having Lane or Peel a Ramos, I think our big
question marks and really the secondary is what I'm looking at.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and the big the one thing that both lines
have in common is the strength of both the offense
and defensive line is in the middle of those lines,
center and guard. You know, while Navy's you know, looking
to kind of you know, get a couple of tackles
anchoring down the offensive line. You know, on defense, it's
kind of the same thing with Landon Robinson and Griffin willis,
you know, anchoring that middle of the defensive line. So
you know, certainly there's questions for every football team, but
maybe He's got a lot less of those questions. Going
into the season. You mentioned the schedule Steve certainly very
very manageable for the midshipman. You know, I want to say,
I don't want to call it, you know, back heavy
if you will, but maybe could be out of this gate,
you know pretty quickly. You know, you've got the Air
Force game that's gonna be the fifth game of the season, uh,
coming up on Saturday, October the fourth. But by and large,
you get through that game, you could possibly be sailing
into that Notre Dame game sitting at what eight to
no potentially before they play the Fight and Irish in
South Bend on Saturday, November the eighth. And to me,
that's the toughest part of the stretch of the schedule
is those last four games at Notre Dame, then you're
home against South Florida. Then of course going to Memphis
is always going to be one of the toughest games
on your entire schedule when it comes to the American Conference,
and then of course Army to finish the season. So
at the end of that schedule, basically the month of November,
you know, having to go to North Texas in the
four I just reeled off. Yeah, that without a doubt
it's going to be a tough closing for the midshipman.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's the big thing.
Speaker 4: And I mentioned this with Michael Kelly that you know,
there's gonna be a lot of whispers of three little
initials that people are going to have every time that
Navy wins a game and that c FP. Now it
starts this week with vm I. You know, you make
a statement there. You've got Ua B at home. You
can make a statement there. Tulsa is certainly a place
where you can have a lot of success. You're at
home against both Rice and for the Air Force game,
you're not having to go out west, they're having to
come east. I think that is a big advantage for
the midshipman at Temple. Temple does not really have a
quarterback to speak of this year, so I think that's
really going to be a struggle for the Owls. Florida
Atlantic is another team that is looking to try and rebound.
But that and at that point, you know, you're looking
at really seven extremely winnable games on their schedule, and
so as you said, you could be seven and er
at that point. But then November comes around and that's
when things get really difficult. Having to go to Denton,
Texas to play North Texas. That's a really tough ass.
You know, North Texas has been very good the last
couple of years. Notre Dame obviously that that speaks for itself.
Then you have the Michael Kelly Bowl on November fifteenth
in Annapolis, as as the Bulls come up to Navy
after Navy came down last year and beat up South
Florida here at Raymond James Stadium and then at Memphis.
You know, that's a that's a game that could certainly
determine whether or not Navy has a shot at the
American Championship Game. Yep, because at that point you're probably
looking at maybe having two one loss teams there and
one of them being Memphis. And if Memphis then beats
Navy for their one loss or for their second loss
of the year, that that could be the end of
end of it. And then of course the Army Navy Game,
the one and twenty sixth Army Navy Game on December thirteenth.
Speaker 3: Can Navy improve on that bounce back that they had
last year ten and three last season six and two
in the American again won the CIC Trophy, outscoring Army
and Air Force by a combined score sixty five to
twenty and then knocked off Oklahoma out of the SEC
in the bowl game to close out the year. All right,
let's pivot to the Army Black Night, ste because we
can't forget at the Black Knights last year at twelve
and two eight in oh a perfect American Athletic Conference
record in their first year in the league. And then
of course they beat Tulane at home in the American
Athletic Conference Championship Game. A heck of a season led
by the Bryson Daily Show all year, those only two
losses forty nine to fourteen to numbered six Notre Dame
and then obviously thirty one to thirteen to the Naval
Academy at the end of the season. But Jeb Munkin,
you know, his team is chomping at the bit to
get back on the field. You know, one of the
most fiery head coaches you're gonna find in all the
college football. They're going to be opening the season against
Tarleton State this Friday. We'll preview that game here in
a little bit. But as I mentioned, look, Steve, the
Bryson Daily show. Not only Bryson Daily, he's gone. Kanye
Udo transfers to Arizona State, Elo Medozi, the outstanding linebacker,
he transferred to the University of Georgia is gonna be
playing big minutes there. Army took a massive hit in
terms of some of their top guys that were you know,
could have been returning. But Bryson Daily graduates, he's gone.
You know this is going to be a different looking
Army team this year. We know that they're going to
be running right, you know that run first, you know,
triple option, especially with a guy in Dwayne Coleman, the
senior quarterback who got to play I believe it was
seven games last year. Jeff Munkin officially naming him the
starter last week. But you know he comes in and
will be taken over for Bryson Daily. Those shoes are mighty,
mighty big who had one of the greatest seasons ever
when it comes to Black Night football under center.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and you look at what Army did last year,
leading the nation in rushing by more than forty five
yards a game. I mean you think about that number
like you know, when you think of you know, total rushing,
you know, between between teams.
Speaker 2: You know, you you don't see.
Speaker 4: That big of a gap between the number one and
the number two Russian teams in the country. Forty five yards.
That's what Bryson Daily did for the Black Knights. And
I don't know about you, I was very surprised to
not see an NFL team take a take a chance
on Bryson Daily in on the third day of the draft.
You look at you know sometime in in rounds, you know,
four through seven that you would and you know, could
could somebody have given a seventh round pick for Bryson Daly.
Speaker 2: I certainly think so.
Speaker 4: I I personally was when I was looking through the draft,
I was like, you know, this is a He's a
sixth round guy to me, and I think that that
some I think he deserved to have someone take a
look at him, uh, you know, specifically with a with
a draft pick. But he does not get a draft pick.
He goes on to his uh, to his career in
the military, and we wish him the best, uh going forward.
Speaker 2: You know, it's funny.
Speaker 4: I was looking at Army schedule and it's all almost
it's almost completely the opposite of Navy schedule.
Speaker 2: Theirs is very heavily front loaded.
Speaker 4: After this week, you know, they're gonna go on the
road to Kansas State, who obviously played in Week zero
in what we like to call Farmageddon out in Ireland,
Againsa Iowa State. They come up just a just a
hair short in that game. And then they have North
Texas at home, but still North Texas a very very
formidable opponent in conference. And then they have two on
the road against East Carolina, who you know obviously is
a team that you can certainly handle. The same with UAB,
but those are both on the road. So I think
that their toughest stretch comes early and then and then
they come home at the middle of October to take
on the Charlotte forty nine ers, and that's what I
think their their road gets a lot easier at that point. Yes,
they have Tulane the following week, and they're on the
road for air Force, but really the back end of
their schedule Tulane, Tulsa, UTSA, Charlotte, I certainly think that
that's a much more manageable second half of the schedule
as opposed to their first half. The complete opposite of Army.
Speaker 3: Yeah, one big note about Army and their schedule only
five games they're being played at Mikey Stadium there at
West Point. They're gonna have to go on the road
for six true road games, and that first one as
you mentioned at Kansas State, you know who lost the
farm again in game against Iowa State last weekend in
week zero, if you will. So the schedule is gonna
be a little bit a little bit more difficult, only
in the fact that they're not gonna be playing at
home as much. But still, jub Munkin poised to have
the Black Knights bounce back. And you just cannot forget
when you have to say, because you you know, twenty
twenty four as champions, they did it in the very
first try coming back into the league one heck heck
of a season. I remember watching that game against Tulane
that Friday night when it was freezing cold there at
Less Point, just watching Army dominate both sides of the football.
Can they do it again? I think Jeb Munkin's team
is going to bounce back in a big way. And
by the way, for those you know, Dwayne Coleman fans
out there, they remember if you remember his big moment
last year. Of course, it was the Bryson Daily Show
all season long. But as we all remember, you know,
right before that Air Force game, it wasn't until just
minutes before kickoff that we're finding out Bryson Daily injured.
It's going to be Dwayne Coleman, and he takes over
as the starting quarterback and he leads Army in a
very tough situation to that win over the Falcons there
and that Commander Chief Trophy game. So Army Black Knights
once again twelve and two last year, eight to no,
and the American is gonna be hard to top that. Man.
They beat Louisiana Tech twenty seven to six in the
ind and excuse me, in the Independence Bowl, what does
twenty twenty five having store We'll find out. All right,
let's shift to the Air Force Academy, Steve, because as
we all know last year, if you listen to this podcast,
you know that this was a mighty mighty difficult season
for the Black or for the Falcons. They start with
a win, Steve, but then they reloft seven straight losses
before they closed the season on a four game win streak.
They just could not get any continuity going under center
at quarterback. Right now, as we're sitting here talking, we're
still unsure technically, surprise surprise when it comes to Troy
calhoun team, who will be the starting quarterback this year?
Will it be Josh Johnson or Liam Sarka. But what
we do know is that this is a team that's
got to fined a way to run the football, especially
after the loss of Quentin Hayes at quarterback, who stepped
up at the end of last season and really you
came on to take hold of that quarterback job. Well,
unfortunately he graduates, he's done. Who's it going to be?
But what we do know is that Troy Calhoun's team
has got to run the football better than they did
last year, one of the two worst seasons ever under
Calhoun since he got there and took over.
Speaker 4: Yeah, only two and twenty four rushing yards per game
last year. That still his tenth best in the country.
But for a for a club and for a squad
that is known for putting up big time rushing yards
in a in a game, two hundred and twenty four
is not nearly enough or for a vic for a
get wins if you are a Service Academy team and
Trey Calloun figured that one out you mentioned Quenton Hayes.
Speaker 2: Boy, I'll tell you what.
Speaker 4: When they put Quentin Hayes in under center to end
the season and he reeled off those four straight wins,
I was like.
Speaker 2: It took him.
Speaker 4: It took him long enough to get to get to
get a decision to put the guy who I thought
was being who was the best suited to run the
football out there in Colorado Springs. You know, for air
Force again, we don't know who the quarterback is going
to be coming up on Saturday when the Falcons take
on buck Nell. And I really do think that this
this team, you know, it's kind of funny. I look
at what their schedule looks like. It is very strange
to me to see what their what their schedule looks like,
because it's very reminiscent of what they did last year.
You know, you've got a one double a school in
Bucknell to start the year, and then you dive right
into the Mountain West.
Speaker 2: You know season.
Speaker 4: You know you're gonna go on the road to Utah State,
that's always uh. You know you're gonna go to Logan,
That's that's not an easy place h to play.
Speaker 2: You're gonna welcome in Boise State.
Speaker 4: Obviously the odds on favorite to once again be the
group of five selection to the College Football Playoff. We'll
see what happens there on this Thursday when Boise State
is here in town taking on the University of South Florida,
who I like as the group of five, but that's
a that's a another story for another time. And then
having Hawaii, which is always you know if with Hawaii,
if you know they're gonna throw the football, that's going
to be a real test of the secondary. You got
to go to Navy, as we mentioned that, I think
is going to be a very difficult road to hoe.
Even if Navy wasn't as good as they are this year,
just the time difference is going to be really tough.
You come back another game on the road at UNLV.
Wyoming is the game that really sticks out to me
when it comes to Air Force. You know, they've really
had problems going to Laramie. This game thankfully is in
Colorado Springs, but I think Wyoming is a much better
team this year than what we saw last year. Obviously,
after the matchup against Army, it really gets crazy because
then after Army they got to go see coach Kenny Ken,
Neo Matallo and San Jose State out in California, and
then travel across the country to take on the Universe
City of Connecticut. I think that's that's not fare if
you're asking yeah, and then Yeah, and then New Mexico
and Colorado State to end the year. So three of
your last four on the road, including back to back games,
when you're going from coast to coast, that stinks. If
you're a Falcons fan, you're not looking.
Speaker 2: Forward to that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that that the schedule, certainly without a doubt. You know,
after Bucking Hill and then at Utah State, those next
four games against Boise, against Hawaii, at Navy, at UNLV Boy.
I mean, worst case scenario. I think you're looking at
one in five, maybe two and four for air Force,
that having to dig themselves out of a hole halfway
through the season. But you know, you never know. We
obviously play the games for a reason. One thing I
love about air Force's schedules. I love seeing that Colorado
State game being played on rivalry weekend at the end
of the season, where in the in the past, you
know it'd been kind of in the middle. One of
the last times I've been to, uh, the Falcon Stadium
was a Black Friday affair actually, when Colorado State and
Air Force did do battle at the very end of
the season with Jim mckawain's last game when he had
Colorado State. What was that ten and two season, God,
I came remember the year was a two seventeen maybe
twenty eighteen?
Speaker 2: This yea, I say it was.
Speaker 4: I thought it was twenty sixteen or seventeen. That was
right before he left to come coach the University of Florida.
Speaker 3: Correctly, that's exactly right. But we will see about the
Air Force Falcons coming back. They're going to be opening
against Bucknell and kind of weird that, you know, I
think Navy had this happened a couple of seasons ago.
But you know, after air Force opens with Bucknell, they're
going to have a bye weekend on the very second
weekend of the season. So not something that you really
want to have right away is have one of your
bye weeks come right after you play, you know, an
FCS team and Bucknell out of the Patriot League. So
Air Force Falcons they are trying to bounce back once again.
Last year five and seven, three and four, in the
Mountain West. Can they get back they become Bowl eligible,
which has been a you know, an expectation if you
will for for Troy Calhoun's team. I believe they are
what four for four bowl games against Power five teams
the last several years before obviously that straight street came
to an end last year, Steven, So we will find out.
But that's a little bit about Air Force, Army and
Navy as we get ready for the twenty twenty five
college football season this weekend. As we are part of
the College grid Our Coast to Coast podcast network, and
you can find us on last Word on sports dot Com. Steven,
tell everybody else you know where else you know you
can find the podcast because we come out once a week. Spotify, What,
Apple Podcasts, wherever it is you get your.
Speaker 4: Podcast Absolutely anywhere you get your podcasts, you just want
to search for College Gridiron Coast to Coast. We are
in the that feed along with our other our other
great shows on the College grid Iron Coast to Coast
podcast network. This week in the ACC obviously covering the
East Coast, we've got Noah Drury now hosting the Big
Ten Paradigm Show this year. He is a young man
out of out of Michigan who is certainly looking to
make his name in the world of college football, where
we're definitely glad to have him aboard. Obviously, get off
my Pylon and the Big twelve sec a breakdown looking
out at the West Coast, and also Florida Football Insiders
Jason Powers back for another year, taking a look at
everything here in the Sunshine State where I live.
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely and can't wait for you know, next week,
we'll obviously have games to talk about, Steve, because, as
I mentioned, talking season is almost over, thank the Lord,
because it has been a long summer waiting for kickoff.
I mean I think I speak everybody. Yeah, yeah, without
a doubt. So when we come back, we're gonna hear
from new athletic director from the Naval Academy, Michael Kelly.
Steve caught with him earlier this week. You don't want
to miss that interview. Then we'll come back and preview
all three games. We got the Travis Mannin Foundation on
a roll. We'll tell you about that coming up as
we like to end the podcast with that and it
we'll make some picks here on the opening episode, episode
one of the twenty twenty five college football season of
Yards and Stripes your home for Service Academy, Football, Army, Navy,
and Air Force. We'll be right back.
Speaker 4: This episode of Yards and Stripes is sponsored in part
by ticket Smarter.
Speaker 2: The twenty twenty five college football season is here.
Speaker 4: We know you're looking for the best seats at the
most competitive prices. We want to make sure that you
take advantage of ticket smarter and their mobile app. We
know more than ever buying college football tickets online requires
trust and ticket smarter has partnered with more than one
hundred universities and twenty four conferences as their official ticket
resale marketplace. They've also partnered with ESPN Events as an
official ticket resale partner as well. Purchase your tickets quickly, securely,
and at the best prices on the secondary market with
the ticket Smarter mode or at ticketsmarter dot com. We've
got two great offers for our listeners. You can save
ten dollars on your purchase of one hundred dollars or
more on ticket smarter by using the code LWOS ten.
And if you spend more, you can save more because
if you spend three hundred dollars or more and use
the promo code LWOS twenty. You'll save twenty dollars off
your purchase and these codes are not a one time offer.
Use our codes over and over again this season and
save for the best selection of seats to this year's
biggest games.
Speaker 2: Don't wait.
Speaker 4: Get the best selection in pricing now with ticket Smarter
and remember our codes LWOS ten and LWOS twenty. Think Smarter.
Ticket Smarter.
Speaker 1: The latest with Navy, Army and Air Force on Yards
and Stripes Service Academy Football.
Speaker 4: We welcome you back to Yards and Stripes. You're home
for Service Academy Football. I'm Steve Carney and we welcome
you in as our twenty twenty five season debut is here.
I can't believe all three service academies get ready for
action this week now. For Navy, twenty twenty four could
not have ended on a better note and had a
thirty one to thirteen statement victory over Army in the
one hundred and twenty fifth Army Navy Game, and that
was followed by a twenty one to twenty come from
behind and then hold on for Dear life went over
Oklahoma in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Pool, But then
came a period of transition for the entire athletics department
at the Naval Academy, as check glad Chuck announced in
March she was retiring after twenty four years at the
Helm and being a Navy veteran, I know that there
is nothing that the Navy does better than a change
in command ceremony and the brass and Annapolis. I'm sure
had quite a few choices that they would feel that
were good, but I'm glad they went with a great
one to replace chet as they hired the longtime vice
president of athletics at my alma mater, the University of
South Florida, to lead the way. And I guess that's
just my long winded way of welcoming new director of
Athletics at the Naval Academy, Michael Kelly to Yards and Stripes.
Speaker 2: Michael, it is great to see you. Thank you so
much for doing this.
Speaker 5: Hey, thanks for having me. Great to be with you.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I can imagine leading an apartment with an incredible
history like you have there at Navy being that once
in a lifetime opportunity. Can you as much as you're
able to give us a little bit of insight on
how that conversation came to be, and especially when you
got to break the news to your family that you
were going to get this opportunity to lead the way
at Navy.
Speaker 5: Yeah, well the process was, you know, an ardoist one.
Speaker 6: This is a job that many people would like and
for many good reasons. It's an amazing historic institution in
term of being around to eighteen forty five.
Speaker 5: Obviously what it means and serves.
Speaker 6: To the country islands, to the mitchitvnsity loan, but really
to the fleet and the corp as a whole, and
then what it does for the c and for me personally,
having being the son of a Naval camgrad in nineteen
sixty seven when he was stationed here near the end
of his military career, that I kind of ran around
the yard here as a really young person and came
back in many.
Speaker 5: Times living here in the DMV area.
Speaker 6: So it was personally interesting to be in relevant for
all those reasons, and.
Speaker 5: Then just a chance to serve these people eats and
every day.
Speaker 6: This was it's really really special. We've got a neat
situation with the thirty six different varsity sports, which makes
us the time of the largest I play.
Speaker 5: The department in the country. So everything else happening.
Speaker 6: In the industry where you've got, you know, maybe sports
being cut or the emphasized. And this is all part
because of commission here to develop built officers for the
Navy and the Marine Corps and nothing.
Speaker 5: Is really better than that.
Speaker 6: And then to have a vision one level competition all
these inferge sports to have those kind of tests day in,
day out, so able to do that, and then you'll
also this strictly from a football standpoint, to be able
to really pull into that.
Speaker 5: That's the one league that we're in, the American in
one sport. We're in the American in.
Speaker 6: And yeah, I have that kind of chance to still play,
still play Army, still play in our day, have a
chance to win a conference championship and have that we're
out potential route to the CFP. So all the States
considered great place to be, a great place to live,
and I'm early on at the DA.
Speaker 2: I can't I can't be happier for you.
Speaker 4: I know that I'm sad as a as a USF guy,
not with you not being here, but there could be
no better landing spot for you. But I am curious,
now that you're a couple of months into the job,
have you had that moment like I know that football
players say they have that welcome to the NFL moment
when when you go, oh, I'm not in college anymore.
Have you had that moment yet where you're like, oh, wait,
that's right, this isn't Fowler Avenue anymore.
Speaker 2: I'm at the Naval Academy.
Speaker 4: Like, you haven't been running out, run down by a
group of fourth classes yet trying to get across grounds
between classes yet, have you?
Speaker 3: No?
Speaker 6: I mean, obviously you have a lot of the pride
and respect for for what we did at South Florida,
and that's that certainly wasn't anything that I was.
Speaker 5: Running away from.
Speaker 6: I'm very proud of what has been will continue to
be accomplished at us there on great momentum, and really
proud of the way the teams were born.
Speaker 5: The way that they won the American by leaps and.
Speaker 6: Bounds related to the Learfield Cups was kind of just
shows the comprehensive nature of the pleatic department that's been
built there at USF.
Speaker 5: And football there.
Speaker 6: With back to back ball wins on the fifteen teams
in the country have done that, and USF's on the
way there, not to mention the new stadium and new.
Speaker 5: Operations building that's being built.
Speaker 6: So prideful that And this was just as I was
saying in the intro, it's just personally and press was
significant to me.
Speaker 5: They had, you know, the previous athletic director, check Lash.
I've been over twenty four years, you know, so this
doesn't open much.
Speaker 6: I knew that if I had a chance at this position,
it was this is probably my last shot at it,
so it meant to upcoming here.
Speaker 5: I guess the thing that kind of struck me already
from my first week on the job.
Speaker 6: I mean, you speak to the importance that they place
on the role of death by director at a place
like the old Academy. I mean, the superintendents runs the
show around here, and then there's the provost, the commandant,
and the end let director and then they're started the mental, moral,
and physical mission. And so really that's why they're somewhat
more than just the typical A D job to run
the sports programs.
Speaker 5: But in this case you're also kind.
Speaker 6: Of coordinating with the different dead teachers and lit them
make sure all of our.
Speaker 5: Mission and are living up to their physical requirements as well.
Speaker 6: So it's it's a fascinating job one that so so
I think my moment was there the first day in
the job, speaking in front of all the plead parents
that you're in an arena, you know, four thousand parents
kind of talent then and how the physical mission comes
to be. And then that next day when they're taking
the oath of the office, if you will, going into
the military area, sitting right next to the superintendent, I'm like, man,
what I just came from h civilian life, different things
that now being right next to something that's very h
you know, very very important from from.
Speaker 5: The standpoint of the of the sisticationen so lots of.
Speaker 6: Just need things for that and just the difference in
structure in terms of the of all boards to the
entire student body have here.
Speaker 4: Is it Is it weird that you don't have to
deal with things like at USF. I I know that
it seems like every year you hear about the transfer
portal and n I l uh and you as at
the Naval Academy. Now that that's two things you really
don't have to worry about it anymore. Have have you
been able to kind of be like, Okay, that's that's
one side of the of the coin that I'm glad
that I don't have to deal with anymore, because it
just seems like on the outside looking in, it looks
like it can be a real headache sometimes.
Speaker 6: Well, I mean, I think people even having to play
to the strengths of wherever you are, and I think
we were doing that at USF and you know, we
were adapting to the times. I kept saying, we were
building a model at the department for modern times, and
whether it's building new facilities at a new sports I
was adjusting wealthy anal landscape. And now US this positioned
certainly at the top of the American conference that relates
to this type of thing, and that's going to serve
them well. Here it is just something that's not permissible
in terms of all of our student athletes. And you
know it's the spedable legislation again against that they've got different.
Speaker 5: Orders, if you will.
Speaker 6: Uh And as coach Newberry lands to say, like you
get your annial here on the back end, you get
to that, you know you're going to have that guarantee
job for five years, and then on the back end
usually had a very high pay. We're a kind of
skills you acquired here, and it's something that you're not
just doing a sacrifice for four years or five years.
It's one that's going to benefit armanshipment for a lifetime.
Speaker 5: And that's that's the way we've got to kind of
position it.
Speaker 6: And I feel that, you know, again, you try to
play your strengths on that, you gear up front about
what the opportunity is, which there are many, but then
you look at it in terms of a you know,
it's also pretty special here that you know, a lot
of schools I'll say, and let's say the Power for
Conferences are self admittedly don't even recruit high school as
much anymore, you know, And as a result, schools like
USF and Navy are probably getting higher rated high school
players because they're that's the landing spot for them. And
then in the case of USF, they have to worry
even more about the retention aspect of that because I'm
saying IO might be able to come in strong wars
US hopefully by the time you've made a commitment here,
invested in your body into police summer and been a
part of buying into what you're doing the certain country,
we tend to have very few with any departure student
transfer fort So as a result, Coach Newbery from a
football standpoint and all of our coach just kind of
look at it as it's a chance to be truly
a developmental program. Right, So even if you're good enough
to play as a freshman, great, you'll have that chance.
But more realistically, as you get to be sophomore and
jor senior, you're going to be able to develop in
learn the system heat and then probably not have as
much risk of being brought in by some mercenary kind
of person from another school at the last minute that
might take away.
Speaker 5: Your junior or senior year of being a loser.
Speaker 6: So it's just a different way that you have to
recruit toward. But we've got to do that here for
a long time. It's a special person that wants to
come and be a part of that. They see the
great opportunity here and then you have a chance to
do all that and play Division one athletics, which is
a really special thing, and do it right here in Annapolis,
which is a very very special.
Speaker 4: City to do it in, oh absolutely, and special players,
a special team last year as we turned toward football.
You got a chance to see the twenty twenty four
version of the midship and I'm close and personal. I
saw you at Raymond James Stadium and Navy beat South
Florida twenty eight seven on November ninth. I'm sure you've
had had plenty of, you know, conversations, you know, informally
with Coach Newberry. You know, during the times when either
you would travel with USF up to Annapolis or when
they came down last year. You know, I'm curious of
what you saw and what you noticed about Brian Newberry's
coach has a growth between you know, his first season
and his second season. Now that you're there in Annapolis,
the conversations that you're having with him, and how you
can see how this team is growing out of the
experience from last year's group.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm a huge Coach Newberry fan.
Speaker 6: What you know special about him is because not only
do I admire him from what I observed from AFAR,
but it's even more so a chance to work with
him day and day out. And I also know from
observing them from the seed at USF and working with
post bullis others like all the coaches respect and like
Brian Newberry too, So he just treats everybody he really will.
He's got a lot of respect and you know where
he's standing with them. But I think players like playing
with him, people like being around him. He speaks to
the vision and treats his staff and players with great
respect and does it his way. So I think he
is now settling in as a third year head coach.
I think he's even more confident before in his routine
and how he uh, you know, how how he handles
his staff and how he handles his a baks And
you could say we had zero departures from our staff
last year at Navy and at again, that just speaks
volumes dominated that that means, you know, kind of good
situation here and they were really like working with their
head coach and that that kind of speaks volume.
Speaker 5: So I'm excited about what's What's a hit.
Speaker 6: I think you've got a lot of returning production, which
is encouraging and we're excited about and see if you
get started a Saturday.
Speaker 4: Yeah, definitely going to talk about some of that returning
production that's coming here in just a moment.
Speaker 2: But I'm curious.
Speaker 4: You know, I heard coach you Berry say on the
radio Life this week he feels that, based on what
happened last year, he knows that Navy's not going to
sneak up on anybody on their schedule. How much pride
you personally, and do you see the team take in
knowing that there isn't a team in the country if
they saw Navy on their schedule, they're going, Ah, that's
gonna be nothing.
Speaker 2: They know they're in for. To put it kindly a fight, yeah,
I mean I've been.
Speaker 3: In that one.
Speaker 6: I worked it way four certainly at us I obviously
I've had a lifelong relationship with the Naval Academy.
Speaker 5: I mean, you always know that the midship are going
to give you all they've got. It's part of their DNA,
it's part of their training. So you know you're in
for a battle in that regard.
Speaker 6: And now when you've got a situation where the staff
is put together a very talented bunch and one that
is sitting back too. I've spoken of before playing together.
When you've got a situation with the rest of the country,
you know, it's.
Speaker 5: Hard for teams, no matter how talented they are, if you've.
Speaker 6: Got fifty sixty seventy new players on a roster, and
especially in the sport football, that's hard to put that together.
Speaker 5: It might take a couple of weeks or months to
get that together.
Speaker 6: So, you know, we like the experiment of being able
to be with the folks that have had a chance
to play together for quite some time. And but yeah,
that's that's what we're prime flow. We hope that our
teamwork and our ability to developed together is one that
will pay off for us more times than that.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'd love to hear your thoughts about getting to
do Blake Horbath and what you see about his leadership
with his teammates. I know he grew into that leader
last year with a with a great season, and he
was rewarded this year named to the Maxwell Award preseason
watch list being named as one of the preseason top
one hundred players in college football this year. How have
you seen Blake continue to grow not only as as
a football player, but as a as a midshipman and
as a person.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, even watching him from a party just
s he's kind of one of those unique and rare
figures that has that if factor, right, I mean someone
that's obviously very talented, but you can just kind of
sense his his confidence, knock cockiness, his confidence and ability
to perform at his best and to lean his team
and put his team first.
Speaker 5: I mean he you know, you know, as he comes
from a.
Speaker 6: Long tradition of great naming quarterbacks and he humbly doesn't
even consider him amongst those, amongst those greats, but his
his production last year, which is just.
Speaker 5: Otherwise, he's he's very very special.
Speaker 6: And when you get to have a captain like himself
and Landon Robinson as well, I mean, we've just got
some great, great leaders here that you know, make you
very very proud and the team.
Speaker 5: According with Yeah.
Speaker 4: And I saw Eli Hide and Rate named the Senior
Bowl three hundred. I excited you for him.
Speaker 6: And then that opportunity, oh, Eli and Alex Texas guys
from the same negh of the woods in Pennsylvania coming
together to I mean, some of these relationships go go deep, right,
and to say, to see great great people, great folks
that have played together and you know, obviously stars and
aren right to hopefully give us a lot of different
options to to score with and to be hard to
prepare for I think that's what's special and coach, you know,
the staffed being able to do some things that are
you know a lot of reasons compared to what maybe
might have done for years before that.
Speaker 5: This keep showing your toes and that's a certain way.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's gonna be it's gonna be fun to watch them.
Speaker 4: I just want to have one final thing for you, Michael,
after what pundits saw last year from Navy, you get
these three little initials that get whispered around a little
bit when they're talking about the midshipman and you hear
c FP and I can hear Coach Newberry right now,
don't think about it.
Speaker 2: I can't talk about it. You can't think about it.
Speaker 4: So how do you I'm sure that in the room
that that that's a lot easier said than done. But
when you're outside of the locker room, you you get
that all the whispers all the time.
Speaker 2: How do you? How do you? How do you handle that? Like?
Speaker 4: Because I'm sure people are coming up to you going, look,
you got vm I this week, you got AB after that,
and then all of a sudden, you know you've got
to You've got a tough second half. You can you
can start out six and oh or seven and oh,
and then you're gonna get into that tough stretch you've
got I know you have at Memphis, You're at.
Speaker 2: Notre Dame this year.
Speaker 4: Uh, you know, how do you keep you know that
little hey, you know, we'll keep the keep the schedule
watch on you out of your mind. I'm sure having
you know, eighteen other fall sports will probably help.
Speaker 5: Yeah, there's enough to look after eats and every day.
Speaker 6: No, I mean, obviously, anytime you can be thought of
as a contender in the American and looked at as
a as a you know what they call G six
or whatever, as a possible candidate to be thought of
four let CFP spot.
Speaker 5: I mean, you appreciate that.
Speaker 6: It's a recognition of the hard work of the people
that have been here and working really hard.
Speaker 5: But like coach Whoberry.
Speaker 6: Says, and might so many coaches say, you truly have
to take it one step at a time.
Speaker 5: I'm blessed the time of.
Speaker 6: Amra of Dirty who said, you know, headphones on and
make sure that you're not you're ground at all all
always and really concent trade a game the game, because again,
you have you one step at a time.
Speaker 5: You can.
Speaker 6: You can blow all those opportunities on one given Saturday.
Speaker 5: If you don't give it.
Speaker 6: You're all and you want to make sure that you're focused,
ready to roll.
Speaker 5: And so again you're.
Speaker 6: Grateful to be in that conversation, and they are, you know,
I mentioned being here earn that way to do so,
and now it's a matter of than locking in starting
a Saturday and taking it a week by a week
to a standpoint, and first the first focusing on the
American Conference, then focusing on when the man in chief,
and then you take care of those things, and good
things should happen on the national level as well.
Speaker 4: I certainly am hoping for all the best for Navy
this year. Of course, being a Navy veteran, I always
root for Navy first, uh, and then the the other
service academies when they're not playing Navy, UH, they also
get the support from me at at that point.
Speaker 2: But Michael, I wish you all the best. Congratulations on
the move.
Speaker 4: It looks like you're settling in quite well, and I
hope to catch you down the road some time here
later this year. And we're talking a little more about
the possibility of.
Speaker 2: That CF people. We won't talk about it right now.
Thank you again, Michael.
Speaker 5: I appreciate it well.
Speaker 6: Thanks for having me and pillowed all our friends back
in Tampa and the reporter saying the seeing them on
the USF comes up here in.
Speaker 4: The NOVM Absolutely, Thanks again, Michael, my thanks again to
Navy Athletic Director Michael Kelly for joining us. Stay tuned
as we will preview week one with all three service
Academies in action that is coming up next with Price
Atkinson and myself Steve Carney here on Yards and Stripes.
You're home for Service Academy Football.
Speaker 7: In two thousand and seven, Mareen 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 tra Vis Manion Foundation and through
TMF these words can live in you too. Show the
world what you're made of, because character is invisible until
it's not. Find out how you can strengthen the character
of your community. Alongside empowered veterans, families of the fallon,
and inspired civilians at Travismanion dot.
Speaker 1: Org the latest with Navy, Army and Air Force on
Yards and Stripes Service Academy Football.
Speaker 3: All right, welcome back in as we continue along on
episode one of Yards and Stripes the twenty twenty five
college football season. He is Steve Carneiro and Price Hackinson,
and we appreciate Michael Kelly, the new ad from the
Naval Academy joining us there with Steve in that last segment,
Steve great interview. Man. He is quite the personality. I
can't wait to meet him in person, hopefully one day soon.
Speaker 4: Yeah, he's absolutely fantastic. Loved being around him here in
Tampa at USF for the last seven years. You know,
full disclosure, I have produced USF football broadcast last four years,
so I've gotten to be around Michael Kelly quite a bit.
I was joking with him that the one thing that
we miss most about him is the fact that on
road games, our our pregame and postgame show hosts used
to sit in his office to do the to do
the pregame. In the post game, he used to raid
his fridge and and they were like, They're like, the
one thing we miss is we don't have Michael Kelly's
Fridge to Rade this year, which made him laugh and
and I'm sure we'll make my my my cohorts with
the USF Football Radio Network laugh as well. But yes,
we we are very happy for Michael and we wish
him all the success in the world at Navy. For
those of us at USF, we may not, we may
not wish it so much when he plays USF, but
we certainly love the fact that he is able to
go home to a place he's very familiar with and
take over, you know, a brand with such historic significance.
I think that a lot of a lot of people
will tell you the once in a lifetime opportunities that
you could have. You know, I'm sure you know some
of these coaches. You know if they go to Alabama
or they go to USC or Ohio State, you know
that those are once in a lifetime opportunities for coaches.
For athletic directors, it can be totally different. You look
at the historic significance. You know, Notre Dame is one
of those that I would say, you know, if the
ad job at Notre Dame goes up, comes up and
you don't want that job, maybe you don't want to
be an ad.
Speaker 8: Uh.
Speaker 4: So, you know, it's it's a it's a lot of pressure,
but it's it's a huge uh, it's a huge boost.
And I think that Navy is right up there with that.
The historical significance of name athletics, especially Navy football, which
is now going into its one hundred and thirty sixth season,
I think, you know, you certainly have to love the
fact that you've got a guy like Michael Kelly at
the helm.
Speaker 3: Well, I think, and you mentioned it kind of alluding
to it, without a doubt, all three of these or
worldwide brands, you know, most of these other programs in
college football, with the exception of obviously Notre Dame Alabama,
and you throw in a few others there, they're they
just most of these schools and programs they don't have
that worldwide, you know brand. And it's because of our
servicemen and women. It's because they're tied, you know, to
to the Air Force, to the Navy, into the you know,
the United States military. So you know, having those ties
is why so many people identify with Army, Navy, and
Air Force football. Whether you went to the academy, you're
a parent, whether you're somebody enlisted, active duty, you know,
former member, reserve, everybody. There's so many different, you know,
swaths of life that it kind of crosses over. And
so that's one of the things that I personally, and
I think you do too. I speak for myself. I
love about you know, all three of these teams that
you have people around the world that follow them, you know,
especially these big games, you know, Commandery Chief Trophy games
when bracking rights are on the line between the three teams.
So it's just something unique and what makes Service Academy
Football so unique and special Steve, and you know, like
you said, certainly happy for Michael Kelly. When you get
the chance to go home in a place that you
grew up, it's always, you know, it's always very special.
But it's gonna be special this weekend because we have
got kickoff, Steve, finally once and for all talking season.
It be over, man, it is here, and it starts
on Friday night. Let's start at West Point because I
think that when we do our picks here in the
last segment, we're probably going to be a clean sweep
with the type of opponents that all three of these
teams are going to be facing. But we'll start with
Army and Tarlatan hosting Tarleton State on Friday night, six
o'clock kickoff Eastern Standard Time on the CBS Sports Network.
It's a tripleheader on Friday and Saturday with all three
of our teams on CBS Sports Network. But Army right
now a big favorite, and I don't think they're gonna
have any kind of problems here with Tarleton State playing
one of their five home games this year.
Speaker 2: Steve No, You're absolutely right.
Speaker 4: I think that you know, as as much as Charlton
State is going to love the pageantry of Opening week
at Mikey Stadium, I certainly feel that this is going
to be the Dwayne Coleman show. I think this is
the opportunity that Dwayne Coleman has to put his name
on the ledger. I think that you know, after you know,
forty one total touchdowns last year from the quarterback position
with Bryson Daily, you know that you're not Bryce. If
you're Dwayne Coleman, you have to understand you're not Bryson Daily.
You don't don't try to be Bryson Daily. B Dwayne
Coleman and and guys will follow you and there and
so I really think that you look at with with
him uh. And then the fact of the matter been
not having Kanye Udo. As you mentioned earlier in the show,
he has been he has transferred out West, He's at
Arizona State. Now this is going to be about Noah Short.
For me, I think that this is another guy that
you that you want to keep an eye on. You know,
eight hundred and eighty seven all purpose yards, five touchdowns
last year.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 4: I think he's going to be the guy that Dwayne
Coleman's gonna have to lean on. Uh and and especially
late and late in the game. You want to see
him uh being able at before they because I think
at some point this is the game where Jeff Funkin
is going to be able to get his second third
string guys uh some time, get them some playing time.
Especially if this becomes a laugh like we expect it's
going to be late. I think that no is short
It's going to be a big reason why it becomes
a laugh for late.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Look, it's worth pointing out. And while I do
think that Army will win the football game, we'll get
the picks in a little bit. This is probably, in
my opinion, you're going to be the closest of all
three of the games. Because you know, Charloton State was
pretty during good last year. You know, obviously they're one
to zero to start in the season right now. They
hammered Portland State last weekend forty two to zero. Were
dominant on both sides of the football. But you know
they were a top ten FCS team last year. Steve
made it to the second round of the playoffs. So
the Texans aren't a team that's going to go quietly
into the night. You know, the biggest thing when it
comes to FCS teams is you just don't know how
much they got hammered and poached when it comes to
the transfer portal, because when you have success in a
place like Charlton, the bigger programs they're going to start
knocking on your door. How many of those guys did
they retain? I personally don't know, But what I do
know is it's a team of Texans is going to
come in and not back down at Army. But I
still like Army in a close one to get it
done at home.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think you're absolutely right in that in that vein.
I think that for Charlton State to have any sort
of chance to try and you know, even have an
opportunity to win this game. You say, maybe close, but
for them to maybe come out with a victory, they've
got to have everything go right.
Speaker 2: They've got to have Army make mistakes.
Speaker 4: And you know what Jeff Bunkin led team, especially after
what happened last year with the Army Navy game. You know,
you and I have seen this. You know, Army players
have all had twelve thirteen twenty five put on all
of their gear this year. Of course that is the
next time Army plays Navy, and it is and they
have been working so hard this offseason, through the spring
and even through the summer to make sure that they're
ready to try and make that run at twelve thirteen
to twenty five. Tarlton State's running back Trey Page the
third had a big day against Portland State.
Speaker 2: As you mentioned, they win forty two to nothing in
that game.
Speaker 4: You know, I think that Tarlton, you know, if they're
gonna have any sort of success, they've got to command
the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 2: I think that's gonna be very.
Speaker 4: Tough for them.
Speaker 3: Yep, once again, Friday night six o'clock kickoff Tarleton State
and Army on the CBS Sports Network. Army a big
sixteen and a half point favorite, the one line we've
seen all right. Moving into Saturday VMI at the Naval Academy,
this one from Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, twelve noon
kickoff on the CBS Sports Network. Sure, maybe gonna be
a massive favorite against a vm I team. They only
won one game last year and has only won six
games the last what three years combined, So it's a
team that has continuously struggled out of the Southern Conference.
It's at the FCS level. And then you know, of
course taking that step up against you know, not a
fellow academy but a fellow military school, this is going
to be just quite in the tall order. If this
sing it and over at halftime, I'll be utterly shocked.
I mean, I think Navy hangs at least forty on
them in the first half. But you know, again, first
game of the season, but with Navy having so many
guys back, I would expect them to come out of
the gates firing and not have a lot of trouble
before being able to play. Basically everybody else on the
on the bench and then start pulling people out of
the student body there late in the fourth.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it certainly seems that way.
Speaker 4: I mean, this is the eleventh time that that Navy
and VMI will meet, going all the way back to
eighteen ninety eight, and eight of those the previous ten
meetings have taken place in Annapolis, the last one coming
in twenty fourteen, so it's been eleven years since Navy
and vm I have squared off. That game is a
fifty one to fourteen, uh decision, and I certainly feel
like it's going to end up being something very similar
because you know, I Navy is the cream of of
the crop in my opinion, in.
Speaker 2: The American Athletic Conference.
Speaker 4: All right, say the American Conference this year, Yeah, there's
no there's no athletic They've they've scratched the athletic out
of It is just the American that's gonna take some
getting used to, for sure.
Speaker 2: But Uh, I look at where Navy is.
Speaker 3: They have a mascot too, Steven, not to interrupt you,
how about them being the only conference that has a mascot?
Speaker 4: Now, seriously, you think I'm getting I know, I know
it's let's let's let's not uh, let's let's not get
into it now.
Speaker 2: I really kind of.
Speaker 3: Soar the eagle, all right, keep continue on. I'm sorry,
I just had to throw that in there, not to
make fun of the AAC excuse me, the American Conference,
and soar violay.
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker 4: So here's here's the thing that you want to look
for with Navy getting not not just getting the win,
but getting the statement. When you look at it, the
last five times the Navy that Navy is won its
season opener, it's gone on to playing a ball game.
That's always a very very good sign. So you want
you want to be able to do that, you know, obviously,
I think that there's going to be uh, it's going
to be one of those laughers like we were talking
about last time was fifty one to fourteen. Would not
be surprised to see something very similar this year.
Speaker 3: Yep, totally agoring. I think this one is going to
be over before the key debts and get off the
bus again. Twelve noon kickoff from a Navy Marine Corps
Memorial Stadium on the CBS Sports Network VM Navy and
then finally the Air Force Academy. They will be kicking
off a at three thirty Eastern three thirty pm Eastern
Standard time, a one thirty kick there locally on the
CBS Sports Network as the Falcons hosting Buttnell and Troy
Calhoun over the years, and he's and openers, he's about
as good as it gets there, but especially open against
the Bison out of the Patriot League. I think this
one's gonna be a whole lot like v M I
and Navy, where this one's pretty much over from the
get go. However, you know, coming into this this season,
in this game, a lot of question marks for a
Falcon team that you know needs to rise to the
occasion this year and get back to playing that type
of air force football that we were accustomed to seeing.
Who will it be? Will it be Josh Johnson under center?
I personally think that's who will be the guy because
he got some had some experience last year. Or will
be Liam Sarko, You know, they both they both obviously
have things that are they're going for him. But I
really think that Johnson, you know, the size and able
to run the football and maybe be able to throw
it a little bit. This year, I think Johnson is
going to be the guy. But they've got to find
a way to run the football. Look for Air Force
to try to establish that ground game early.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that if they can't, If they can't
do that, I think they're in They're in big They're
in big trouble.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 4: You know, I I do agree Josh Johnson makes the
most sense uh to get the start.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 4: You know, it would not surprise me if this does
become a laugher to see Sarka at some point in
the second half.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 4: Maybe, especially if they get out to you know, if
it's forty two seven at halftime, you could see Sarka
play the entire second half. If not, I certainly could
see Sarka playing the entire fourth quarter of this game,
especially if they get out to a big, a big
stretch early. I think that, you know, with the the
way that they were unable to run the football last
year as opposed two years past. I mean, the Air
Force has always been one of those teams you expect
to see them in the two hundred and eighty to
two hundred and ninety yards of rushing, not the two
hundred and twenty yards that we saw a lot last year.
Speaker 2: If they're if they're at.
Speaker 4: If they're at one hundred and ninety or two hundred
yard at the half, things are gonna go well. If
they're at one hundred or one hundred and ten yards rushing.
This could definitely be kind of a scary proposition, but
I think it's gonna be a lot more of the
former than.
Speaker 2: It is the latter.
Speaker 3: All right. That is Bucknell and Air Force, Saturday, three
thirty Eastern Standard time on the CBS Sports Network. That's
our previews of all three of our games. We'll pick
our games here coming up when we come back to
wrap up this edition of the season opening Yards and
Stripes episode, we got our Travis Man Foundation Honorall segment
that will tell you about which will start next week.
So if you're new to the podcast, we'll we'll let
you know about the TMF hon Roll and we'll pick
some games coming up here on Yards and Stripes with
Steve Carney on Price Atkinson as we roll along here
as we are part of once again the College Gridiron
Coast to Coast podcast network. Find us on last Word
on sports dot Com. Wherever is you get your podcast,
hit that subscribe button you'll be We'll get your episod
so delivered to you every single week. Stephen, We'll be
right back.
Speaker 8: Travis mallon Foundations. Nine to eleven Heroes run five k
ra 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 heroesrun dot org.
Speaker 1: The latest with Navy, Army and Air Force on Yards
and Stripes Service Academy Football.
Speaker 3: All right, we're headed for home here on Yards and Stripes.
See Steve Farney on Price Atkinson final segment of the
very first episode of the twenty twenty five college football season.
Again part of the College Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast Network.
Subscribe wherever it is you get your podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
just to name a few. As week will come to
you every single week during the college football season. Army, Navy,
and Air Force. That is what we do here, and
what we're going to do now is we are going
to pick some games, Steve, because we got three of them.
Let's start with the first one. Tarleton State and Army
on Friday night at six PM. I told you in
that last segment, I think this is probably gonna be
the closest game of all three of our games. What
say ye on this one?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 4: I tend to agree that this is going to be
the closest, but it's still, in.
Speaker 2: My mind not going to be that close.
Speaker 4: So I think that at least Charlton State will be
the only one of these teams to get more than
one score on a team out. I'm going to put
that out there that they're the only Service Academy opponent
that's going to get more than one score. I actually
think that they're going to end up with somewhere in
the vicinity of fourteen to seventeen points. So I'm going
to say it's going to be it's going to be
Army thirty three Carlton State fourteen.
Speaker 3: Okay, three to fourteen. I think Army. It's gonna We're
pretty close on Army's score, but I think it's gonna
be much closer. I've got Army winning thirty to twenty four.
And I think Tarlton State building off last season especially
one of the things they get when you get to
play Week zero, you get to find out a little
bit about your team a week before everybody else. I
know they're gonna go on the road, have to leave
the state of Texas and go up to go up
to Mikey. But I think they're gonna put a scare
into Army. I think Army is gonna pull away, but
I think Tarleton's gonna hang around, maybe get a late
score to make it look maybe a little bit closer
than what the score is, but I think it's gonna
be closer. I think a lot of people are gonna
be turning their heads to see whoa this was a
less than a ten point game. Just my opinion. So
I've got Army thirty to twenty four, all right. In
the Naval Academy, they're opening up against vm MY at Saturday,
Saturday at twelve noon at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
I don't think there's any doubt we've you know, we
like both Navy over VMI a lot to a little.
I'll fire a I've got Navy fifty four to nine.
I think they're gonna run wild in the first half
and then shut her down when they come out in
the second half.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you and I certainly have very very close when
it comes to this, I have Navy fifty five v.
Speaker 2: I seven.
Speaker 4: I think that you're gonna you're gonna be seeing second
and third stringers early, and I think that this is
gonna be a shutter down session here as you as
you said, uh, second half, I would I would not
be surprised, like if this was high school, there would
be a running clock early early on in this game.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So, but yeah, I said, I have fifty five seven.
Speaker 3: All right. Finally, air Force and Bucknell three thirty on Saturday,
three thirty Eastern Standard time. You know, Troy Calhoun usually
not having trouble with those openers, especially when they're playing
them in the springs. I don't think they're gonna have
trouble in this one. Although I don't think it's gonna
be a runaway blowout. I think it's gonna be air
Force to something around the tune of twenty eight to
ten win comfortably, not to blowing anybody, you know, blowing
the doors off anybody. But I do think they're going
to get back to their winning lays and get off
to a good start. What's going to be a difficult
opening first half of the season for the Falcons.
Speaker 4: Absolutely but I certainly think that they're going to grind
down Bucknell in this game, and I think they get
a late score in this game to make it look
a little look a little better. I have air Force
thy one buck Nell three in this game. But like
I said, you get a late score, you know, you
go from a three touchdown to a four touchdown game.
In that sense, you probably feel a lot better about yourself.
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, all right, before we get out the door,
I want to tell you about the Travis Mannion Foundation
because we like to end the podcast or wrap up
the podcast with the Travis Manning Foundation Honorall segment where
you honor remember a fallen hero that has given the
ultimate sacrifice. And you know, in the words that Travis
spoke before leaving on his final deployment, if not me,
then who? And the Travis Manning Foundation is uniting communities
to strengthen our country by empowering, you know, veterans and
families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations.
And so right now they have their heroes nine to
eleven heroes run that's going on that you can sign
up to participate virtually or at a race near you.
They have events going on all through the season. You
can find out a lot more online at Travismanion dot org.
But once again, you know, TMF empowering these families that
have lost loved ones to help develop character in these
future generations that are coming up. And so there's just
a myriad of programs that TMF is engaged with with
the with the families you know, and these grieving families
at that too. So if you'd like to find out
how you can get involved in TMF, just go online
at Travismanian dot org. We will begin our Travismanian Foundation
honorall segments honoring those fallen heroes. We will do one,
you know, at the end of the podcast every single week,
so those will begin next week, so be on the
lookout to me. Is one of the special things that
we do because, as we all know, Steve, our freedom
is not free. You were a veteran, you served, and
so many I think people right now listening to us
serving or did serve. So we cannot say thank you
enough to them, and certainly people like you, Steve, who
have just given so much to our country. So we
say thank you, and it's just one of those ways
we honor those heroes, Steve, that means so much to us.
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
Speaker 4: And you mentioned the foundation, Travis Manian Foundation so great
and they have a number of amazing stories. As you mentioned,
you go to Travismanion dot org. Not only can you
find out how to sign up for your nine to
eleven Heroes run and find out how you can donate,
not just your money if you have the money to spare,
but donate your time in the local areas. But they
have a ton of stories about the families who have
suffered the law sees of a service member giving milkit
sacrifice and what they've been able to do to not
so much recover, but be able to help other families
who are going on they're going through this situation. It's
an incredible it's an incredible organization to help out and
I'm so glad that we get an opportunity every week
to do so well.
Speaker 3: I'm glad that we get a chance every week to
do this. You and me, Steve, it's it's a lot
of fun to get the band back together. Awesome interview
with Michael Kelly. We appreciate him for joining us. Great
job with that interview, Steve. I hope everybody enjoyed that one.
We'll have more guests that join us, you know, here
and there throughout the season. All right, Steve, we will
wrap this thing up. I hope everybody enjoys the games.
I know everybody's been counting down to kick off Friday night,
at least in our World Service Academy World Thursday night,
you're gonna have games, certainly Friday night, Army, Tarlatan State,
and then boy Saturday. If you're gonna do anything else
except burn up batteries and you're remote, that's what I'm
spend all afternoon. Hopefully I'll go to at least a
couple of sets by the time we turned the clock
to Sunday. But I just can't wait for these games, Steve,
you know, real quick, I've you're miss I know he
passed away last year, but this will be the first
full season. Pete Medhurst not in the booth for the
Naval Academy, certainly somebody that was a friend of ours.
I just wanted to make mention really quickly on the
way out the door. Mike James and Keenan Reynolds, they're
gonna be joining the Navy Radio Network. Joe Miller will
officially or now has officially moved into that play by
play chair that Pete served for so long as one
of the greatest play by play voices, maybe the greatest
ever Navy history. But want to wish you know, Joe Miller,
somebody that's a good friend, wish him luck as he
moves into that chair, and certainly Mike James and Keena
Reynolds joining the Navy Radio network. So I just wanted
to mention that on the way out the door, Steve.
But once again, we will be with you once a
week all season here on the College Gridiron Coast to
Coast podcast at work, check us out on last Word
on sports dot com, wherever it is you get your podcasts, Spotify,
Apple Podcasts, just search Yards and Stripes. You will get
it delivered right to you. Steve. I hope I got
everything on the way out of the door. If I
didn't let me know.
Speaker 2: My man, Absolutely, I think you got everything.
Speaker 4: Definitely, you know, I definitely have to echo the sentiments
about about Med. You know, he is a good friend
for both of both of ours, and our thoughts go
out to Brenda, his wife, who you know. I'm sure
this is going to be a very tough week for
you know, the first week that you know he's not
going to be there to start a season. And I'm
sure this has definitely been a very very tough time
for her, but definitely want to send a love out
to Brenda as well.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, we'll be back next week here on Yards and Stripes.
We've got game balls to give out. We will do
that next week here on Yards and Stripes, your home
for Service Academy Football. Thanks for listening. We'll see you
next week.
Speaker 1: Join us again next time for Yards and strikee Service
Academy Football. To get more on all things Service Academy Football,
like Yards and Stripes on Facebook and follow them on
Twitter at Yards and Stripes, and make sure that you're
subscribing to the College Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast feed
on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google and wherever you get your podcasts.