Go Army, Beat Navy!
When Army and Navy kickoff this Saturday in Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, it will be the 118th playing of the historic rivalry.
The rivalry record currently stands at 59 wins for Navy, 49 victories for Army, and seven ties.
For the majority of my Army career, I was unable to attend the Army/Navy game. As the pace of deployments slowed and I was able to garner duty locations on the East Coast, I was able to attend a number of games during Navy's 14-game winning streak. Last year was the first year I took my entire family to the game, and fortunately, Army ended that awful streak.
For me, Army/Navy is a combination of the Super Bowl, Thanksgiving, and Mardi Gras. You get to attend a football game with people that are like family, and it is a very festive atmosphere. I will not be attending this year, but Saturday's game promises to be one of the best in decades -- these teams are evenly matched.
One of my former history professors from my time at West Point sends an Army Football report to a distributions list of interested individuals each week. It is kind of a "Deep State" situation report. In his preview of this year's classic, he highlighted the stats that point to this being a virtual toss-up.
I have no prediction on this one. I can predict my mental state following the game will definitely be greatly affected by the outcome. I will be watching the game with some long-time Army friends that are like family, and the atmosphere will be festive. Go Army, Beat Navy!
Resources for further Army/Navy game reading:
Dan Head's game preview can be found on his blog, Casa Cabeza. I recommend you stick around on his blog and read the first chapter of his memoir -- it will resonate with military brats and anyone that has lived in Northern Virginia.
For every detail possible, see the Game Notes produced by the Army Athletic Department.
I got no time for the whining by Ohio State fans
This year's college football playoff will include Clemson (12-1, ACC champ), Oklahoma (12-1, Big 12 champ), Georgia (12-1, SEC champ) and Alabama (12-1, SEC West runner-up). After the announcement of the final four teams, I saw many Ohio State fans bemoaning their Buckeyes being left out of the playoffs in my Facebook feed. Marc Tracy of the New York Times wrote a great explanation of the ensuing furor and debate.
Ohio State is 11-2, and beat #6 Wisconsin in the Big Ten Conference championship game Saturday night. The Buckeyes had three wins over Top 25 teams this year (#9 Penn State and #16 Michigan State, along with that win over Wisconsin), but had one unsightly 31-point loss to un-ranked Iowa. Their only other loss came at the hands of Oklahoma in Columbus, Ohio.
The crux of Ohio State fan anger is that their boys were conference champions and Alabama was not. They also don't like that the Crimson Tide did not beat one team as highly ranked as the three Top 25 teams the Buckeyes beat this year. There is some merit here, but Ohio State is not the team that can make this argument.
Last year, a one-loss, non-conference champion Ohio State team was included in the playoffs. A two-loss, Big Ten conference champion Penn State was not included. Oh, by the way, the Nittany Lions beat the Buckeyes 24-21 last year at Happy Valley, Pennsylvania, too.
The same advantage that was given to Ohio State over Penn State last year, was given to Alabama over Ohio State this year. The sword cut one way last year, and the SAME WAY this year. The Buckeyes were just on the opposite side this time.
One last thing to remember, when the committee put their faith in Ohio State last year, that faith was not repaid. Clemson hammered Ohio State 31-0 in the semifinal round. Interesting, a 31-point loss got them last year and this year.
I would love to see the Big Ten represented in the college football playoff again this year, but I don't have any problem with Alabama getting in over Ohio State.
Minimal time for hoops this time around: Pacers, Hoosiers quick hit
The Indiana Pacers throttled the New York Knicks 115-97 Monday night to halt a 2-game losing streak. Dylan Hughes of 8points9seconds.com gave good grades all around in his recap.
As I write this, the Pacers are off to a sluggish start against the Chicago Bulls, and they have the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. They need to get that win tonight, or they will most likely be sitting at 0.500 on Saturday morning.
Check out my man Lance Stephenson making them dance at about 0:50 into this clip!
The Indiana Hoosiers rebounded from a 69-55 loss to Michigan on Saturday with a 77-64 victory over Iowa at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, Monday night. Indiana has moved their overall record to 5-4, and are now 1-1 in Big Ten play.
Zach Osterman of the IndyStar credits the latest victory to the proper execution of coach Archie Miller's defensive fundamentals, quality play by Juwan Morgan (Jr., F), and getting to the free throw line. Things are looking better since the season opening loss to Indiana State, but Louisville looms on Saturday at 2 p.m..
That's actually perfect -- I will watch some of that prior to the Army/Navy game.
The rivalry record currently stands at 59 wins for Navy, 49 victories for Army, and seven ties.
For the majority of my Army career, I was unable to attend the Army/Navy game. As the pace of deployments slowed and I was able to garner duty locations on the East Coast, I was able to attend a number of games during Navy's 14-game winning streak. Last year was the first year I took my entire family to the game, and fortunately, Army ended that awful streak.
For me, Army/Navy is a combination of the Super Bowl, Thanksgiving, and Mardi Gras. You get to attend a football game with people that are like family, and it is a very festive atmosphere. I will not be attending this year, but Saturday's game promises to be one of the best in decades -- these teams are evenly matched.
One of my former history professors from my time at West Point sends an Army Football report to a distributions list of interested individuals each week. It is kind of a "Deep State" situation report. In his preview of this year's classic, he highlighted the stats that point to this being a virtual toss-up.
- Jeff Sagarin's computer ratings have Navy at 62nd in the nation, and Army ranked 63rd.
- The two service academies were both 2-1 against common opponents.
- Navy beat Tulane 23-21 in Annapolis, while Army lost to Tulane 21-17 in New Orleans.
- Both teams beat Air Force; Navy by a 48-45 score at Annapolis, and Army by a 21-0 tally in Colorado.
- Navy lost to Temple at Lincoln Financial 34-26, but Army beat the Owls 31-28 at West Point.
- Army has the #1 ranked rushing attack at more than 368 yards a game, while Navy has the 2nd rated ground game with just over 347 yards a game.
I have no prediction on this one. I can predict my mental state following the game will definitely be greatly affected by the outcome. I will be watching the game with some long-time Army friends that are like family, and the atmosphere will be festive. Go Army, Beat Navy!
Army/Navy 2016 outside of M and T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. I am sorry that I will miss this combination of the Super Bowl, Thanksgiving, and Mardi Gras this year. Go get 'em, fellas!
Resources for further Army/Navy game reading:
Dan Head's game preview can be found on his blog, Casa Cabeza. I recommend you stick around on his blog and read the first chapter of his memoir -- it will resonate with military brats and anyone that has lived in Northern Virginia.
For every detail possible, see the Game Notes produced by the Army Athletic Department.
I got no time for the whining by Ohio State fans
This year's college football playoff will include Clemson (12-1, ACC champ), Oklahoma (12-1, Big 12 champ), Georgia (12-1, SEC champ) and Alabama (12-1, SEC West runner-up). After the announcement of the final four teams, I saw many Ohio State fans bemoaning their Buckeyes being left out of the playoffs in my Facebook feed. Marc Tracy of the New York Times wrote a great explanation of the ensuing furor and debate.
Ohio State is 11-2, and beat #6 Wisconsin in the Big Ten Conference championship game Saturday night. The Buckeyes had three wins over Top 25 teams this year (#9 Penn State and #16 Michigan State, along with that win over Wisconsin), but had one unsightly 31-point loss to un-ranked Iowa. Their only other loss came at the hands of Oklahoma in Columbus, Ohio.
The crux of Ohio State fan anger is that their boys were conference champions and Alabama was not. They also don't like that the Crimson Tide did not beat one team as highly ranked as the three Top 25 teams the Buckeyes beat this year. There is some merit here, but Ohio State is not the team that can make this argument.
Last year, a one-loss, non-conference champion Ohio State team was included in the playoffs. A two-loss, Big Ten conference champion Penn State was not included. Oh, by the way, the Nittany Lions beat the Buckeyes 24-21 last year at Happy Valley, Pennsylvania, too.
The same advantage that was given to Ohio State over Penn State last year, was given to Alabama over Ohio State this year. The sword cut one way last year, and the SAME WAY this year. The Buckeyes were just on the opposite side this time.
One last thing to remember, when the committee put their faith in Ohio State last year, that faith was not repaid. Clemson hammered Ohio State 31-0 in the semifinal round. Interesting, a 31-point loss got them last year and this year.
I would love to see the Big Ten represented in the college football playoff again this year, but I don't have any problem with Alabama getting in over Ohio State.
Minimal time for hoops this time around: Pacers, Hoosiers quick hit
The Indiana Pacers throttled the New York Knicks 115-97 Monday night to halt a 2-game losing streak. Dylan Hughes of 8points9seconds.com gave good grades all around in his recap.
As I write this, the Pacers are off to a sluggish start against the Chicago Bulls, and they have the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. They need to get that win tonight, or they will most likely be sitting at 0.500 on Saturday morning.
Check out my man Lance Stephenson making them dance at about 0:50 into this clip!
The Indiana Hoosiers rebounded from a 69-55 loss to Michigan on Saturday with a 77-64 victory over Iowa at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, Monday night. Indiana has moved their overall record to 5-4, and are now 1-1 in Big Ten play.
Zach Osterman of the IndyStar credits the latest victory to the proper execution of coach Archie Miller's defensive fundamentals, quality play by Juwan Morgan (Jr., F), and getting to the free throw line. Things are looking better since the season opening loss to Indiana State, but Louisville looms on Saturday at 2 p.m..
That's actually perfect -- I will watch some of that prior to the Army/Navy game.
This is what victory looks like to a starved fan base. Let's sing second.
As a complete homer of an Ohio State fan I'm a little surprised to find myself agreeing with you Joe. I sat watching the selection show and had a sense of relief that this year's very flawed Buckeye team would not have to face Clemson. I felt a little guilty for not wanting my team to have a chance, but this isn't Wisconsin or TCU. Ohio State will get the chance and better that it comes when they are ready - they are not #4 . But, I'm not convinced Alabama is # 4 either. They proved again that a combination of reputation and domination of a mediocre schedule is a good recipe for making the playoffs (I get the irony). What I would like to see is OSU to play Alabama. This year it would be a great defensive struggle with a combined five legit NFL running backs pounding the ball.
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