The Sports Xchange
NCAAF Team Report – Army – INSIDE SLANT
Knights look for upset and CIC Trophy
It has been a long, LONG time since Army won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy signifying supremacy in the round robin played among the three academies.
1996.
Now, the Black Knights, who haven’t had a good season, have the chance to win the CIC again, thanks to an earlier win over Air Force earlier this season.
In other words, the Army-Navy game, which always has sentimental value, really means something this time around.
“Obviously, that brings something to it,” Army coach Rich Ellerson said at the Army-Navy press conference. “We didn’t win much, but we won just enough to bring a little extra drama to this game.
“From the moment these guys got to West Point, every building and everybody’s front door says, ‘Beat Navy’ and ‘Beat Air Force.’ There is so much on the table for them.”
That’s what it’s really all about for these programs. Beat each other and the final record doesn’t matter much. Going to a bowl is second on the agenda, after winning the CIC.
But don’t be mistaken; this is a truly uphill battle for Army, which comes in 2-9, with wins over Air Force and Boston College and a loss to FCS Stony Brook.
Army hasn’t beaten Navy since 2001.
The last time the Knights played, they were torched for 351 yards and seven touchdowns by Temple running back Montel Harris in a 63-32 loss to the Owls that closed Army’s home season.
Not the best way to go into the game against 7-4 Navy, which has won six of its last seven games to reach a bowl for the ninth time in the last 10 years.
“It’s a game with a lot riding on, and even more this year with the CIC Trophy,” said quarterback Trent Steelman, whose record-book college career comes to an end with this game. “It’s going to be a challenge to balance those emotions, and I think the team that does that better will be better off.”
Said Ellerson: “I can’t prove it on the scoreboard, but I know we’re gaining on them. We believe this is a fair fight. Nobody needs to have an out-of-body experience in order for Army to win this game.”
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NCAAF Team Report – Army – NOTES, QUOTES
–Army fell to 2-9, 2-5 at home, with the 63-32 loss to Montel Harris (seven touchdowns) and Temple Nov. 17. The two Army wins were over Boston College and Air Force.
–The victory over Air Force allowed the Black Knights to play Navy, which also beat Air Force, to play for the coveted Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. Army hasn’t won it since 1996 and hasn’t beaten Navy since 2001. “We don’t harp on it, but sometimes it’s hard to ignore,” said defensive end Jarrett Mackey. “We see the history and know we haven’t beaten Navy since 2001, haven’t won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy since 1996. It’s hurtful. This year, we have a chance to end both of those droughts. If we could walk away with a victory against Navy and the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, it would be a great steppingstone for the future of Army football.”
–Army has been outscored by Navy, 349-112, during Navy’s 10-game series winning streak.
–The Knights ended a 13-game CIC losing streak with the Nov. 3 win over Air Force.
–Athletic director Boo Corrigan again supported coach Rich Ellerson in an interview with the Middletown Times Herald-Record, saying, “Yes, 100 percent. I’m behind him and with him. We’ve tweaked and we’ve gone to morning practices and we’ve tried different things. It’s an ever-evolving place. The one constant at West Point is change. You get a new commandant. You get a new BTO (Brigade Tactical Officer). You get new tactical officers. It’s an ever-changing environment. But, it’s been that way for 210 years. I’m not trying to change the system but we’ve got to find our niche.”
–Army kept its CIC hopes alive with a 41-21 drubbing of Air Force on Nov. 3, just under a month after Navy beat Air Force 28-21 in overtime.
–The Knights lost the turnover battle yet again against Temple, the program 2-9 since 2009 when doing so. Army is 2-16 in the last 18 games where has been a turnover-margin loss.
–Army, which leads the country in rushing, eclipsed the 4,000-yard rushing plateau for the second straight season and needs just 91 yards on the ground against Navy to set a program rushing record for the second straight season.
–The 63 points scored by Temple were the most against Army since Stanford scored 62 Oct. 4, 1975.
–The 351 yards and seven touchdowns by Montel Harris both set records by an opponent.
–While Navy was third in the country in fewest penalties and yards per game, Army was sixth.
SERIES HISTORY: Navy leads Army, 56-49-7 (last meeting, 2011, 27-21 Navy)
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: The Trent Steelman-led offense has been a rushing machine all season and will try to out-option Navy in the big game. Turnovers have been a major problem but the wins over Air Force and Boston College showed what this group can do if things go right. Navy is not a defensive machine, sitting 63rd in the country in rushing defense, so one would think the Knights would be able to move the football.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: The young group just got run over by Montel Harris and Temple and now faces an offense it sees every day in practice. The difference is Navy freshman quarterback Keenan Reynolds will throw the ball and has been effective doing it. Army is 25th in the country against the pass, but 122nd (of 124) against the run, so you might look for Navy to try to shove the ball down the Black Knights’ throats.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I’m totally ready. I hate this whole three weeks off thing. The coaches, I think, like it a lot more than the players do because they can prepare. As players, we’re ready to play. You could give us five days off and we’d be ready to play Navy. Healing up is great, especially because it’s been a rough season, but I’m ready to play.” — LB Nate Combs on the upcoming Navy game.
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NCAAF Team Report – Army – STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THIS WEEK’S GAME: Army vs. Navy, at Philadelphia, Dec. 8 — The annual game has more meaning this season because the Black Knights, despite being just 2-9, have a chance to win the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for the first since 1996. But it will take the first win over bowl-bound Navy since 2001. Navy is expected to again win “America’s Game” and we’ll see if Army can make this a game.
KEYS TO THE GAME: It usually comes down to two things with Army: the ability to hang onto the ball and not getting run over on defense. Somehow, this team that gave up 351 yards and seven touchdowns to Temple’s Montel Harris, has to figure out a way to limit Navy’s triple option, which now includes a passes.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
QB Trent Steelman — This is his final game. He had a record kind of day in the 63-32 loss to Temple Nov. 17. He ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns, the three scores allowing him to pass the great Glenn Davis and set the program TD record with 44. His 1,152 yards broke the Army QB rushing record (Tory Crawford, 1986) and he needs 87 yards against Navy to set the program’s single-season rushing mark. His 18 points Saturday made him second all-time and his 12th 100-yard game also moved him into second place on THAT list. His fifth straight 100-yard game is also a record and his 16 touchdowns is second to Carlton Jones’ 17 in 2004.
RB Raymond Maples — He ran for 94 yards on 15 carries against Temple, the sophomore clearing the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season. He is the third Army player with two 1,000-yard seasons and he and Steelman became only the second pair of Army 1,000-yard runners. Their 2,211 combined yards are second on the program’s all-time list for a duo. He also dropped a pitch, one of Army’s two lost fumbles in the game.
WR Chevaughn Lawrence — He caught a 47-yard pass from Steelman (to the Temple 3), and while you don’t often talk about a wide receiver on an option team, this guy has caught at least one pass in nine straight games. It is the longest Army streak since Jeremy Trimble did in 22 straight over2006 and 2007. Perhaps he can be a surprise key in this game against Navy.
ROSTER REPORT
–LB Nate Combs could have played a fifth year next season because a knee injury all but wiped out his sophomore season. However, he has decided not to play and has accepted his assignment to branch infantry. “I’m so injury prone right now,” Combs told the Middletown Times Herald-Record. “It’s tough for me to get out there during the week and practice with my guys let alone a whole another season. It’s just one of those decisions. Can I do it? I love the game. But I think it’s also time … This season, all the banged-up (foot and shoulder) injuries just kind of confirmed it.”
–S Hayden Pierce, who has missed the last six games with a broken Collarbone, and OT Ben Jebb, out the last two with foot and ankle trouble, were both practicing and set to return for Navy.
–RB Terry Baggett was trying to make it back on the field for the first time since suffering a fractured kneecap in Game 2. “I’m not sure how close to the field he needs to be,” coach Rich Ellerson said Nov. 28. “There’s an awful lot of rust on that engine right now. I think that would be asking an awful lot. He is practicing. Tomorrow (Thursday), he’ll be on the ground some. That’s going to be great for a lot of reasons just going forward. Can he play a role next Saturday? To be determined.”
–LB Geoffrey Bacon led Army with 10 tackles in the loss to Temple, his eighth double-digit tackling game of the season. Through Nov. 30, he was sixth in the nation with 11.09 tackles per game.
–K Eric Osteen, a senior who had just been kicking off, kicked the first field goal of his college career, a 37-yarder, but also missed one of his two extra points.
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