Army-Navy at a Glance

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NAVY KEY: KAIPO MUST BE SHARP

Navy is expected to start Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada at quarterback today and that is somewhat a roll of the dice since the senior has not played in more than a month. Kaheaku-Enhada has been sidelined with a nagging hamstring injury since leaving the Temple game during the third quarter on Nov. 1. Navy needs Kaheaku-Enhada to be sharp and at full speed in order to win. At his best, the native Hawaiian is a master at directing the triple-option offense. However, Kaheaku-Enhada was clearly tentative, a step slow and had no burst versus Temple. Head coach Ken Niumatalolo must gauge quickly if Kaheaku-Enhada is close to 100 percent and be prepared to insert sophomore Ricky Dobbs if he is not.

ARMY KEY: FORCE A COUPLE TURNOVERS

This game figures to have very few possessions since both teams have run-based option offenses that tend to take considerable time off the clock. It is quite possible that both teams might get the ball just six or seven times. Army would greatly increase its chances of an upset by forcing a couple turnovers. A dream scenario would be for those fumbles or interceptions to come in Navy territory.

SERIES HISTORY: Navy leads 52-49-7 and has won six straight, most in the 109-year history of the game.

INJURY REPORT: Navy - Quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (hamstring) and defensive end Matt Nechak (knee) is probable, cornerback Ketric Buffin (undisclosed) and guard Anthony Gaskins (ankle) are questionable. Army - Quarterback Chip Bowden (ankle) is probable.

OF NOTE: Army starting placekicker Matt Campbell is an Anne Arundel County native. The Lothian resident, who prepped at DeMatha Catholic, has made all 15 of his extra point attempts this season. The sophomore is 8-for-12 on field goals with two of the misses coming from beyond 50 yards.

Navy is seeking its 13th straight victory over a service academy rival. That would be a new all-time record for consecutive service academy wins by one school.

Navy has scored on its opening drive of the game in 10 of 11 games this season. The Midshipmen have won 30 of their last 32 games when scoring first.

Navy is 34-5 over the last six years when scoring 30 points or more.

Navy ranks third nationally in fewest penalties with just 3.3 per game.

Senior fullback Collin Mooney or sophomore quarterback Chip Bowden have led Army in rushing in six of the last eight games.

Army has outscored its opponents 56-17 in the fourth quarter during the last eight games.

QUOTE-UNQUOTE: "What happened last year is not going to help us win this game. What happened six years ago is not going to help us win this game. We have to take the approach that the streak is over. This is a new year, a new team."

- Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo discounting his team's six-game winning streak over Army

"I think that we'll be competitive and I believe we have the opportunity to win the game. Our players believe that we have a good chance to win the game, and that's a big part of it."

- Army head coach Stan Brock

 

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Incentive great for both teams today




- Most veteran observers agree: the Army-Navy game is about seniors. Years from now, former football players from the two institutions will remember their final game against the archrival the most.

Entering the 109th annual Army-Navy game, being held today at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, the seniors on each side sit at polar opposites. Navy's seniors have never lost to the archrival. Army's seniors have no idea what it's like to beat the one opponent that matters most.

Navy's current six-game winning streak over Army, the longest in series history, has brought a sense of desperation to both sides. Army's seniors are desperate to end an embarrassing run of futility in the service academy rivalry. Navy's seniors desperately don't want to become the first class in four years to experience a loss in the series.

The graduating Class of 2005 was the last to experience that feeling. The Black Knights last beat the Mids in 2001. That message hit home when head coach Ken Niumatalolo kicked off Army week by gathering the players in a tight circle. "Every player that can hear my voice right now has never lost to Army," he said.

"Coach reminds us every day at the end of practice that no one on this team has ever lost to Army. As a senior, you feel a sense of pressure to keep that streak going," Navy wide receiver Tyree Barnes said. "You darn sure don't want to be part of the class that drops the ball and finally loses to Army. You don't want to come back to Annapolis and have to walk around campus the rest of the year knowing that you lost to Army."

Every Army senior from 2002 through 2007 had to endure that dreaded fate. While the underclassmen could look forward to next year, the seniors knew their opportunity to beat Navy had slipped away.

"It's always devastating to lose to Navy, but there's no question it hurts more when you're a senior. I'm starting to understand that now as I think about the fact this is my last chance to get a win over Navy," Army linebacker John Plumstead said.

"To beat Navy in the last football game we will ever play and really let the seniors leave a mark and say, 'Hey, we've changed Army football, we've got the program going in the right direction,' that would be a great way for our class to go out."

Plumstead pondered an interesting question. Which senior class has more motivation? Is Army's desire to snap the losing streak greater than Navy's goal of keeping it going?

"I'm not sure how to answer that. That's kind of like asking: Do I hate losing more than I love winning?" Plumstead said. "I just know had badly our team wants this one. Six years is a long time and we need a win in order to restore this to being a true rivalry."

Navy can capture the coveted Commander-in-Chief's Trophy for the sixth straight year by beating Army. Academy officials are not bringing the 2 ?-foot tall, 175-pound, three-sided trophy to Lincoln Financial Field since it will remain in Annapolis regardless of today's outcome. Simply retaining the trophy would not be satisfying for the Midshipmen.

"The No. 1 goal of our program is to beat Army. No. 1A is to win the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy," Niumatalolo said. "If we don't beat Army, it will make this season a bad one. The success of our team is riding on this game."

Niumatalolo, offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper, defensive line coach Dale Pehrson and secondary coach Joe Speed are the only men involved with the Navy football program to know what it's like to lose to Army. As an assistant under head coach Charlie Weatherbie, Niumatalolo remembers the failure to convert on fourth down at the 1-yard line in 1995, the Midshipmen getting stopped eight times inside the 10-yard line in 1996, the fumble at the 4-yard line in 1998.

"All I can relate to the players is my experiences of losing to Army. I tell them it's not a feeling you ever want to experience," Niumatalolo said.

This will be Niumatalolo's first Army-Navy game as head coach, but he doesn't expect the nervousness, the sense of anticipation, the thirst for victory to be any different from the 11 years when he was an assistant.

"My first Army-Navy game, I will never forget seeing the Corps of Cadets and Brigade of Midshipmen getting ready to march into the stadium. That mass of gray uniforms side-by-side with 4,000 people in black uniforms. It brings chills to your spine," he said. "That is when I truly understood what Army-Navy was all about and how important it was to win this game. I wanted to beat Army as a running backs coach, as an offensive line coach, as an offensive coordinator. Being head coach doesn't make me want it any more."

Army is vastly improved this season, its second under head coach Stan Brock. The Black Knights have the same number of wins as they did in 2006 and 2007, but are clearly much more competitive - suffering three losses by nine points or less.

Texas A&M narrowly escaped with a 21-17 home victory over Army. The Black Knights also gave service academy rival Air Force all it could handle before falling, 16-7.

"Games like that make you sit up and take notice. When Army played Texas A&M close, we were like, 'Wow, they really are getting better, they really are making strides,' " Navy kicker Matt Harmon said. "We know how good Air Force is. If Army can play Air Force tough, it means Army has a good team this year."

Brock agrees that Army has become much more competitive this season and said it's due to the combination of a new offense and new-found confidence. Brock, who served as an assistant under previous head coach Bobby Ross, said Navy has set the standard for service academy football and today's game will show the Black Knights exactly where they stand.

"This will be a great measuring stick of who we are and where we are because there is a familiarity between the teams and we do things similarly," Brock said. "This will be another barometer of how far we have come and how far we still have to go."

It will be a battle of different styles of option offenses. Navy runs the true triple-option that is read-oriented and presents the threat of the fullback, quarterback or slot back carrying the ball. Army is more of a double-option team with the fullback and quarterback the primary threats.

Senior Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada is expected to start at quarterback for Navy. The Hawaii native has been described by Niumatalolo and Jasper as the best "orchestrator" of the triple-option in terms of making the reads and distributing the ball. Bothered all season by a hamstring injury, Kaheaku-Enhada was running faster and smoother this week than he has since August.

Senior slot back Shun White leads Navy with 873 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. Senior fullback Eric Kettani has contributed 807 yards, but just three touchdowns. A big question mark for the Midshipmen is whether Kaheaku-Enhada will have the acceleration and burst necessary to break long runs when the read dictates a quarterback keeper.

Army defensive coordinator John Mumford has come up with a scheme that has held Navy's rushing attack in check the last few years. The Black Knights held the Midshipmen to 264 rushing yards in 2006 and 287 in 2007.

"Defensively, we have done a good job against option offenses and I think we'll continue to do that," Brock said. "We have a disciplined defense and our coaching staff has a great understanding of the option and how it works."

Senior fullback Collin Mooney is the centerpiece of Army's offense, having rushed for 1,285 yards this season. The powerfully-built 5-foot-10, 247-pounder needs 54 yards today to set the single-season school record for rushing yards.

Quarterback Chip Bowden is expected to start today despite suffering a sprained ankle in practice earlier in the week. Bowden, who ranks second on the squad with 566 yards rushing, was wearing a walking boot on Tuesday, but practiced Wednesday and Thursday.

"They're going to give the ball to Mooney and force us to stop him. They have a lot of option variations - the belly option, some speed option and mid-line stuff, but their number one threat is the fullback," Niumatalolo said. "I'm really impressed with Mooney. He's tough, he's strong and has great feet."

 

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Midshipmen likely to go bowling with Wake Forest


It is becoming more and more likely that Navy's opponent in the EagleBank Bowl will be Wake Forest.

Ball State's decision to decline an offer to play Boise State in the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl greatly increased that possibility. It now appears the Humanitarian Bowl will select Maryland and the way the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference is sorting out Wake Forest may be the only team left for the EagleBank Bowl.

Both the NCAA and the ACC have reiterated that bowl eligible teams within the conference must be placed in a precise order based on overall record, head-to-head results and other clearly defined criteria. That is how N.C. State (6-6) wound up ranked 10th within the league and therefore is not eligible to play in one of the ACC's nine contracted bowls.

The ACC champion automatically gets the Bowl Championship Series berth in the Orange Bowl, being held Jan. 1 in Miami, Fla. The Chick-fil-A Bowl chooses next followed by the Gator Bowl and so on. The EagleBank Bowl gets the ninth and last selection of ACC teams and therefore does not have a whole lot of leeway.

Navy's contract with the EagleBank Bowl precludes rematches, but there may be no other option if Wake Forest is the last team standing at the table on Sunday when bowl berths are awarded. The Midshipmen defeated the Demon Deacons 24-17 on Sept. 27.

Naval Academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk was not thrilled with the prospect of playing a regular-season opponent again, but understood the realities of the situation. Gladchuk said yesterday he appreciated the fact Eagle Bank Bowl CEO Sean Metcalf and staff have been working overtime to land an opponent other than Wake Forest and admitted Navy (7-4) may have no choice if Wake (7-5) is the only ACC team remaining after everything shakes out.

"Navy will be at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 20 and will play whichever ACC team winds up being selected," Gladchuk said. "The ACC and the EagleBank Bowl folks have to follow the rules that are outlined and we have to respect the process."

Georgia Tech has already accepted an invitation to play in the Chick-fil-A

Bowl in Atlanta while Clemson has accepted an offer to appear in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. Meanwhile, North Carolina is the top choice of the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C.

Will Webb, executive director of the Meineke Car Care Bowl, told the Charlotte Observer that a formal offer has not been extended, but feels strongly the Tar Heels will wind up in the Dec. 27 game at Bank of America Stadium against either Pittsburgh or West Virginia of the Big East Conference.

"I think the chances are good that it's going to happen," Webb said.

What opened the door for the Meineke Car Care Bowl to get North Carolina was yesterday's somewhat surprising announcement that Clemson had moved up the ACC pecking order into the Gator Bowl, which gets second choice of conference schools after the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Here is a projection as to how the ACC will fill its nine postseason slots in order of ranking, hinging on whether Champs Sports Bowl selects Florida State or ACC runner-up .

Possible ACC Bowl Lineup

Orange Bowl, Jan. 1, Miami, Fla. - ACC Champion (Boston College or Virginia Tech)

Chick-fil-A Bowl, Atlanta, Ga., Dec. 31 - Georgia Tech

Gator Bowl, Jan. 1, Jacksonville, Fla. - Clemson

Champs Sports Bowl, Dec. 27, Orlando, Fla. - Florida State

Meineke Car Care Bowl, Dec. 27, Charlotte, N.C. - North Carolina

Music City Bowl, Dec. 31, Memphis, Tenn. - ACC runner-up (Boston College or Virginia Tech)

Emerald Bowl, Dec. 27, San Francisco - Miami

Humanitarian Bowl, Boise, Idaho - Maryland

Eagle Bank Bowl, Washington - Wake Forest