Your usual Friday drill — a look at the most recent installment of “A Game of Honor,” the online Army-Navy “docu-drama” from CBS, and then a quick scroll down for the basics on Saturday’s academy games. All times Eastern.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ0t88XIsbI[/youtube]Army (3-7) at Temple (6-4, 4-3 Mid-American Conference), 2 p.m.
TV: None. But ESPN3 will carry the game online with Scott Graham and Rob Harley in the booth.
Game-time decision: Junior quarterback Trent Steelman, who hasn’t played since leaving Army’s Oct. 22 loss to Vanderbilt with an ankle injury, could make the start against the Owls. The Black Knights rolled over Football Championship Subdivision (the artists formerly known as “Division I-AA”) member Fordham the week after Steelman went down, but their offense has struggled since, totaling three touchdowns in losses to Air Force and Rutgers.
Going bowling: Temple’s eligible for a postseason bid thanks to its six wins. Its last bowl appearance came at Army’s expense: In 2009, the EagleBank Bowl (now the Military Bowl) had a spot set aside for the Black Knights should they defeat Navy in their season-ending showdown. That ended poorly for Army, and Temple stepped in.
UNLV (2-7, 1-3 Mountain West Conference) at Air Force (5-5, 1-4 MWC), 6 p.m.
TV: The mtn. (Todd Harris, Todd Christensen; DIRECTV channel 616, check here to find out whether your cable system carries it.)
You think that’s bad?: Air Force may have lost to frequent MWC doormat Wyoming last week, but the Rebels did them one better, falling to previously winless New Mexico. The Falcons will rely on their defense, which hadn’t allowed a fourth-quarter touchdown all month until Wyoming’s late score last week.
Going bowling, Part II: Don’t let the record fool you — Air Force won’t become bowl eligible with a win this week. Because two of the Falcons’ victories came over lower-tier competition (Tennessee State and South Dakota), they’ll need wins this week and in their season finale to reach the postseason, where their fate is anything but clear. Various bowl fortune-tellers have them all over the place, from the Military Bowl (in Navy’s spot) to the New Mexico Bowl to the Independence Bowl in Louisiana.
Navy (4-6) at San Jose State (3-7, 2-4 Western Athletic Conference), 4 p.m.
TV: None. But after Army’s done, stay logged on to ESPN3 (Shawn Kenney, Drew Henson)
Golden Staters: This will be Navy’s 18th game in California. The first was a 14-14 tie against Washington in the 1923 Rose Bowl. It’s not clear how the rest of the Bowl Championship Series selection process shook out that year, especially the part with the computer polls.
Scouting report: San Jose State’s 103rd-ranked rushing defense will be faced with solving Navy’s sometimes-pass-free attack, led by fullback Alexander Teich (741 yards, 3 TDs) and quarterback Kriss Proctor (735 yards, 10 TDs). San Jose State’s pass-happy offense means more chances for Navy senior defensive end Jabaree Tuani to rack up sacks; Tuani had one last week in the win over SMU and two other tackles for loss. His 38.5 TFLs as a Midshipman are third best in Navy history.
Going bowling, Part III: The path remains clear — two wins, one trip to see this guy.
