Five quick hits for an 0-2 weekend of service academy football: 1. Yes, it’s that bad. Army’s 42-7 loss at San Diego State on Saturday wasn’t the worst in opening-day performance in school history — but it was the Black Knights’ worst start since falling to Boston College 44-7 in 2005. And Navy’s 50-10 demolition at the hands of Notre Dame on Sept. 1 wasn’t the worst opening-day loss in Annapolis history — Navy fell 53-0 to Virginia in 1992. But when it comes to both schools struggling at the same time, this year’s combined minus-75 point differential to start…
Browsing: Army football
Our last black-and-white photo of the countdown. And what a way to go out: As 66-year-old action shots go, it’s tough to get much better. Somewhere in that melee are two Army Heisman Trophy winners, struggling to a scoreless tie against Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium in “The Game of the Century” on Nov. 9, 1946, at Yankee Stadium. Army fullback Felix “Doc” Blanchard fumbled the ball you see floating midframe; it would be recovered by Army’s Glenn Davis. Blanchard, Army’s first Heisman winner, took the trophy the previous year. Davis won it for the 1946 season — Army’s third-straight…
Why would a picture of a West Point freshman practicing his punts, circa 1912, with his face half-hidden and the football not even in the frame, make the countdown? Maybe the credit line will give you a hint. That partially obscured punter is Dwight Eisenhower, Class of 1915 (“The Class the Stars Fell on”), future general, future supreme allied commander, future two-term president. But before all that, he lettered at Army in 1912. A knee injury — reportedly suffered trying to track down a halfway-decent running back out of Carlisle named Jim Thorpe — cut his career short. He became a…
Five football updates as the season approaches. Count down with us, won’t you? 1. Falcons on the Web. Don’t bother checking your local listings for the Air Force-Idaho State game Sept. 1: It’ll be available online-only after talks broke off with a regional sports network, according to The (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Gazette. Last year’s opener against South Dakota State was broadcast, along with many of the Falcons’ contests, on The Mtn., a regional sports network that went off the air earlier this year. Air Force will continue to pursue broadcast deals for two other home games without TV clearance, according…
Let’s huddle up for a quick appreciation of Army coaching legend Earl “Red” Blaik: Blaik, a member of West Point’s Class of 1920, was known as “colonel” because he retired at that rank in the reserves. As a civilian, he coached the Cadets to a 121-33-10 record over 18 seasons, from 1941 to 1958, included three national titles. He coached three Heisman winners. He mentored an NFL legend. He led a struggling, undermanned program through World War II and into national prominence. And he survived an honor-code scandal in 1951 — involving dozens of players, including his son — that…
Three-time All-American. Heisman Trophy winner. College Football Hall of Famer. Three national titles in three unbeaten seasons. And despite a legendary career running the football for Army, a photographer still asked Glenn Davis to pose like this: Pictures can be deceiving — Davis’ damage came on the ground, with an eye-popping 8.3 yards per carry over his career — an NCAA record. He was “Mr. Outside” to Felix “Doc” Blanchard’s “Mr. Inside,” giving Army a 1-2 Heisman-winning punch in the backfield that dominated college football. Davis ranks third all-time in rushing yards at West Point behind Mike Mayweather and Carlton…
We’ve shown you some great players, with plenty more to come before the 2012 college football season kicks off, but here’s a quick break for a rare spotlight on an assistant coach made good. Vince Lombardi coached under Red Blaik at Army from 1949 to 1953, helping West Point to one unbeaten season and two one-loss campaigns. After Army, he spent a few years as offensive coordinator with the New York Giants, patrolling the sidelines with defensive coordinator Tom Landry — not a bad coaching staff, if you can get it. In 1959, he left New York for Green Bay,…
Before he made his way to West Point, Ryan Morgan was a football star at Ramona High School in Ramona, Calif., population about 20,000. A member of the school’s Class of 2011, his performance on the field and his attitude off it — toward teammates, opponents and the community at large — drew kind words from friends, coaches, administrators and family members. Those kind words have come under the worst of circumstances. Morgan, 21, died Sunday night after a motorcycle crash in his hometown. He was wearing a helmet, according to reports. It was the day after he’d bought the…
A few academy-sports quick hits for a Wednesday afternoon: Army-Navy kickoff set. The Black Knights and Midshipmen will kick off at 3 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 8 at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, according to a CBS news release. Times for the other Navy games on that release aren’t typos — the Mids will play Notre Dame at 9 a.m. Eastern on Sept. 1 in Dublin, and they will face the Air Force Falcons at 11:30 a.m. Eastern on Oct. 6 in Colorado Springs, Colo. — that’s a 9:30 a.m. local start. Hat tip on the Army-Navy news to the Times…
A quick tour around the Internet’s military-themed sports news, from the shooting range to the MMA cage to West Point Build-A-Bears: Szarenski’s second qualification. Army Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Szarenski will shoot in two events at the London Olympics this summer after winning the 50-meter free pistol qualifier over the weekend at Fort Benning, Ga. Szarenski, heading to his fourth Olympics, beat his closest competitor, Nick Mowrer, by almost a dozen points, according to the USA Shooting results release, but Mowrer can’t be too upset — because Szarenski already earned his trip to London, Mowrer will use the Team USA…
