Navy goes west, Air Force goes blue and Army West Point goes … well, goes to West Point … as the college gridiron season enters the home stretch. What service academy football fans need to know this week: 1. The basics. Before launching into conference tiebreaker procedures, national rankings and a handful of what-if scenarios, here’s the slate for the coming weekend: Air Force (7-3, 5-1 Mountain West Conference) visits the blue field of Boise State (7-3, 4-2 MWC) on Friday night for an MWC Mountain Division showdown (9:30 p.m. Eastern, ESPN2). Army West Point (2-8) concludes its home schedule Saturday (noon…
Browsing: Heisman Trophy
Two Heisman Trophy winners in a four-year span. A No. 2 national ranking by a service academy. A 10-win season with the Temple Owls, capped off by a postseason victory. It is, without question, a resume that could belong to only one person. And now, after years on the ballot, it’s earned Navy (and Temple) coaching legend Wayne Hardin a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame. Wayne Hardin joins a 2013 class that includes Heisman-winning Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde, two-time national-championship QB Tommie Frazier of Nebraska, all-world offensive lineman Orlando Pace of Ohio State and fellow unheralded head…
Yet another completely natural, not-at-all-staged football photo from the 1950s: In 1958, Army coach Earl “Red” Blaik debuted the “Lonely End” formation, in which Bill Carpenter would split out up to 30 yards from his teammates, staying out of the huddle and generally giving opposing defensive coordinators fits (football junkies can get a breakdown here). That bit of offensive trickery helped Army to an undefeated season (8-0-1), wins over Notre Dame and Navy, and a fitting cap to the Blaik era at West Point. But none of that would’ve happened without Pete Dawkins. Dawkins, pictured above, a senior and West…
Can you post an Army Heisman photo and not follow it up with a Navy Heisman photo? We’d rather not find out. After Action’s second pic in our monthlong countdown features Roger Staubach running for daylight, and offensive lineman Thomas Holden looking to clear space, during Navy’s 35-14 win over Notre Dame on Nov. 2, 1963. Have a memory of the game or of Staubach, either your own or passed down through the years? Post it below.
In between the previews, reviews, interviews and predictions as the 2012 football season approaches, After Action wants to give service academy football fans a look back. Starting today and continuing through Sept. 1, we’ll put up one historical photo every morning to get you in the mood. Have a memory about the featured player, coach, or game? Have suggestions for future pics? Have an extra ticket to Dublin? Leave a comment and let us know. But forget Dublin for a second — let’s start with this beauty from Army’s Heisman Trophy Pinterest page, featuring the awards won by Glenn Davis,…
This slipped through the cracks last week: Herschel Walker made an appearance at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., sharing stories of his battle with mental illness and winning a legion of Air Force fans along the way. The 1982 Heisman Trophy winner and legendary running back says he’s made stops at numerous military bases in an effort to encourage troops to not shy away from addressing mental health problems. “Look at me. We all fall short in life,” he said. A Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal report notes Walker received “multiple standing ovations” during an address inside an Eglin hangar. Click…
Navy has a bye this week, so they made this easier. And it’s tough to call Air Force vs. Wyoming the game of the week after the Falcons nearly upset the 7th-ranked Sooners in Norman, Okla., last weekend. If we at After Action were on top of our game we would have started this weekly special last week with that match-up, but … Anyway, that leaves Army and their pivotal game against Duke. Stop laughing. Duke is for real. Yes, Alabama steamrolled them last week, making the Blue Devils look like a high school team, which is funny because their…
CBSsports.com columnist Gregg Doyel has weighed in on the Ricky Dobbs For Heisman movement that has gained steam recently (there’s even a Twitter account pushing for Dobbs). Turns out Doyel is onboard, although he has no illusion about how difficult it will be for Dobbs to garner serious consideration. “This is a long shot, of course. You know it. I know it. Even Dobbs knows it, ” Doyel writes. “He’s a confident sort — in his official bio at Navy he not only says he wants to be President of the United States, he tells us which year he wants…
