When Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen took charge at West Point, he declared war on mediocrity. “I need to work all across West Point to build this winning culture,” he told Military Times in 2014, about a year into his tenure as superintendent (which ends Friday). “Mediocrity … it kind of bothers me. These kids, when they graduate, are going to lay it on the line. If they’re surrounded by mediocrity, we’re not providing them with what they need. “Whether it’s mediocre tactical officers, mediocre instructors, mediocre coaches — you know, wherever that mediocrity is, that’s something we’ve got to address.…
Browsing: Army-Navy game
CBS will not be messing with a good thing. The network, which has seen ratings skyrocket for its award-winning airings of Army-Navy football, will keep the game’s kickoff at 3 p.m. Eastern this year, per a news release announcing part of the CBS college football schedule. The Black Knights and Midshipmen will square off Dec. 8 in Philadelphia. It will be the second time Navy appears on CBS in 2018, as the Mids will face Navy in San Diego at 8 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 27 in the second half of a CBS college football doubleheader. Florida faces Georgia that…
The Commander in Chief’s Trophy hasn’t settled into its new home and the folks in Annapolis haven’t finished rolling up the presidential welcome mat, but that won’t stop oddsmakers from having their say on the 2018 Army-Navy rivalry game. The South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas released early lines for some of college football’s biggest games May 24, including the Dec. 8 service academy showdown. It’s the last game on the list — 15 weeks into the college football season, which won’t start for another three months — and the Mids are booked as one-point favorites. This goes…
Option teams with inexperienced quarterbacks aren’t designed to come from behind. So goes the traditional football wisdom, at least. Navy may have skipped that lesson. Zach Abey led the Midshipmen down the field on a six-play, 32-yard scoring drive at the beginning of the third quarter, capping it himself with a 1-yard scoring plunge. The extra point made it 14-7, and the good news continued for the Mids when the Army offense sputtered on its ensuing possession. Navy has the ball and the momentum, and the streak has signs of life.
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…
For the first time this season, all three Commander in Chief’s Trophy contenders will play home games on the same day: Army West Point hosting Tulane at Michie Stadium, Air Force battling Utah State in Colorado Springs, and Navy facing Southern Methodist in Annapolis, the newly minted hip-hop capital of Maryland. Six things you should know about a home-cooked Saturday afternoon: 1. Navy and the CFP. After the Mids’ 45-20 upset win over Memphis last weekend, Navy found itself 20th in the College Football Playoff rankings, which will determine the four semifinalists that compete for the national championship and will set…
A day before one of the biggest weekends on the service academy football calendar, take in a trio of tidbits about the biggest weekend: 1. Spirit spot contest. Need tickets for this year’s game? Have a decent video camera? You might be covered. The game’s official spirit spot video contest launched late last month. You can submit your video to armynavyfootballgame@gmail.com; a Go Army and a Go Navy winner each will receive four tickets, four on-field passes and a parking pass for the Dec. 12 showdown in Philadelphia. Not familiar with the genre? Click on some of our reviews from last year’s spots. The…
Workouts are underway. College football teams are taking shape under the hot August sun. Wall-sized coolers of “Falcon Fuel” are being unveiled in a massive ribbon-cutting ceremony … that last one might be an Air Force-only thing. Regardless, weekends for service academy gridiron fans soon will involve the traditional rivalry smack-talk and the more recent tradition of smashing buttons on the remote control, trying to find your team’s game on one of the approximately 73 cable sports networks in time for that 3:30 p.m. kickoff … or was it noon? Or did they play last night? The below schedule (all times Eastern) should help,…
The Army West Point record-holder for most rushing yards by a quarterback will attempt to make the Baltimore Ravens as a wide receiver. And if that seems like the strangest part of Trent Steelman’s path to an NFL roster, consider the following: Steelman, who signed with the Ravens over the weekend, reportedly received an offer from the Ravens in 2013, before he’d even graduated, but his service commitment trumped his football plans. While that commitment may have kept him from the NFL, Steelman attempted another high-level athletic pursuit, trying out for the U.S. Olympic bobsled team. After moving to the Army Reserve…
The Army West Point Black Knights will need more than a rebranding to beat Navy, at least in the eyes of Las Vegas oddsmakers. The Golden Nugget sportsbook in Vegas released its annual way-too-early-to-take-all-that-seriously betting lines for select college football games Friday. ESPN.com has the full list here, but for Army-Navy watchers, the number to know is 13. That is, Vegas has listed the Midshipmen as 13-point favorites over the Black Knights to extend their rivalry win streak, which now stands at 13 games. The Golden Nugget had the same line set last summer (Navy won, 17-10) and had Navy…