Five news bits for academy sports boosters, including a few updates to your fan calendar: 1. Army-PSU to “the U”: Army West Point’s Oct. 3 visit to Happy Valley to battle Penn State now has a time (noon Eastern) and a TV home (ESPNU). It already had a packed house: Penn State announced a sellout for Beaver Stadium, including more than 6,500 seats donated to service members, on Sept. 9. Army has lost its first three games by a combined 10 points and will visit Eastern Michigan this Saturday (6 p.m. Eastern, ESPN3) before heading to Happy Valley. Penn State sits at 2-1…
Browsing: Penn State
Service members past and present who want to support the Army West Point football team when the Black Knights invade State College, Pennsylvania, in October can do so free of charge thanks to a Penn State ticket giveaway. Current and former military members from all branches, including the Guard and Reserve, as well as Gold Star family members can apply for four complimentary tickets for the Oct. 3 game at Beaver Stadium through PSU’s Seats for Servicemembers program. Service members also can purchase up to five discounted tickets for others in their party; head here to apply. Not going, but want…
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…
Army, Navy and Air Force have locked in their season-opening football games, all starting the year at home against teams outside the top-tier Football Bowl Subdivision. Navy announced today that it will host Colgate at noon on Sept. 5 with the game televised on CBS Sports Network. It will be a nonconference opener for the first-ever conference football season at Annapolis; the Midshipmen will play in the American Athletic Conference, which has not released its league schedule for the year. The Mids’ nonconference slate is set, and Colgate is the only team on it that won’t make a yearly appearance. Navy hosts Air…
A quick look ahead at Navy’s first football game in North America this season: Who, where, when: Navy (0-1) at Penn State (0-2), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Eastern. Navy last played PSU in 1974, earning a 7-6 upset win in Happy Valley. TV: ABC or ESPN2 (Check local listings; Mike Patrick and Ed Cunningham have the call). Gambling is illegal in most states: Penn State is a six-point favorite. Speaking of points …: They’ve been hard to come by for both teams in this young season — Navy barely cracked double digits against Notre Dame, falling 50-10, and the Nittany Lions…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpnYOZZqNFg[/youtube] One’s an aspiring Navy officer. One’s a former Marine. This week, one will be running Navy’s triple option in his sleep, the other will be coming off the defensive edge, aiming at Penn State ball carriers. Their goal? Get PSU ready to earn its first win of the season Saturday when the Nittany Lions host the Midshipmen. Instead of attending Annapolis, senior fullback/Navy diver P.J. Byers began his path toward a commission by enlisting after his high school graduation. After a delayed entry and stops in Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii and San Diego, Byers applied to become an officer. Once…
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…
You can’t deny Joe Paterno’s impact on college football, on sports. Paterno, who died Sunday at age 85 after a brief battle with lung cancer, prided himself on success with honor and dignity — hallmarks our armed forces strive for daily. Of course the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal overshadowed much of this. But that shouldn’t wipe out the totality of the pre-November 2011 slate: his service to our country (briefly in the Army around the end of World War II), the thousands of men who graduated and later made great impacts on the sports world and other segments…
Bring on Joe Pa and the Nittany Lions. Fresh off putting a scare in Ohio State last season, Navy will travel to Happy Valley to face Penn State on Sept. 15, 2012. “Playing Penn State again will bring back many memories for our alumni and friends of Navy Football,” said Navy Athletic Director Chet Gladchuck. “The opportunity to visit one of the most impressive stadiums in all of college football and take on the challenge of this storied program will be very inspiring to our coaches and student-athletes.” Navy and Penn State have played 37 times, mostly in the 1960s…
