Spirit Spots Start to Roll In

With less than a week until the 111th Army Navy Game, service members stationed across the globe have begun to submit "shout out" videos that will be shown in-stadium and on the television broadcast. One such video from Navy and Marine Corps members in Kandahar, Afghanistan is below:

Salutes for Army and Navy

By Gene Wang, The Washington Post, December 2, 2010

                     1946 Army Navy Game Program, Source: letsbepreppy.blogspot.com

PHILADELPHIA - Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs had just finished his interview obligations during Army-Navy media day when he spotted Army linebacker Stephen Anderson getting ready to sit down for lunch at his assigned table. The senior co-captain made it a point to embrace his adversary from West Point, then spoke glowingly about the rivalry and how humbled he was to be a part of this most meaningful of games for the final time.

The mutual admiration between the two was one of many such instances on Wednesday, when players, coaches and top officials from both service academies gathered at Lincoln Financial Field to commence the buildup for the 111th Army-Navy game, which this season has a decidedly different complexion from previous years.

For the first time since 1996, both service academies enter the game eligible for a bowl, meaning the Midshipmen may have a tougher time with the Black Knights than in recent meetings. Navy has won eight straight over Army, a series record.
ad_icon

"I know come Saturday, December 11, everybody's going to be amped," said Dobbs, who is part of a senior class has won the past three games against Army by a combined 89-6.

Navy (8-3) did not give up a touchdown to Army in any of those games, including last year's 17-3 triumph at Lincoln Financial Field that featured 113 yards rushing and one touchdown by Dobbs. The Midshipmen are bidding to become the first team to hold Army without a touchdown for four straight years. No Navy or Army team has accomplished that against the other.

Establishing precedents, however, is nothing new for Dobbs, who along with fellow senior co-captain and safety Wyatt Middleton and Army seniors Patrick Mealy and Anderson received honorary proclamations from Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter at the post-interview luncheon. Among Dobbs's most notable achievements are the NCAA record for most rushing touchdowns (40) by a quarterback in consecutive seasons and becoming Navy's all-time leader in points with 290.

Middleton, meantime, is in line to start his 47th consecutive game, the longest active streak by a Navy player.

He is tied for sixth in the country in fumble recoveries per game and is part of a unit that ranks 17th in turnover margin (plus-0.91 per game) and 45th in scoring defense (22.8 points per game). His leadership also has been invaluable in stabilizing a secondary that has gone most of the season without starting safety Emmett Merchant, who suffered a season-ending concussion Sept. 11 in a 13-7 victory over Georgia Southern.

"Once Army-Navy week gets here, I usually get a good feeling," Middleton said. "You have a lot of things going on . . . back at school, a lot of festivities going on. It's Army week so a lot of people are doing pranks, different things like that. It's exciting, but when Thursday comes around, that's when you really got to start just focusing on the game and nothing but the game."

With the resurgence of the program under second-year Coach Rich Ellerson, the Black Knights certainly have the attention of Navy players. Army enters the game not only with a winning record (6-5) but is also ranked 10th nationally in rushing at 260.3 yards per game. The defense is ranked 26th, yielding 332.6 yards per game behind Anderson and senior defensive end Josh McNary, who has 9½ sacks and 12 tackles for a loss this season. McNary is Army's all-time leader in both categories.

"This is my last chance to have an academy victory," said Anderson, a native of Ijamsville who played high school football at Damascus. "I've been 0-fer my three years here, another loss against Air Force this season, so I've never experienced an academy victory. As much as it would have been nice to beat Air Force, you can't do anything about that now. You've got this chance against Navy. You've got an opportunity, and you've got to seize an opportunity that's given to you."

Well-rested Navy Ready for Army

By Bill Wagner, Annapolis Capital

Inside linebacker Tyler Simmons went home to Oklahoma and said he basically slept for two days.

Punter Kyle Delahooke could not get a flight back to California so he just hung around Annapolis, relaxing and having Thanksgiving dinner at his sponsor's house.

After taking four days off for the long holiday weekend, the Navy football team was back to work yesterday to begin preparations for the season-ending showdown with archrival Army. Head coach Ken Niumatalolo put the Midshipmen through a short, crisp workout and was pleased with what he saw.

"We took some time off and our guys feel rejuvenated. We had a very energetic practice today. I'm excited about how we looked today," Niumatalolo said.

With the Army-Navy game being pushed back one weekend, the coaching staff was confronted with an unusually long break. The Midshipmen will wind up having 21 days between games, an unprecedented gap during the regular season.

"Besides a bowl game, it's not even close. We've had two weeks off before, but never three weeks. It's really weird," Niumatalolo said. "It was a tough decision to give them four days off for Thanksgiving. We've never had this situation before. We've never had this formula. I just felt the best thing for (the players) was to get away, to get home and see their families and just enjoy their time off. I like that they seem to have come back rejuvenated."

Navy had a two-week break before last year's game against Army, having played at Hawaii on Nov. 28. Niumatalolo said that was a difficult situation since the players were tired from the long flight and were still on Pacific Standard Time as they began preparing for Army.

"I'm just grateful that we are home and rested. I'm really happy with where we're at right now from a physical standpoint," Niumatalolo said. "Hopefully, come Dec. 11, we'll be ready from a mental standpoint."

Navy's players were thankful for the opportunity to go home and visit with relatives, but admitted that having two consecutive bye weekends was not ideal.

"It's kind of frustrating to go this long without a game, but that's the situation and we have to make the best of it," Simmons said. "If it were any other game I might be worried, but this is Army and we will be ready and excited to play."

Army and Navy will meet for the 111th time on Dec. 11 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Both teams will enter the contest bowl eligible for the first time since 1996.

Army (6-5) is vastly improved under second-year head coach Rich Ellerson and appears headed to the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas. Meantime, Navy will cap its eighth straight winning season by appearing in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego.

"This is always the biggest game of the year regardless of the records, but it is nice that both teams are having success this season," Navy offensive tackle Jeff Battipaglia said.

Navy has won a series record eight consecutive contests against Army. The Midshipmen have outscored the Black Knights 89-6 over the last three meetings. Both service academies played Duke this season with Army registering a 35-21 victory and Navy suffering a 34-31 defeat.

"We know they're a good football team and Coach Ellerson is a very good coach. We've seen them on tape and know how well they're playing. We're going up against a good team so we better be ready to go," Niumatalolo said.

Tickets Still Available

With just 19 days left until the 111th Army Navy game, fans can still purchase tickets via Ticketmaster using the link below:

Army Navy via Ticketmaster

Navy Receives Votes in Polls

ANNAPOLIS, Md.—The Navy football team (8-3) received votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches Poll.

The Mids received seven voting points in the Associated Press poll, which puts the Mids tied for 30th with Miami (Fla.) and Hawai’i.  Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News and Travis Haney of the Charleston Post and Courier have the Mids ranked 24th, while Brett McMurphy of AOL Fanhouse, Dave Foster of WZTV in Nashville, Tenn. and Keith Sargeant of the Gannett Newspapers in New Jersey ranked the Mids 25th.

Navy also received seven voting points in the coaches poll, which puts the Mids 33rd overall.

Source: NavySports.com

Navy Beats Arkansas State on Senior Day

                                                   Source: AP

By Gene Wang, Washington Post

Quarterback Ricky Dobbs has directed Navy to new heights over his four seasons in Annapolis, so it was only fitting that the senior finished his playing career at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with a flourish, accounting for four touchdowns in a 35-19 victory over Arkansas State on Saturday.

Dobbs finished with 154 yards rushing, and his third and final rushing touchdown from three yards punctuated a record-setting afternoon for the Midshipmen's main attraction the past two seasons. Dobbs also scored on a pair of one-yard runs and completed an 85-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Greg Jones to finish with a career-high 318 yards of offense.

"That game to me epitomizes Ricky just from the standpoint I'm upset with him because he missed some reads and things he could have done better, but then you look at the overall deal at the end," Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "Sometimes I don't appreciate him, but when you really step back and think of the things that guy has done in this game, in his career, it's really remarkable."

Among those accomplishments: Dobbs became the NCAA's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in consecutive seasons. He broke the previous mark of 38 with his one-yard run with 12 minutes 31 seconds left in the third quarter before extending the record to ensure Navy's eighth straight season of at least eight wins, the longest such streak in school history.

Dobbs also completed 8 of 9 passes - four of which went to Jones for 129 yards - after missing last Saturday's 38-37 win against Central Michigan as he recovered from a minor blow to the helmet suffered in the first half against East Carolina the previous week.

"I almost didn't make it here," said Dobbs, referring to some trying times at Naval Academy Prep School, where he was asked to play fullback. "It took a good talking to from my uncle, and just to look back and reflect on that and carry that emotion into today and play the way we did, it meant a whole lot not only for me, but for my family here on the football team, the brotherhood."

Included in that group is senior safety Wyatt Middleton, who along with Dobbs is a co-captain. Middleton recovered a fumble in the first quarter that set up Navy's second touchdown and factored in significantly to a unit that limited the Red Wolves to six points in the second half.

The defense was on the field for a bizarre sequence in the fourth quarter after Arkansas State scored a touchdown to get within 28-19. Instead of going for the extra point, Coach Steve Roberts elected to try for two, but a pass interference penalty pushed the Red Wolves back 15 yards. That prompted an attempt to kick, but Navy nose guard Chase Burge got his hand on the ball, and it fluttered to the ground short of the mark.

Navy took over at its 35 with 8:34 to play, looking to bleed valuable seconds off the clock. Faced with third and five at the 40, Dobbs dropped back as if to pass but took off running for a nine-yard gain that demoralized Arkansas State. From there, the Midshipmen ran seven more plays before Dobbs scored on second and goal from the 3.

"Today reminded me of our season," Niumatalolo said. "The highs were highs and the lows were lows. Fortunately we were able to finish on top. I thought we started out great but kind of lost focus offensively in the second quarter. We picked it up in the second half. I thought our defense played well the whole game. It was a great win."

The opening stages of the game featured no indications Navy would need to fret about the score. The Midshipmen took the opening drive 76 yards on 11 plays, with slotback John Howell taking a pitch around the right side into the end zone, and then they got the ball right back when defensive end Jabaree Tuani forced a fumble that Middleton recovered.

Navy began that drive on the Arkansas State 12 and concluded with a one-yard touchdown run by Dobbs for a 14-0 lead with 7:34 to play in the first quarter.

Matters at that point seemed well under control in the Midshipmen's best start at home this season. In its previous three games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Navy trailed at the half and had to scramble down the stretch.

But Arkansas State stayed in the game by converting a Navy turnover into a 31-yard field goal from place kicker Brian Davis, getting a seven-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ryan Aplin and then adding Davis's 20-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to cut the deficit to 21-13.

But a rousing second half carried Navy's senior class to its 34th win, two short of the program record.

"It's very bittersweet," senior left tackle Jeff Battipaglia said. "It's very sad leaving Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, being in front of the guys. We just took a picture with all the 24 seniors and everything, so it's a great win for us, and we're all excited about it. A couple weeks off now, and I think everyone is looking forward to Army."

Army: You Are Still No Navy

                                            Source: Getty Images

By Erin McLaughlin, Bleacher Report

After an embarrassing effort against Navy a few weeks ago, Notre Dame had a chance to redeem itself against Army at Yankee Stadium. Army, like Navy, is a service academy who runs the triple option. Going into the game the Irish had beaten a service academy only once in the last five attempts. To Notre Dame, it was a game about not only about bowl eligibility, but also redemption.  

The game started in a similar way to the Navy game. Notre Dame had a long drive that resulted in a turnover, followed by a long, time killing drive for Army. The Irish faithful became nervous as it appeared that a touchdown was inevitable along with another embarrassing performance against service academy.

Then the defense stepped up and held the Cadets to a field goal.

From that point on, the Irish defense dominated Army. Turnovers and three and outs became the norm. Meanwhile, freshman quarterback Tommy Rees threw the ball deep to Michael Floyd, Tyler Eifert and Robbie Toma. Enabling the Fighting Irish to build a 17-3 halftime lead.

Early in the second half, Darrin Walls intercepted a pass from Army quarterback Trent Steelman and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. The interception pretty much sealed the deal in an otherwise uneventful second half. A team that runs the triple option really isn't built to come back from a large deficit so it was no surprise that Army had little success in its attempt to do so.

Going into the game, I really didn't know what to expect. I knew that Army hadn't had the same success that Navy had in recent years. However, I also knew that they were improving, having attained bowl eligibility this year. Though, a look at Army's victories showed they hadn't beaten anybody of note.

From this Notre Dame fan's perspective, Army is definitely an improved program. However, they are clearly no Navy at this point. But, I think the Army-Navy game will be competitive this year and that makes me want to watch it. After all Notre Dame won't be playing that weekend.

Army, Navy and Air Force All Bowl-Eligible for First Time Ever

By Chris Low, ESPN.com

Army (6-4) became bowl eligible for the first time since 1996 after beating Kent State 45-28, joining Navy and Air Force in going to a bowl game this year. Army, Navy and Air Force have never played in a bowl game in the same season. Army does not have a bowl tie-in but is a backup for the Armed Forces Bowl and Military Bowl, while Navy (7-3) is headed to the Poinsettia Bowl and Air Force will go to a Mountain West tie-in. Navy and Air Force (7-4) had already clinched their bowl eligibility, but won on Saturday with their backup quarterbacks. The Midshipmen started Kriss Procter in place of Ricky Dobbs, out with a concussion, and beat Central Michigan 38-37. Air Force relied on Connor Dietz, who replaced an injured Tim Jefferson in the second quarter of a 48-23 win over New Mexico. 

                                                Photo Source: Associated Press

Patriot Games

Prior to the annual Army Navy game, cadets and midshipmen will compete in this year's Patriot Games. The Games will feature four events and the team with the most points will win the coveted Patriot Games trophy. Most events are open to the public.

Event 1: The Rocky Relay

Friday, December 10th - 8:30 AM

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Cadets and midshipmen will participate in a relay race up the famed Rocky steps.

Event 2: The Hole-in-One Challenge

Friday, December 10th - 12:00 PM

The Shops at Liberty Place

During the official Pep Rally, mids and cadets will face each other in a mini-golf competition.

Event 3: Fast Pack/Give Back

Friday, December 10th - 2:30 PM

Location TBD

Cadets and midshipmen will work with charity Philabundance to pack boxes of food for needy families in the Philadelphia community. This event will be closed to the public.

Event 4: Football Finale

Saturday, December 11th - 12:45 PM

Lincoln Financial Field

For the final event, students will participate in a field goal competition prior to kickoff. A game ticket is required for this event.

For more information on these events and others during Army Navy week, check out www.armynavygame.com

Chat with Caleb Campbell

NFL player and West Point graduate Caleb Campbell participated in a Veteran's Day chat with NFLPLAYERS.com this week. Campbell answered questions about what it is like to be one of the few service academy graduates in the NFL and what playing for Army meant to him. The full text can be found through the link below.

Live Chat with Caleb Campbell

Army Navy Spirit Spots

As a service academy tradition, Army cadets and Navy midshipmen are preparing spirit spots for the upcoming Army Navy football game. Commands throughout the two services also can submit spots cheering on their team, through www.navy.mil and www.army.mil. In honor of the upcoming game, here are a few spirit spots from the past:


<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VXe9C6_IKaI?rel=0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/whDYdDllNbc?rel=0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5-J0RiVXx6E?rel=0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Air Force Wins CIC Trophy

Air Force claims 17th Commander's trophy
Associated Press
When Air Force quarterback Tim Jefferson was knocked to the Michie Stadium turf in West Point, N.Y., and out of the game against Army in the second quarter, he wasn't about to remain on the sideline.

Not with the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy within his grasp.

Jefferson scored twice and hit Jonathan Warzeka on touchdown passes of 53 and 63 yards, and the Air Force defense forced two turnovers the Falcons converted into touchdowns in a 42-22 victory to win that elusive piece of hardware - emblematic of supremacy among the three service academies - outright for the 17th time.

Navy had won the past seven CICs, but the Falcons beat the Middies 14-6 in October behind Jefferson's two touchdowns.

Saturday's victory gave Air Force (6-4) its first CIC trophy since 2002.

Following Tradition at Army, After Detour at Air Force

The New York Times ran a great story about Army fullback Jared Hassin, who transfered from the Air Force Academy.

The story can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/sports/ncaafootball/06army.html

Navy Loses Homecoming Game to Duke

Army Beats VMI 29-7

Associated Press

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- As recently as week three of this season, Army's Jared Hassin was listed as a reserve.

The Black Knights age glad he's getting the ball more now.

Hassin ran 38 yards for a touchdown and finished with a career-best 158 yards rushing, leading Army to a 29-7 win over Virginia Military Institute.

"I feel pretty good," Hassin said. "The wins always help."

Hassin, who had his third straight 100-yard rushing game, also had 54 yards receiving as Army (5-3) had little trouble handling its Football Championship Subdivision opponent.

"We know he's got the potential to be a great player," Army coach Rich Ellerson said of Hassin, who also broke off a 54-yard run and leads the team in rushing.

Quarterback Trent Steelman scored on a 1-yard dive to put the Black Knights ahead 7-0 with 4:08 left in the first quarter. Hassin's TD run early in the second quarter made it 14-0. A safety and a field goal put Army up 19-0 at halftime.

VMI (3-5) scored with 4:18 left in the third quarter on a fourth-down, 1-yard plunge by Chaz Jones.

Eric Kordenbrock threw for 139 yards for VMI, while Steelman finished with 65 passing yards and added 42 on the ground for Army.

Army, which came into the game with the nation's No. 8 rushing offense, got 316 yards on the ground. The Black Knights still have hopes of a bowl game berth as they get set for Air Force next week.

"There's a lot to be excited about," Ellerson said.

After a second field goal early in the fourth quarter, Army sealed the win on an electrifying defensive play.

Donovan Travis intercepted Kordenbrock at the Army 21, scrambled through traffic, and flipped a lateral to Jordan Trimble while falling to his knees. Trimble raced the final 42 yards, making it 29-7.

"That's not a drill you'll see us do on Tuesday, I promise," Ellerson said.

VMI was unable to capitalize after recovering an unforced fumble by Steelman near midfield in the closing seconds of the third. VMI has beaten Army only once in their 15 meetings.

"Overall, they played a lot better and they're the stronger team." VMI coach Sparky Woods said. "I thought they won the battle at the line of scrimmage."

Army-Air Force Game Sold Out

What could be the deciding game in this year's Commander-in-Chief's Trophy has sold out.

Army-Air Force Football Game Sold Out
Courtesy: Army Athletic Communications
Release: 10/22/2010 13:40:05(ET)

WEST POINT, N.Y.  – The Army-Air Force football game at Michie Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 6 has been sold out. The game marks the first advance sell out of the season for the Black Knights.

Fans without tickets to the Air Force game can still catch the Black Knights on Saturday, Oct. 30 versus VMI. Tickets can be purchased on-line or by calling the Army Athletics ticket office at 1-877-TIX-ARMY.

Those fans who have already purchased Air Force tickets, but have not yet bought their parking pass are encouraged to do so as soon as possible in order to expedite entrance through the gates at West Point. Parking passes can be purchased on-line or by calling the ticket office.

Fans attending the Air Force game are also encouraged  to arrive at Michie Stadium well ahead of the noon kickoff time. With the capacity crowd on hand, fans may experience longer than usual lines entering the security gates, parking lots and Michie Stadium entrances.

Army-Navy Tickets Go On Sale

Though Navy and Army's ticket blocks are sold out, public tickets went on sale Friday for the 111th Army-Navy Game through the Philadelphia Sports Congress.

Tickets can be purchased through www.ticketmaster.com and are $65, with a limit of six tickets per purchase.

Premium Luxury Ticket Packages can also be purchased by calling 1-888-322-2582. Ticket packages include pre-game sideline passes and parking passes.

Navy Beats Notre Dame, 35-17

Ricky Dobbs' 3 TDs help Navy beat Notre Dame for the 3rd time in 4 years
 

Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The only thing shocking about this Notre Dame loss to Navy was the ease with which the Midshipmen handled Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish.

Ricky Dobbs scored three touchdowns and Alexander Teich ran for 210 yards to lead Navy to its third victory against the Irish in the last four seasons, a 35-17 rout on Saturday at the New Meadowlands Stadium.
    
The 84-year old series, which Notre Dame (4-4) once owned like no other in college football history, now belongs to Navy (5-2).

In 2007, the Midshipmen snapped their NCAA record 43-game losing streak to Notre Dame with a 46-44 win in overtime at South Bend, Ind. Last year, Navy did it again, winning 23-21 at Notre Dame Stadium, the first of four straight losses that ended the Charlie Weis era.

Add this one and Dobbs and his fellow seniors are now the third class at Navy to beat Notre Dame three times, joining the 1937 and '64 classes.

"Being able to say my senior class is one of those to beat Notre Dame three times is special right there," safety Wyatt Middleton said. "Notre Dame always had that streak going with us, but recently things have changed."

Have they ever.

These were the types of startling losses Notre Dame faithful figured would stop when Kelly was hired. Instead, it was the Irish's most lopsided loss against Navy since 1963.

Navy tweaked the blocking scheme and emphasized the inside run by the fullback Teich in its triple-option. And Notre Dame looked helpless to stop it.

"We always have new wrinkles," Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "We do the same thing over and over but there is subtle stuff. This is what we are, an option team. Yes, we run the triple but we have a ton of different variations on running it. We had to have some wrinkles because they're a good football team."

The Midshipmen ran for 367 yards, the most ever by Navy against Notre Dame, and Teich carried 26 times to become the first fullback in school history to rush for 200 in a game.

"A scheme is one thing, but you still have to win one-on-one matchups," Kelly said. "We got beat today. Navy was the better football team today."

Just figuring out who had the ball seemed a struggle for the Irish.

The Notre Dame-Navy rivalry used to be as lopsided as it gets. These days, that streak seems like a distant memory, writes Kieran Darcy. Story

"They ran things we knew were going to come, they just did some things a little more often than they usually do," Irish linebacker Manti Te'o said. "We didn't execute they way we needed to be executing out there."

Offensively, Dayne Crist and the Irish moved the ball, but the quarterback tossed two key interceptions when the score was still close. Dobbs' third touchdown, a 1-yard plunge, came after Crist threw his second pick, and made the score 35-10 with 4:38 left in the third quarter.

It was a Navy home game at the NFL stadium, but there were plenty of Notre Dame fans in the crowd of 75,614 -- and plenty heading for the exits when the third quarter ended.

The Fighting Irish had won three straight coming in and figured to be in the middle of the easy part of their schedule, coming off Western Michigan and with Tulsa coming to South Bend next week. Sure they were playing without two top receivers -- Theo Riddick was out with an ankle injury and Michael Floyd was in uniform but sat out with a sore right hamstring -- but the Irish always have a talent advantage against Navy.

Don't they?

Navy made it clear it was done playing the punching bag against the Irish. In fact, it was Notre Dame getting roughed up from the start.

Navy stopped Notre Dame's first possession on a fourth-and-goal from inside the 1, when Crist was stacked up on a quarterback sneak.

"We outman them by 70 pounds on average up front," Kelly said. "If you can't get a foot on the one-half yard line, you get what you deserve."

The Midshipmen flipped the field and grabbed the lead on just a few plays.

Teich got rolling with a 54-yard run up the middle, then the fullback made a one-handed grab on a screen pass and vaulted into the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown.

"It's the biggest stage I've ever been on," Teich said.

David Ruffer kicked a 45-yard field goal for Notre Dame, but Navy came right back with another touchdown drive. Dobbs finished it with a 3-yard score to make it 14-3.

Notre Dame cut the lead to 14-10 with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Crist to TJ Jones and the Irish followed up with their only defensive stop of the half.

But Crist was intercepted throwing into traffic by De'Von Richardson at the Notre Dame 30, setting up Gee Gee Greene's 9-yard TD run to give Navy a 21-10 lead at half.

Dobbs ran for 90 yards on 20 carries and tied the school record for rushing touchdowns with 43, matching Chris McCoy's mark set from 1995 to 1997.

"It was amazing," Dobbs said of the offense. "Very close to perfection."

Notre Dame, meanwhile, was perfectly awful, but Crist vowed this loss to Navy won't send the team into the tank the way last year's did.

"The guys are in there, they're rallying," he said. "They are a real resilient bunch."

For more coverage of the game, check out: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=302962426 

Mids Could Lose Commander-in-Chief's Trophy for First Time in Eight Years

After fourteen straight victories over Air Force and Army, the tides may be changing for Navy. The current Commander-in-Chief's Trophy standings are:


1. Air Force
2(T). Navy
2(T). Army


The Air Force Falcons beat the Midshipmen at home on October 1, 14-6, and are scheduled to face the Golden Knights of Army on November 6 at West Point. If the Falcons lose to Army, the 111th Army Navy Game will decide the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy.

Navy Beats SMU, Now 5-2

The Navy Midshipmen came from behind yesterday to beat the Southern Methodist Unviersity Mustangs 28-21.

Game Day Information

The game day schedule has been set for the 111th Army Navy football game:


WHEN: Saturday, December 11, 2010
WHERE: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA


GATES OPEN: 10:30 AM
MARCH ON: 11:30 AM
KICK OFF: 2:40 PM