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.
