Oct. 6, 2008
• Navy Football Game Notes
Game 7: Navy (4-2) vs. #24 / RV Pitt (4-1)
Saturday, Oct. 18 • 3:30 p.m. • Homecoming • Annapolis, Md. • Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000)
Gameday Multimedia
Television:
• CBS College Sports Network — Tom Hart (play-by-play), Trev Alberts (analyst)
Radio / Internet:
• Navy Radio Network — Bob Socci (play-by-play), Omar Nelson (analyst), John Feinstein (analyst), Pete Medhurst (sideline)
• Sirius Radio — Channel to be announced
Navy All-Access:
• All home Navy football games are available via the internet at www.NavySports.com
Live Stats:
• Gametracker on NavySports.com
Navy-Pitt Game Data
• Coming off a thrilling 33-27 victory over service academy rival Air Force last Saturday in Colorado Springs, Navy (4-2) will have a week to heal before playing host to 24th-ranked Pitt (4-1), who upset No. 10 South Florida, 26-21. The Mids and Panthers will battle a week from Saturday (Oct. 18) in Annapolis in a nationally-televised contest on CBS College Sports Network.
• Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Trev Alberts (color) will call the action from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000) beginning at 3:30 p.m.
• The Navy Football Radio Network will provide more than six hours of coverage starting at 1:30 p.m. Eastern with its pregame show on 1430 WNAV (Annapolis) hosted by Pete Medhurst, Joe Miller and Wiley Baker.
• The Navy Football Pregame Show will get underway at 3:00 p.m. Eastern with Bob Socci, Omar Nelson, John Feinstein and Pete Medhurst setting the scene from Annapolis, followed by game action beginning at 3:30 p.m. Sirius Radio will also carry the Navy broadcast on a channel to be announced.
The Navy Radio Network includes of the following ...
• WNAV 1430 AM (Annapolis) | WBAL 1090 AM (Baltimore)
• WFED 1050 AM, 1500 AM, 820 AM (Washington DC)
• WTRI 1520 AM (Frederick)
• WXTG 102.1 FM (Va. Beach) | 1490 AM (Hampton Roads)
• Get the insider news by tuning in to the Navy Football Pregame Show with Bob Socci, Omar Nelson, John Feinstein and Pete Medhurst. The pregame show includes feature news on “This Date in Navy History” presented by Navy Federal Credit Union, “The Coaches Corner” presented by General Dynamics, “Keys to the Game” presented by Toyota, “Today in College Football” presented by BAE Systems, as well as interviews with head coach Ken Niumatalolo and select players.
• New to this year’s radio line-up is a 60-minute postgame show on 1430 WNAV. Recapping the day’s events will be Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller live from the Superintendent’s tent in the southwest corner of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Pregame Information
• Pregame festivities will get underway next Saturday at 1:15 p.m. with the Navy Football Team Walk.
• Originating at the Blue Angel in the southwest corner of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, the team will make its way down the sidewalk and through NavyFest before walking up the drive to the stadium. Fans are encouraged to line up on both sides of the sidewalk to cheer for the team.
• The march-on of the Brigade of Midshipmen will take place at 3:11 p.m.
Niumatalolo Wins First Service Academy Game
• Thanks to a 33-27 victory over Air Force, Ken Niumatalolo became the first Navy head coach to win his first service academy game since George Welsh in 1973 (Welsh beat Air Force, 42-6).
• Niumatalolo is also the first service academy coach to win a service academy game on the first try since Fisher DeBerry beat Navy, 29-22, in 1984.
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Mids Win Sixth Straight Over Air Force
• Cornerback
Blake Carter (Jr. / Stillwater, Okla.) picked up a blocked punt by
Greg Shinego (Sr. / Port St. Lucie, Fla.) and ran 25 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and then blocked a punt of his own that
Bobby Doyle (Jr. / Chardon, Ohio) fell on in the back of the end zone for a touchdown that gave Navy a 33-20 fourth quarter lead as the Midshipmen went on to score a 33-27 victory before 46,339 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs. The win was the sixth straight by Navy over Air Force.
• Navy’s special teams dominated play all day as kicker
Matt Harmon (Sr. / Greenville, S.C.) tied a school record by drilling four field goals, meanwhile the kickoff team pinned Air Force inside the 10-yard line on the opening kickoff of the third period, setting up Navy’s only offensive touchdown of the day.
• The Navy defense came up with big play after big play. In the first quarter, Air Force had the ball first-and-10 at the Navy 12-yard line, but the Falcons had to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Ryan Harrison.
• In the second quarter, Air Force got the ball down to the one-yard line, but on third down Air Force quarterback Shea Smith was stopped by defensive end
Jabaree Tuani (Fr. / Madison, Tenn.) for no gain and on fourth down junior
Ram Vela (San Antonio, Texas) stuffed Ty Paffett for a loss of one yard, thwarting the Air Force threat.
• In the third quarter, after Navy had taken a 23-20 lead on a 44-yard field goal by Harmon, the defense stopped Smith on a fourth-and-three play as Pospisil tripped up Smith at the 35-yard line, one yard short of the first down marker.
• After a Navy punt, safety
Wyatt Middleton (So. / Norcross, Ga.) caused a fumble on the next play as he put a textbook hit on Air Force running back Savier Stephens, hitting the ball with his helmet and causing it to pop up in the air. The fumble was grabbed by
Matt Nechak (Jr. / Canoga, Calif.). Four plays later, Harmon made his fourth field goal of the day, this one from 32 yards out.
• Carter then blocked the punt on Air Force’s next possession to put the game away.
• Quarterback
Jarod Bryant (Sr. / Hoover, Ala.) led the Navy offense with 101 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries. He completed one of his two pass attempts, a 38-yarder to
Shun White (Sr. / Memphis, Tenn.).
• Senior fullback
Eric Kettani (Kirtland, Ohio) bulled his way to 75 yards on 22 carries.
• Defensively, the Mids were led by rover
Jeff Deliz (Sr. / Clinton Township, Mich.) and Tuani, who turned in 10 tackles each. Both players also forced an Air Force fumble. Linebacker
Corey Johnson (Sr. / Anderson, Ind.) and Pospisil had nine tackles each.
Mids Hold Block Party in Colorado Springs
• Slot back Greg Shinego (Sr. / Port St. Lucie, Fla.) blocked a punt by Air Force’s Ryan Harrison in the first quarter and the ball was picked up by Blake Carter (Jr. / Stillwater, Okla.) and returned 25 yards for a touchdown.
• It was Navy’s first blocked punt returned for a touchdown since Shaka Martin blocked a punt against Tulane and Gino Marchetti returned it 10 yards for a touchdown on Nov. 13, 1999.
• In the fourth quarter of the Air Force game, Carter blocked Harrison’s punt and it was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown by Bobby Doyle (Jr. / Chardon, Ohio).
• It is the first time in school history that Navy has blocked two punts for a touchdown in a single game and it also tied an NCAA record held by several schools.
Piling Up the Points
• The 33 points Navy scored against Air Force are the most by a Navy team against the Falcons since 1978 when the Mids won 37-8 in Colorado Springs.
• The 27 points scored by Air Force are the most by a losing team in series history.
Mids Service Academy Dominance
• The Mids are 47-22 (.681) over the last six years and have proven to be the dominant service academy team over that time span.
• Navy has won 12-straight service academy games dating back to the Army-Navy game in 2002, outscoring the opposition 407-205 (33.9 - 17.1) during the 12-game winning streak.
• With their 33-27 win over Air Force, the Mids tied the all-time record for consecutive service academy wins set by Air Force who won 12 in a row from 1997-2002.
Scouting Pitt
• Like Navy, Pitt will have this week open before heading to Annapolis next Saturday boasting a 4-1 record. In addition to its win over 10th-ranked South Florida a week ago, the Panthers also own victories over Buffalo (27-16), Iowa (21-20) and Syracuse (34-24).
• Pitt’s only loss came in the season opener to Bowling Green, 27-17.
• Pitt is ranked 56th nationally in rushing offense (151.4), 69th in passing offense (205.6), T66th in total offense (357.0) and 69th in scoring offense (25.0).
• The Panthers are ranked 43rd nationally in rush defense (117.8), 27th in pass defense (176.4), 27th in total defense (294.2) and 50th in scoring defense (21.6).
• All-America candidate LeSean McCoy, a running back, ranks 18th in the country in rushing yards per game, averaging 106.6 yards per contest.
• Inside linebacker Scott McKillop is tied for 13th in the country in tackles per game (10.4) and tied for fourth in tackles for a loss (1.80).
• Field goal kicker Conor Lee is tied for 12th in the country in field goals made per game, averaging 1.80 per contest.
Navy Vs. The Big East
• The Midshipmen are 46-55-4 (.457) all-time against current members of the Big East Conference, including 1-0 this season.
• Navy owns winning records against Cincinnati (2-0), Connecticut (6-1) and West Virginia (6-2) and thanks to its win over the Scarlet Knights earlier this season, the Mids own a .500 record against Rutgers.
The Last Time ... Navy 48, Pitt 45 (2OT) Oct. 10, 2007 | Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Cornerback Rashawn King knocked down a fade pass from Pitt quarterback Pat Bostick intended for Darrell Strong on fourth-and-goal from the Navy two-yard line in the second overtime to give Navy a thrilling, 48-45, double overtime victory over the Panthers.
• The victory was the first overtime win in program history for the Midshipmen.
• Kicker Joey Bullen gave Navy the three-point lead with a 29-yard field goal on the Mids’ possession in the second overtime and then the Navy defense broke up two passes in the end zone to give the Mids their third-straight victory.
• The game was an offensive slugfest as the two teams combined for 915 yards and 93 points. Neither team held a lead of more than seven points all night in a game that featured six ties and four lead changes.
• Quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada continued his sensational play at quarterback, rushing for 122 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries and completing nine of his 12 pass attempts for 166 yards and two touchdowns.
• Slot back Reggie Campbell had the best game of his senior campaign, piling up 139 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns (1 rushing, two receiving).
• The Navy defense was led by freshman Wyatt Middleton, who recorded a career-high 12 stops. Irv Spencer had 10 tackles, while King had nine tackles and his first-career interception to go along with his game-winning pass break-up.
Mids Endure Long Stretch Between Home Games
• Navy last played a home game on Sept. 20 which resulted in a memorable 23-21 win over Rutgers.
• When Oct. 18 rolls around, it will have been 28 days since Navy last played at home.
• The 28 days without a home game is tied for the ninth-longest stretch in the country.
• Navy will finish the season with three-straight home games, two neutral site games (Notre Dame in Baltimore and Army in Philadelphia) and one road game (Northern Illinois).
• Central Michigan has the toughest schedule in the country in terms of not playing at home with two stretches of 30 days or more without a home game.
Home Sweet Home
• Navy is 23-7 (.767) in games played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium over the last six years, the country’s 24th-best mark.
