The palm trees and Hawaiian shirts will have to wait. And the number of syllables in Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada's last name is undoubtedly higher than the temperature at RFK Stadium.But football is here.
FanHouse is live at the inaugural EagleBank Bowl in Washington, the opening bowl game of the season. Check back as we update every quarter with analysis from the unfortunately outdoor press box.
Of course, with Navy blasting a cannon for every score, that and the temperature offer up a fairly good illusion of what it might be like to go ice-fishing with Plaxico Burress.
Fourth Quarter
The Midshipmen played a heck of a game. But Riley Skinner was perfect. Kevin Harris wasn't far behind.
Skinner didn't miss a pass in the fourth quarter or the game, finishing 11-of-11 and four-of-four in the final quarter, connecting with Chip Brinkman for a 44-yard pass on the Deacons' game-winning 80-yard drive and Ben Wooster for the game-winning touchdown.Harris, who unofficially finished with 122 yards, Rich Belton, who scampered for the final touchdown, a 35-yard bolt, and the Wake defense salted away the rest of the game.
Navy's offense ran like a well-oiled machine on the Midshipmen's first drive of the quarter, possibly having been slipped the motor oil in the coffe pot in the press box.
Navy's cut-and-paste quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada ripped off a 35-yard run on a keeper down the sideline, thanks to a huge block from senior wide receiver Curtis Sharp. He then slammed into the end zone from two yards out despite eight Deacons lined up in the box.
But the Midshipmen were forced to punt on their second possession with 5:40 left and fumbled it away one yard away from a first down on 4th-and-10 deep in their own zone. Wake's Belton carried the ball into the end zone two plays later.
Nearly 29,000 were on hand for the inaugural bowl, marking the largest selection of the cryogenically frozen this side of Joe Paterno's rolodex.
Wake Forest wins 29-19
Third Quarter
If you watched the second quarter, feel free to skip over the third and watch something claymation based instead of the second. Anything involving Joe Paterno will suffice. On the field, it was a carbon copy of the second quarter, Wake Forest slugging its way downfield in a game that has by and large only flirted with the forward pass.
The Demon Deacons marched the ball downfield 73 yards over 5:13 seconds before Josh Adams slammed up the middle for a five-yard touchdown.
There have been only 13 passes thrown thus far in the game, which pales in comparison to the way players on the sideline are handling the cold. Wake linebacker Dominique Midgett tried dancing; Kevin Harris tried high-stepping on the sideline.
But it was a quarter of dominance for Wake. Chip Vaughn got his payback on Shun Whit, dropping the back for no gain on third down, forcing a Navy punt, then letting him know who exactly was responsible for him ending up on his back
And fittingly, a fullback is making his case for MVP. Harris has 114 yards unofficially, the first 100 yard game of his career. Those numbers are my back of the envelope adding though, and be advised I once added five and six and got purple.
Wake leads 14-13
Second Quarter
Hello, Wake Forest. Welcome to Washington.
It took the Deacons a quarter, but somebody finally put a litlte chicken soup in their offense.
Wake Forest put a decent drive together on its first possession, keyed off a 29-yard run up the middle by Kevin
Harris, but Sam Swank's 49-yard field goal clanked off the left upright. But Jim Grobe's decision to kick the 49-yarder instead of go for it on fourth-and-three at the 32-yard line seems destined for second guessing. The Deacons' second drive went from their own 2-yard line, following Alphonso Smith's interception, to the end zone as the offensive line knocked the Midshipmen off the ball and let Harris gouge his way downfield. Quarterback Riley Skinner finally found the distance, completing three passes for 58 yards on the drive. Wake's touchdown with 36 seconds left snapped Navy's 160-minute shutout streak, dating back to the Notre Dame game.
Credit D.J. Boldin for being wide open enough that the uncle from Napolean Dynamite could've hit him.
The Midshipmen finished a drive from the first quarter to put another field goal on the board and marched downfield again in the second before cut-and-paste mandatory quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada lofted a can of corn interception to Smith, the 21st of Smith's career, marking a new ACC record.
A Wake Forest fumble in the midst of their 98-yard scoring drive initially resulted in a Navy touchdown but was correctly overturned. Harris fumbled again on the same drive, but it bounced out of bounds. The cold weather is certainly playing a factor. But at least they don't have to type Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada.
Navy leads 13-7
First Quarter
All it needed was a host of those Saved by Zero commercials to make it a near TiVo replay of the first matchup between these two teams, which Navy won 24-17 in Winston-Salem.
For the 12th time in 13 games this season, Navy marched down the field to score on its opening possession, a 40-yard field goal by David Harmon, set up by a 39-yard blast by Shun White.
Navy later scored on a 50-yard fumble return by Rashawn King, the seventh turnover the Midshipmen have forced against Wake Forest this season.
Credit Navy for doing it exactly in midshipmen style, mixing blockers and running backs in combination like they're trying to break a safe before slamming the whole mess downfield. Defensively, they've more or less formed a blockade, keeping Wake Forest's offense entirely in front of them with the exception of back-to-back 14 and 10-yard runs.
As for Wake Forest, it's cold and the Deacons are colder.
Navy's White is making the early case for MVP and already has one heck of a signature moment when crushed Wake Forest cornerback Chip Vaughn like a batting practice fastball and spent time standing over the cornerback so there would be no doubt exactly as the license plate of the truck that hit him.
Navy leads 10-0
