NCAA Football FanHouse

No Playoff or +1 but Two More Minor Bowls Added

Charles Rich — Fri, 02 May 2008 08:10:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, ACC, Big East, Conference USA, Mountain West, WAC, Bowl Games

As the BCS Coalition rejects anything approaching a playoff for the BCS Championship, the NCAA certified two more minor bowls because that's what the nation really wanted. Say hello to the Congressional Bowl in Washington D.C. and the St. Petersburg Bowl in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Congressional Bowl will likely feature Navy and the 9th place team from the ACC. Not that the ACC has produced more than 8 bowl eligible teams in a season and Navy no longer has Paul Johnson coaching them. Don't worry, though, the MAC will be the fallback.

Not that the St. Petersburg -- your corporate sponsor name here -- Bowl is a particularly attractive bowl. It features the 7th place (or 6th depending on Notre Dame) Big East team versus the 5th or 6th place Conference USA team.

Stunningly this is better than expected since the NCAA actually rejected a third bowl bid. The Rocky Mountain Bowl in Salt Lake City between the WAC and MWC. Sure they had no date, TV partner or deal with the stadium, but apparently that wasn't necessarily going to stop them.

No Playoff or +1 but Two More Minor Bowls Added originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 02 May 2008 08:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Navy Goes Bowl Shopping

Brian Grummell — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, Bowl Games, The Word

Such is the peril of independence in conference-driven college football

Navy's football program has a strong bowl resume. They've made five straight postseason appearances. They have a national fan base. Their fans travel well and buy bowl tickets. They get good TV ratings. And they still can't find a bowl home.

Athletic director Chet Gladchuk has been successful in negotiating the Midshipmen into five consecutive bowls, but at this moment there is nothing in place for 2008.

Navy has an ongoing relationship with the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, having appeared in that game in 2005 and 2007. However, the Mids are not scheduled to return to the Poinsettia Bowl until 2010, leaving Gladchuk looking for a landing spot in 2008 and 2009.

"We are going through our annual offseason ritual of jockeying for a postseason opportunity. All we can do is try to cultivate relationships with various bowls and hope something opens up," Gladchuk said last month.

Navy's at the mercy of several big conferences. If someone doesn't fill a contracted bowl slot, that creates an opening for any remaining bowl eligible teams such as Navy.

We'd tease them a little here, but I'm guessing the program sees the big picture and isn't really complaining. They're the Naval Academy after all, and there's no crying in ~~baseball~~ military life. In all seriousness, we hope Navy finds a bowl home this year (assuming they even win six games to become bowl eligible after resurrection artist coach Paul Johnson left town for Georgia Tech this offseason).

(H/T: The Wizard of Odds)

Navy Goes Bowl Shopping originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Johnson to Georgia Tech

Bill Maloney — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:52:00 EST

Filed under: Georgia Tech Football, Navy Football, ACC, BCS, NCAA FB Coaching

According to reports in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Paul Johnson has agreed to become the next head football coach at Georgia Tech. The AJC's venerable college football insider Tony Barnhart does hedge in his article that there is always a chance that Johnson could change his mind. (And after a week filled with false alarms on the coaching carousel, can you blame Tony for playing a little CYA?)

When Georgia Tech fired Chan Gailey, they gave lip service to finding a coach to excite their fanbase. Johnson is not Mr. Personality but he is a proven winner and winning games fills seats. Outside of his W-L record the two big pluses for Johnson at Georgia Tech are his familiarity with recruiting in the state of Georgia (he was a head coach at Georgia Southern) and his history of recruiting at a school with challenging admission standards.

The only question mark is what sort of offense will he use. He made his name with Navy's triple option, but has plenty of experience with passing oriented schemes. Jacket fans probably won't care if he throws all day or keeps it on the ground. All he needs to do is beat Georgia.

Report: Johnson to Georgia Tech originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:52:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's Video Game Football as Navy Scores 74

Brian Grummell — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 00:44:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, Conference USA, The Word, North Texas Football

Oh, and their opponent North Texas dropped in 62 points for good measure. No, it's not WAC football, but it sure is special.

For the math challenged that's 136 regulation points between two college football teams.

Imagine the noise made by those old school adding machines or cash registers. Now pretend they started making noise for every chunk of say, 10 yards. Place them on the sidelines for today's game and imagine how absolutely constant and annoying they would be adding up the 1300 units of combined yardage between these two teams.

Frankly, I'm thrilled. I'm an offensive guy so that stuff just makes me grin from ear to ear. Defense is important (crucial, in fact), but I'm a positive motion kind of guy. Defense is simply the art of getting in the way and tonight neither team made much effort to get in the way.

Navy already leads the nation in rushing, but they've probably iced the rushing title with a few weeks to spare after churning out 572 yards tonight (on 57 carries! 10 yards/attempt!).

Anchors aweigh!

It's Video Game Football as Navy Scores 74 originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 11 Nov 2007 00:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YouTubesday: 43 Years of Frustration Gone in One Moment

Brian Cook — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:10:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, Notre Dame Football

These "fans yelling when something good happens" videos are all pretty much the same: something good happens, fans yell really loud, person holding the camera swings it around wildly until you feel like you're going to throw up. This is that, but since it comes from the Navy section at Notre Dame Stadium on the final play of the game, it seems post-worthy anyway:

Congrats to Navy on breaking a 43-year long streak of futility. (HT: Pitch Right.) A tribute to Ram Vela's flying squirrel attack after the jump.

As promised:

Best ninja sack ever? Discuss.

YouTubesday: 43 Years of Frustration Gone in One Moment originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Navy Cancels Classes To Celebrate

Tom Fornelli — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:33:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, Notre Dame Football

In my lifetime of being a Notre Dame fan, I've had to suffer through my fair share of low points. Most of which have come this season. What happened on Saturday though, losing to Navy in triple overtime, that's the lowest I've ever felt.

I'm not a blind Notre Dame homer, I realize when the team sucks, and this team sucks. Still, I didn't think they could actually lose to Navy. I also didn't think Charlie Weis would be smart enough to go for it on a 4th and 8 on the 25-yard line late in the 4th quarter of a tie game, but I guess I'm just a damn moron. Surely the genius knows more about football than I do.

Anyway, getting past my Irish angst, it must feel really nice to be a member of the Naval Academy right now. They finally got the monkey off their back, and when you do that, there's only one thing you can do: party. They're partying so hard in Annapolis, they even canceled classes on Monday.

The Naval Academy canceled classes Monday, giving the 4,400 midshipmen another day to celebrate the football team's first victory over Notre Dame in 44 tries.

I'd be angry with the Academy for reveling in my shame so much, but really how I can be mad at them in good conscience? When they're done playing football they'll be out their putting their lives on the line to protect us from all those evil terrorists and Canada. We can't thank them enough for that.

Navy Cancels Classes To Celebrate originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Duke's Two-Game Winning Streak Was Fun In Theory

Ian Cohen — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 23:46:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, ACC, BCS, Duke Football

I spent most of my Saturday getting irresponsibly rocked, but that was about the only thing that didn't feel strange. In Los Angeles, it rained all day. Buckets. And then Syracuse pulled off what was numerically the biggest upset in college football history. I was ready for just about anything, up to and including the unthinkable: Duke winning two games in consecutive weeks against DI teams without having to sell out and take a date with a Sun Belt team. During a particularly inspired fifteen minutes, I was halfway through preparing the celebratory post for their victory over Navy. And let's face it: you gotta be pretty heartless to root against Navy provided you didn't go to some other service academy.

For however long, order was restored as the Middies mounted a furious comeback to avoid the ignominy of getting bested by the former losers of 22-straight, ending the 46-43 firefight (over 1,000 total yards! For reals!) with a 44-yard field goal. Despite the increasingly impressive play of sophomore gunslinger Thaddeus Lewis (427 passing yards on Saturday), it's unlikely that Duke will get a better chance at victory until at least November, since their conference slate is particularly unforgiving. Then again, they round out against Notre Dame and UNC, so maybe hope of an actual two-game winning streak isn't so far fetched after all.

Duke's Two-Game Winning Streak Was Fun In Theory originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 24 Sep 2007 23:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rutgers Fans Make West Virginia Fans Look Good by Comparison

John Radcliff — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:09:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, West Virginia Football, Big East, Rutgers Football

West Virginia fans take a lot grief for their actions and their t-shirts from the rest of the country. And rightfully so. We have "allegedly" dropped trash cans on opposing coaches, taken a number two in the opposing bands seats, burned couches, and drink too much. And yeah, the t-shirt. You can have one hand delivered to your tailgate if you keep your eyes open.

But word out of Piscataway is that the Rutgers student section was being a little more than rough on the Navy football team and fans last Friday night. Even though all the bad words are dashed out, I'm still don't think it's something I want to reprint. But the general feeling of those present goes something like this.

"This is how you treat people who may die for this country?" said Bill Squires, an Annapolis graduate (Class of'75) who was on the sidelines for the Friday night game in Piscataway and was shocked by the obscene chants directed at the Navy players and fans throughout the game. "It was the most classless thing I've seen."

Navy was booed and peppered with "You suck!" chants when they stepped on the field for both halves. Toward the end of the second half, Rutgers students in the new bleacher section began to serenade the adjacent section of Navy fans and uniformed Midshipmen.

Maybe it's just because today is 9/11 and the emotions are running a little high, but if there was ever a team that you shouldn't be disrespectful to, this is it. Well, all the service academies probably deserve to be treated a little different. There are certain games on everyone's schedule that you know things like this are going to happen. Pitt-West Virginia, Michigan-Ohio St., etc. I'm not saying it's right, but you know from experience that the bad blood will never go away. So you bring your ear muffs, or you stay at home and watch. But what did Navy do to anyone?

Rutgers Fans Make West Virginia Fans Look Good by Comparison originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:09:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Temple Might Not Be the Worst

Charles Rich — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 23:52:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, MAC, Temple Football

Navy still won, 30-19, but it was a lot better game than expected from the Temple Owls. Navy jumped out quickly, but Temple actually responded instead of folding quickly. Navy piled up tons of rushing yards but was forced to settle for field goals.

Temple showed more than a pulse. It actually looked like Head Coach Al Golden might be making progress with the team. At the very least, they have a shot of being considered better than FIU, FAU, Duke, Buffalo and other perennial bottom feeders of 1A football. At the very least, they might actually be relevant in the MAC in their first season as a full member.

The game also marked the return of Navy Fullback Adam Ballard. Ballard broke his leg at the end of last year in the Army-Navy game. In this game Ballard scored two of Navy's three touchdowns. Nice way to start a senior season.

Navy's offense remains as potent, but their defense definitely has some issues. The Midshipmen struggled with screens and short passes.

Temple Might Not Be the Worst originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 31 Aug 2007 23:52:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maryland, Navy Point Fingers Instead of Play

Bill Maloney — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:54:00 EST

Filed under: Maryland Football, Navy Football, ACC, BCS

Although Maryland and Navy are only 30 miles apart, they have only played each other once in the last 42 seasons. Their 2005 game in Baltimore proved to be a major success so you'd think it would be a no brainer to play more often. But that's not happening and both sides are blaming each other. Maryland wants to schedule a game in 2010, but Navy is dragging their feet. It seems the Middies are still a little miffed about Maryland's decision to play in the Champs Bowl last season instead of facing the Naval Academy in the Meineke Bowl in Charlotte. This game makes too much sense not to happen and Navy's status as an independent gives them enough flexibility to fit into the Terps' schedule. Look for them to kiss and makeup if not out of convenience than over the potential dollars this game can generate.

Maryland, Navy Point Fingers Instead of Play originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Army and Navy Targets of Big East "Idea"

Matt Glaude — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 19:25:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, Big East, NCAA FB Gossip, NCAA FB Rumors, Army Football

Add two more institutions to a list that already consists of Central Florida, East Carolina, Memphis, Massachusetts, and likely every other school with a football team and zip code east of the Mississippi.

As Mitch Vingle of West Virginia's Charleston Gazette opines, a Big East Conference association with Army and Navy is gaining momentum with league officials:

The idea is a joint football-only membership (or "association'' if you will) for Army and Navy. The two service academies would play four games apiece each season against Big East schools. The setup would help all involved in the area of scheduling. The association could even extend to bowl games.

Multiple Big East officials confirmed the idea is alive, although one said it is "not full-blown yet.'' When reached on Tuesday, however, West Virginia University athletic director Ed Pastilong hinted he'd like to see the idea mushroom.

"This is an option that deserves serious consideration,'' he said.

Pastilong has heard many of the wild expansion rumors. From East Carolina to Penn State and, pretty much, every school in between. He's heard the fans' proposals of expanding to 12 football schools in order to stage a championship. But right now? "Realistically, this is a more plausible approach,'' he said. "Our future is 16 in basketball and eight or, possibly, nine in football. That's our future."

Despite its superficially appealing nature, this proposal -- including all other proposals not including Notre Dame or Penn State -- is fundamentally flawed.

First, for a conference already devoid of a structured identity, adding Army and Navy as, at best, part-time participants fails to remedy such a deficiency. Virtually every other major athletic association maintains some congealing aspect, be it geographic (ACC, SEC, Pac-10), institutional (Big 10), or "We enjoy rodeo, too!" (Big XII).

The Big East, contrastingly, is merely the remnants of old Eastern football. Its thrust has been -- and should always be -- hoops. Army and Navy marginally fit into such a tradition. The addtion of these two institutions fails to reduce the Frankenstein nature of the conference; rather, the academies will only emphasize the fractured structure of the league.

Second -- and this is probably the most salient point -- Army and Navy have no incentive to embark on such an experiment. As independent institutions, Army and Navy have the power to: (1) create their own schedules; (2) individually negotiate bowl arrangements; and (3) keep every single penny each institution generates.

The only downfall to not entering the Big East as part-time participants is that each institution remains on the outside of the BCS. However, it would be very surprising to see the Big East include Army and Navy in its BCS bowl package, especially if the academies only maintain partial membership.

Without more incentives inuring to either side of this "idea," I cannot fathom how such an arrangement will gain momentum and come to fruition. However, I was proven wrong before when I thought that the Big East would not be silly enough to allow Notre Dame to join the conference in all sports except football.

Army and Navy Targets of Big East "Idea" originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 08 Jul 2007 19:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alleged Fort Dix Terrorists Considered Army - Navy Game Attack

Brian Grummell — Thu, 17 May 2007 18:11:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, NCAA FB Rumors

Alleged homegrown jihadis arrested more than a week ago considered the Army-Navy football game - one of college football's biggest rivalries - a possible target for attack.

Court papers said one of the arrested, in a monitored phone conversation, rued a missed opportunity to strike at the Army-Navy football game at Lincoln Financial Field, only a few miles from the site of Wednesday's meeting.

"Hopefully they decided it's too hard of a target so we're not going to try it," said Leonard Bonacci, director of event services for the Philadelphia Eagles and who helps oversee security at the stadium.

Fortunately the appropriate authorities were alerted to the plotters before they staged their eventual planned attack on a New Jersey military base. News like this is a reminder that we live in an unsafe world and hopefully authorities can continue to provide appropriate security at college football games and all sporting events to deter such horrible events from ever happening.

Alleged Fort Dix Terrorists Considered Army - Navy Game Attack originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 17 May 2007 18:11:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The DC Bowl?

Charles Rich — Thu, 03 May 2007 22:08:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, Bowl Games, General CFB Insanity

It may not be as dumb as the long, lost, unlamented Garden City Bowl in New Jersey, but there are plans afoot to have yet another bowl game. This time in Washington D.C.

A proposal to bring a college football bowl game to RFK Stadium beginning in 2008 quietly has gained support from D.C. tourism officials and a key member of the D.C. council, who have aided the organizers' plan to submit a formal bid to the NCAA.

The District of Columbia Bowl Committee, which has been operating with little public fanfare since January, said it is closer than ever to putting together an application for the event within the next year and has targeted Navy as a perennial participant.

The group wants to hold the bowl game on or around December 21 each year. Even if they get this bowl approved, it may last about as long as the Garden City Bowl (one year) since RFK Stadium is slated for demolition in 2009.

It seems this may be part of a pipe dream plan to build a new retractable roof stadium to bring the Washington Redskins back to the actual DC limits. Along with the delusion of building yet another sports facility (after building facilities for the Washington Nationals and DC United), are the comical claims that a bowl game would generate between $34 and $57 million dollars for the city.

The DC Bowl? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 03 May 2007 22:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New NCAA Rule Good for JUCOS, Squeezes Prep Schools

Brian Grummell — Wed, 02 May 2007 22:46:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, West Virginia Football, Big 12, Big East, Kansas State Football

We've talked up the NCAA's ban on text messaging but a less noticed rule change could also affect the sport. The rule says that ($) high school football players must get a diploma in four years or they cannot play college football. What, you thought all college football players got their diplomas? Pffft.

You see, prep schools became a loophole for players to repeat any necessary classes, earn the necessary core credits and retake appropriate tests such as the SAT or ACT. With the new rule that loophole appears to have closed meaning "prep school" players must now either 1)get their acts together and graduate or 2)head off to a JUCO if they want to play college ball.

The prep schools afforded an opportunity to miss just one semester or a year of college without starting the four-year eligibility clock. For many this was seen as a time-saving alternative to junior college where players usually must either hit the books for a year and not play ball so as to have three years to play three or four years to play three OR hit the books and play football for two years but enter a D-IA college with only two years of eligibility remaining.

Much of this is inside baseball but the bottom line is that the NCAA is cutting out a middle man here and funneling prospective student-athletes into either the various junior colleges or the classroom before high school graduation and away from the prep schools such as Hargrave Military Academy.

The article mentions Army, Navy and West Virginia as schools likely to be severely affected by the new rule change.

Exit question: did Bill Snyder leave Kansas State two years too soon? This rule change is right up his alley.

New NCAA Rule Good for JUCOS, Squeezes Prep Schools originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 02 May 2007 22:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Navy's Bowl Invite Another Example of Broken Bowl System

Bill Maloney — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:08:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, BCS, Bowl Games, General CFB Insanity

Playoff advocates searching for their next target might be missing the point. I don't think it is the big boys of college football who will ultimately undermine the playoffs. There is no way an 8 or 16 team postseason would ever leave out the Big 10 or Pac 10 champs or not want to use the Rose Bowl for one of its games. The real beneficiaries of the bloated bowl system are the middle tier teams who pad their schedules with enough wins and ensure a made for TV contest, in some far flung destination in late December. Take Navy for example. The Midshipmen won't take the field for five more months yet have already locked up a bowl bid. Sure Navy must win six games to guarantee the spot, but with a schedule filled with Duke, Temple, Army, and Delaware, it shouldn't be a problem. You think Navy wants a playoff? No way. Under what format would an independent with light schedule ever see the postseason? In the current system they annually get to be the scrappy team that gets their moment of glory during ESPN's Bowl Week. There will probably be a few bowl-eligible teams that are more deserving than Navy who won't get invited to Poinsettia-like Bowls, but bowls are not entirely merit based. Tickets and TVs drive the deals.

The current bowl system sends more than 50 teams to the postseason. ADs, coaches and college presidents are not going to drastically change this broken system in order to reward fans and a few deserving teams. The infamous "plus one" game will happen before a real playoff. In the meantime while I was posting this article I think Navy just locked up their 2009 bowl bid.

Navy's Bowl Invite Another Example of Broken Bowl System originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What Does the Future Hold for Former Navy QB Lamar Owens?

Brian Stouffer — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:55:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, NCAA FB Police Blotter, NCAA FB Scandal

Just about a year ago, everything was moving along pretty well for Lamar Owens. A senior at the U.S. Naval Academy and the centerpiece to the nation's most prolific option rushing attack, Owens had just wrapped up a successful season and was looking forward to graduation and a commission in the Navy.

Then, in February of 2006, everything changed. Owens was accused of rape and brought up on formal charges before a military court. After a lengthy trial, Owens was found not guilty of sexual assault, but was found to be in violation of several military codes of conduct, most notably for having sex in a dorm room. In the aftermath of this verdict, Owen's future in the Navy is very uncertain. At this point, it appears that he will be formally released from the Academy and prohibited from graduation due to the misconduct that he was found guilty of at his trial.

Recently, however, there has been an outpouring of support in Annapolis to allow Owens to graduate and earn a commission (the video in the link gives a very detailed breakdown of the situation as it stands now). The local government has passed a resolution urging the Naval Academy to allow Owens to graduate, alumni have written in with an outpouring of support for Owens, and even students have shown their solidarity with a Facebook group.

Suffice to say, this a touchy and complicated case that goes well beyond the scope of college football. Without question, though, there will be immediate fallout in the wake of the decision, whatever it happens to be.

What Does the Future Hold for Former Navy QB Lamar Owens? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Navy Grabs Georgia Linebacker Over Air Force

Adam Rank — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 17:54:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, Air Force Football

As disappointing as the de-commitment of Philip Davis was (who has since committed to Tulane) Navy landed a good one today in Norcross linebacker James Simien. Simien is 6'1, 210-lb middle linebacker who chose Navy over Air Force, Ball St, and Western Kentucky. Simien was a key component on the Blue Devils' playoff run in 2006, and was named to the All-Region football team by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Simien is listed as running a 4.66/40 from Scout.com, although I dug up a 4.56 time from a combine held at Clemson earlier last year. Whatever the case may be, the point is that Simien had good speed for a linebacker and should be a valuable addition to the 2007 Navy recruiting class, which currently stands at twenty three players.

Also, Navy has received a verbal commitment from North Carolin LB/TE Trey Grissom, who at 6'4, 220-lb also sports a 4.5 grade point average and participates in his school's International Baccalaureate program. Jason Wright, a 6'2, 195-lb safety from northern Indiana also recently committed to Navy. Both players will likely bypass NAPS and be directly admitted into the Academy.

Navy Grabs Georgia Linebacker Over Air Force originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 29 Jan 2007 17:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mustain to Navy? Uh, You're Kidding, Right?

Adam Nettina — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football, NCAA FB Rumors

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm saying I wouldn't like to have an athlete like Mitch Mustain around the Academy, but you can't be serious, can you? I mean this is a team which rarely ever picks up a three-star recruit, much less the Nation's premier blue chip quarterback after what has become a very convoluted situation Fayetteville.

It sure is weird, and it smells of complete fallacy, but what exactly in this whole situation hasn't been a little off-the-wall? For the past two days a conversation has been going on at the popular Navy football message board GoMids.com, where several posters claiming to be from Arkansas insist that Mustain is considering the Naval Academy. Now I realize 99% of what you hear on the Internet is cannon law, and that armchair fans would never have any reason to lie, but is anyone really taking this seriously? Case in point, a poster named deafnwsport05 is claiming to have spoken to Mitch in the library the other day, and that Mustain told him he was not only panning to apply to the Naval Academy, but is willing to change positions to accommodate Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku Enhada (!?!)

Alright, is it just me, or does that sound like complete bogus? I'm not exactly up-to-date on the whole Nutt/Mustain/Mustain's Mom situation, but I thought it was a given he'd follow Malzahn to Tulsa? I've got nothing against Mitch, but this rumor has about as little substance as Adam Ballard's Heisman campaign (although, God knows, I'd vote for the guy.) More proof that the Internet is a weird place I guess...

Mustain to Navy? Uh, You're Kidding, Right? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 26 Jan 2007 23:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More Bad News For Navy Fans

Adam Nettina — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 18:10:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football

What are the odds? On the same day Jeromy Miles' transfer is confirmed, Navy fans must also learn that Phillip Davis, arguably the most highly touted of the current recruiting class, has backed out of his commitment with the Naval Academy.

Longtime readers should recognize the name, since for the past few months I've been declaring Davis as a huge steal for Navy recruiting. Davis was the heart and soul of the Peachtree Ridge secondary and helped lead his team to a state championship back in December, but received surprisingly little interest from big name schools. Interestingly enough, it doesn't look like some big school came and turned Davis' attention away from Navy, although he has received interest from the likes of Southern Miss, Chattanooga, Georgia Southern, and Woffard. But a few I-AA schools and a underperforming Conference-USA team couldn't really cause Davis to rescind his verbal his commitment to Navy, could they?

I just don't know, and until more information is made available I can't even say whether Davis has just decided to reconsider his offers or to rule out Navy altogether. Fortunately Coach Johnson has been putting together a good enough class (especially on defense) that even the loss of a great young talent like Davis can't spoil what will likely be one of the best Navy recruiting classes in the modern era.

More Bad News For Navy Fans originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 24 Jan 2007 18:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Navy's Miles Will Transfer

Adam Nettina — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 16:20:00 EST

Filed under: Navy Football

The rumor has been going around for some time now, but we can make it official today as Head Coach Paul Johnson confirmed the rumor to the Annapolis Capital. Jeromy Miles started eleven games for the Midshipmen in 2007 after coming in for the injured DuJuan Price in week three, and in doing so established himself as one of the best freshmen defensive backs in the entire country.

The 6'2, 189-lb safety was granted a release from the team and the Academy by Johnson last week, and is looking to enroll at another Division I school in time for the spring semester. Miles reportedly told Coach Johnson that the reason for his leaving was the five year military commitment he'd have to serve after his graduation. The Capital reported that Miles is eying Temple, Bowling Green, and I-AA UMass. Our friend Frank from the UMass football blog has already begun a campaign for Miles, who was named an Honorable Mention Freshmen All-American as well as the All-East Freshmen on the Year.

Navy has several veterans who could take Miles' place, including hard-hitting rover Ketric Buffin and current junior Dell Robinson. Miles recorded 61 tackles in 2006, while intercepting two passes and forcing two fumbles.

Navy's Miles Will Transfer originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 24 Jan 2007 16:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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