8/28/2001 - Football
Navy Football Game Notes
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Mids Set To Take On Temple
The Navy Midshipmen travel to Philadelphia to take on the Temple Owls in the season opener for both teams, Thursday, Aug. 30. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Franklin Field (52,593). The game will be broadcast live on the Navy Radio Network, which includes 10 stations, including 1300 WJFK in Baltimore, 630 WMAL in Washington and 1430 WNAV in Annapolis. The game will also be carried live on the internet at events.yahoo.com/Sports_Events/College/(.) Bob Socci will call the play-by-play and John Feinstein will handle the color commentary.
Media Information
Navy's locker room is closed to the media. Head coach Charlie Weatherbie and requested players will be brought to the designated area for the postgame press conference. Please contact Sports Information Director Scott Strasemeier or Assistant Sports Information Director Stacie Michaud with any player request.
Season Openers
Navy is 2-4 in season openers under Weatherbie and has lost four straight. The last time Navy won the opener was in 1996 when the Midshipmen won at Rutgers, 10-6. The '96 team went on to post a 9-3 record, including a 42-38 victory over California in the Aloha Bowl. Navy is 2-2 under Weatherbie when opening up on the road, winning at SMU (33-2) and Rutgers, while losing at San Diego State (45-31) and Wake Forest (26-14). Last year, Navy lost at home to Temple in the opener, 17-6.
Franklin Field
This will be Navy's first trip to Franklin Field since Oct. 17, 1987, when Navy defeated Penn, 38-28. The Mids are 27-25-4 all-time at the historic stadium, which has hosted the best in collegiate and professional competition for more than 100 years. Originally opened in 1895 for the first running of the Penn Relays, the stadium was rebuilt 72 years ago. The Field, deemed by the NCAA as the oldest stadium still operating for football games, has been the site of the nation's first scoreboard (1895), the nation's first two-tiered stadium (1922), the first football radio broadcast (WIP, 1922), the first football telecast (PhilCo, 1939) and Vince Lombardi's only NFL playoff loss (1960).
Sixteen Army-Navy games were played in Franklin Field from 1899-1935 and in 1925, Red Grange set an NCAA record with 331 rushing yards as Illinois defeated Penn. During the 1930s and 1940s, Penn led the nation in attendance for several years as crowds packed in as many as 80,000. Today, the newly-refurbished stadium seats 52,593.
AstroTurf (the fifth carpet installed in 1993) has covered the playing surface since 1970 and a Rekortan track was installed in 1988. The 60-foot scoreboard with its large message center at the base of the horseshoe keeps fans well informed. Franklin Field has also been the home of the Philadelphia Eagles and has hosted the Historic Penn Relays for over 100 years.
Series History
Temple leads the all-time series, 3-1, including a 17-6 Owl victory last year at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Navy's only victory over the Owls came in 1997, 49-17.
Navy Against The Big East
The Mids are 58-72-4 (.448) all-time against the Big East, including a 6-9 mark (.400) under head coach Charlie Weatherbie. The Mids were 0-3 against the Big East last year, losing to Temple, Boston College and Rutgers.
Scouting Temple
The Owls return 19 starters (9 on offense, 10 on defense) and 58 lettermen (27 offense, 25 defense, 6 special teams) off of last year's 4-7 squad-the most successful campaign in the last 10 years at Temple. Three of Temple's seven losses came by a touchdown or less. Temple only lost two seniors off of last year's team, which is the fewest in Division I-A football.
The offense, which averaged 20.4 points and 310.2 yards per game in 2000, is led by running back Tanardo Sharps. Sharps burst upon the scene last year, becoming the first Owl since 1987 to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark. Sharps proved to be explosive as he had four runs of 64 yards or more en route to 1,038 rushing yards on 201 carries and 10 touchdowns.
The defense, which was ranked 33rd in the nation a year ago (28th against the pass and 43rd against the run) should be tough with 10 starters back. The defense is led by its veteran line-returning senior starters Russell Newman, Raheem Brock, Akeiff Staples and junior Dan Klecko.
Sophomore QB
Craig Candeto (So./Orange City, Fla.) is expected to get the start on Thursday night, making it the first time a sophomore has been the starter in the opening game since 1995 when an unknown quarterback named Chris McCoy led the Mids to a shocking 33-2 victory over SMU. McCoy rushed for 273 yards (an NCAA record for rushing yards by a player in his first NCAA game) and a touchdown and threw for 125 yards and a touchdown in Navy's convincing win over the Mustangs.
Coming Home
Senior linebacker Ryan Hamilton and junior defensive end Dan Person return home as both grew up in the Philadelphia suburb of Havertown and went to Episcopal Academy. Other Navy players that hail from Pennsylvania include senior quarterback Ed Malinowski (Canonsburg), junior safety Joey Fay (Allentown), junior safety Marc Giorgi (Charleroi), junior slot back Brad Tepper (Mount Pleasant), junior linebacker Brian Stann (Dalton) and sophomore linebacker Ben Mathews (Pittsburgh).
Early Opener
This is the earliest a Navy football team has ever opened up a season. Last year's game against Temple, which took place on Sept. 2, was the previous earliest date.
Injuries
The Mids are healthy heading into the Temple game. The only player on the three-deep that is questionable is third-string wide receiver Mark Tedrow (Jr./Charleroi, Pa.) who has an inujured left hand.
Youth Is Served
Navy offensive coordinator Mark Hudspeth is the seventh youngest coordinator in the country and is the fourth youngest offensive coordinator in the country.
Mids To Play Tough Schedule
Navy's 2001 opponents posted a combined 69-57 (.548) record last year, while five teams earned bowl bids (Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Boston College, Air Force and Notre Dame). Subtract Army, Rice and Rutgers from the equation and the remaining eight opponents compiled a record of 62-31 (.667). Five Navy opponents are either ranked or receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll-#14 Georgia Tech, #17 Notre Dame, #20 Northwestern and #51 Toledo).
Youngest Division I-A Coordinators
Coach (School) Age
Bill Lazor (Buffalo, offensive) 29
Tyrone Nix (Southern Mississippi, defensive) 29
Rob Boras (UNLV, offensive) 30
Matt Eberflus (Missouri, defensive) 31
Bill O'Brien (Georgia Tech, offensive) 31
Jon Wauford (Miami of Ohio, defensive) 31
Mark Hudspeth (Navy, offensive) 32
Al Golden (Virginia, defensive) 32
Rob Chudzinski (Miami, offensive 33
John Milligan (Central Michigan, defensive) 33
Butch Jones (Central Michigan, offensive) 33
Bill Musgrave (Virginia, offensive) 33
The Coach
Charlie Weatherbie enters his seventh season as head football coach at the Naval Academy with a record of 30-38 (.441) and a 1-0 (1.000) mark in bowl games. Weatherbie's 30 wins in six seasons is the fifth most in Naval Academy history. He needs two wins to tie Bill Ingram for fourth place on Navy's all-time win list. His seven seasons as head coach of the Midshipmen is the third-longest tenure in school history. Only George Welsh and Eddie Erdelatz (nine years apiece) have been head coaches longer than Weatherbie at Navy.
Weatherbie is entering his 10th year as a collegiate head coach and has a career record of 45-57 (.441) and a 2-0 record in bowl games (1.000). In 1996, Weatherbie led the Midshipmen to a 9-3 mark and a victory over California in the Aloha Bowl.
Weatherbie was appointed Navy?s 34th head football coach on December 30, 1994. He came to the Naval Academy after three years as head coach at Utah State, where he took the Aggies to their first Big West Conference Championship in 15 years in 1993 and a win over Ball State in the Las Vegas Bowl. He was an assistant coach at Air Force for six years and was also an assistant at Wyoming and Arkansas.
Career Wins At Navy
Coach All-Time Record
George Welsh (1973-81) 55-46-1
Eddie Erdelatz (1950-58) 50-26-8
Wayne Hardin (1959-64) 38-22-2
Bill Ingram (1926-30) 32-13-4
Charlie Weatherbie (1995-present) 30-38-0
Paul Dashiell (1904-06) 25-5-4
Doug Howard (1911-14) 25-7-4
Bob Folwell (1920-24) 24-12-2
Frank Berrien (1908-1910) 21-5-3
Tom Hamilton (1934-36, 46-47) 21-23-1
Current Division I-A Coaching Tenures
Coach (School) Seasons
Joe Paterno (Penn State) 36
Bobby Bowden (Florida State) 26
Fisher DeBerry (Air Force) 18
Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech) 15
Bill Snyder (Kansas State) 13
R.C. Slocum (Texas A&M) 13
Mike Price (Washington State) 13
Steve Spurrier (Florida) 12
Ron McBride (Utah) 12
Barry Alvarez (Wisconsin) 12
Jackie Sherrill (Mississippi State) 11
Jeff Bower (Southern Mississippi) 11
Paul Pasquiloni (Syracuse) 11
Steve Logan (East Carolina) 10
Phil Fulmer (Tennessee) 10
Sonny Lubick (Colorado State) 9
Rick Minter (Cincinnati) 8
Ken Hatfield (Rice) 8
Ted Tollner (San Diego State) 8
Charlie Weatherbie (Navy) 7
10 others with seven
Television Appearances
Navy will appear on television a minimum of four times during the 2001 football season, including twice on national television. Navy's Nov. 17 game at Notre Dame will air on NBC at 2:30 p.m., while the Dec. 1 tilt against Army at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia will air live on CBS at 12 noon.
Navy will appear twice on regional televison. The Sept. 8 game home opener against Georgia Tech will be carried by Fox Sports South and Comcast SportsNet (12 noon), while the Oct. 20 game at Rutgers will be televised by ESPN Regional (3:30 p.m.).
Navy In The 2000 National Rankings-114 Teams in Division IA
Rushing Offense 33rd (166.0, 1st Nebraska, 349.3)
Passing Offense 108th (145.5, 1st Florida State, 384)
Pass Efficiency 83rd (109.8, 1st Boise State, 168.9)
Total Offense 98th (310.6, 1st Florida State, 549.0)
Scoring Offense 107th (15.2, 1st Boise State, 44.9)
Rushing Defense 93rd (192.4, 1st Memphis, 72.7)
Pass Defense 94th (238.1, 1st Central Michigan, 149.7)
Pass Efficiency Defense..................114th (163.5, 1st Texas, 88)
Total Defense 101st (430.5, 1st TCU, 245.0)
Scoring Defense 108th (36.3, 1st TCU, 9.6)
Net Punting 71st (34.1, 1st Wisconsin, 42.9)
Punt Return 101st (6.5, 1st Army, 19.4)
Kickoff Return 77th (18.8, 1st TCU, 28.8)
Turnover Margin 95th (-0.80, 1st Toledo, +2.0)
Total Fumble Recoveries 91st (7, 1st Arizona State, 23)
Total Interceptions .......................106th (6, 1st , Louisville, 27)
Fumbles Lost ..105th (16, 1st Army, Boston College, Syracuse, 3)
Passes Had Intercepted 4th (5, 1st, Rice, 3)
Total Takeaways 113th (13, 1st Louisville, 38)
Total Turnovers 43rd (21, 1st Notre Dame, 8)
Individual Interceptions Per Game...Chris Lepore (42nd, 0.40)
Kickoff Returns................................ Justin Takasaki (46th, 21.9)
Four Navy Players Named to the Football News Preseason All-Independent Team
Navy placed four players on the Football News All-Independent Team. Senior fullback Raheem Lambert (Riverside, Calif.) and senior center Brian Schulz (Round Rock, Texas) were named on the offensive side of the ball, while senior linebacker Ryan Hamilton (Havertown, Pa.) and senior corner Marcus Jackson (Missouri City, Texas) made the team on the defensive side of the ball.
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
This will be the 43rd season the Midshipmen have played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The stadium was dedicated Sept. 26, 1959, when Navy defeated William & Mary, 29-2. In the 164 games played at Navy-Marine Corps since its dedication, the Midshipmen have attracted 4,015,123 fans-an average of 24,482 fans. Navy set an attendance record in 1999 for the second-straight year with an average of 31,996, and it was also the first time in stadium history the Midshipmen drew over 30,000 in every game. Navy averaged 29,329 in 2000, the third best average attendance in stadium history. The Mids have a record of 99-73-1 (.575) in games played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, including a 15-15 (.500) record under head coach Charlie Weatherbie.
Navy-Marine Corps Stadium Attendance Records
Single Game
Opponent (Year) Attendance
Air Force (1997) 36,172
West Virginia (1998) 36,009
Air Force (1993) 35,830
Air Force (1991) 35,640
Air Force (1989) 35,632
Air Force (1987) 35,416
Air Force (1995) 35,340
Air Force (1985) 35, 106
Air Force (1983) 34,210
Boston College (1999) 34,052
Season Average
Season Attendance
1999 31,996
1998 29,393
2000 29,329
1989 29,286
1996 29,256
1985 29,158
1995 28,091
1983 28,021
1984 27,672
1997 27,362
1986 27,287
1987 26,700
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Renovation Project
The Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, Vice Admiral John Ryan, has approved a plan to raise $40 million dollars in private funds to renovate Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The current Navy-Narine Corps Memorial Stadium was a model of the modern all-purpose outdoor stadium when it was planned and constructed in 1957. The stadium held its first game on September 26, 1959, with the Mids defeating William & Mary, 29-2.
CDFM2, an archiectural firm located in Kansas City, Mo., has been hired to begin the conceptual design process. Hoffman Management Partners has been hired as the project manager while, Whiting Turner has been selected as the construction manager.
The project goals are to make the stadium accessible for disabled veterans and fans, improve scholar-athlete recruiting, preserve and update the memorial aspects of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, improve midshipmen, alumni and fans' enjoyment of the game, atmosphere and experience, and improve the home-field advantage for the Navy Football team.
Madden and Wagoner Suspended
Naval Academy head football coach Charlie Weatherbie announced August 2 senior quarterback Brian Madden (Lawton, Okla.) and senior defensive end Michael Wagoner (Wichita Falls, Texas) have been suspended for violating Academy rules. Madden has been suspended for the first two games, while Wagoner's suspension is for an undetermined number of games. Weatherbie also announced Madden voluntarily resigned his captaincy and that senior Ed Malinowski (Canonsburg, Pa.) is now the offensive team captain.
Bowl Appearances
Navy is one of just 10 schools that have played in all four of the original major bowl games-The Orange Bowl, The Rose Bowl, The Cotton Bowl and The Sugar Bowl. The other schools are Duke, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Alabama, Penn State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Tennessee and Notre Dame.
No Upset
Navy has lost 30-straight games to ranked opponents. The last time the Mids pulled an upset was Sept. 20, 1985, when Navy went into Charlottesville and stunned 20th-ranked Virginia, 17-13. Since that time, Navy has lost to Air Force, Notre Dame and South Carolina in 1985, Notre Dame in 1986, Notre Dame and Syracuse in 1987, Notre Dame and Syracuse in 1988, Air Force, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame in 1989, Virginia and Notre Dame in 1990, Notre Dame in 1991, Virginia and Notre Dame in 1992, Notre Dame and Louisville in 1993, Virginia, Notre Dame and Duke in 1994, Notre Dame in 1995, Notre Dame in 1996, Notre Dame and Air Force in 1997, West Virginia and Notre Dame in 1998, Georgia Tech in 1999 and TCU and Notre Dame in 2000.
Season Tickets Top 10,000
Navy's football season ticket total eclipsed the 10,000 barrier for just the second time in school history earlier this week. To date, 10,250 season tickets have been purchased for the five-game home schedule, which kicks off September 8 against Georgia Tech and includes an October 6 trip to nearby FedExField to face Air Force. Season tickets remain on sale and can be purchased by stopping by the Ricketts Hall Box Office or by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY.
Weekly Press Conference
Navy head football coach Charlie Weatherbie will hold a weekly press conference Tuesdays at 12 noon at the Boathouse. Three Navy players will be available to the media from 12-12:20 p.m., the opposing coach from 12:20-12:30 p.m. and then Coach Weatherbie from 12:30-1 p.m. Lunch will be served immediately following Coach Weatherbie's remarks.
The first press conference will take place Tuesday, Aug. 28 and will run every Tuesday except for Nov. 20, which is the date of the annual Army-Navy press conference at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Any player requests must be made by 12 noon on Sunday.
Weatherbie's Weekly Radio Show
Charlie Weatherbie will join host Bob Socci for a weekly coaches show every Thursday night from 7-7:30 p.m. live from O'Brien's Oyster Bar and Grill in historic downtown Annapolis. You can hear the show on 1430 WNAV or at www.wnav.com(.) The first show will take place Thursday, Sept. 6. Weatherbie will also join Stan Charles every Thursday night, starting Aug. 9, from 10:15-10:30 p.m. on Navy's flagship station, WJFK in Baltimore (1300 AM).
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