10/14/2002 - Football
Navy-BC Notes

Game Data

Navy will take on the Boston College Eagles Saturday at a sold out Alumni Stadium (44,500). Kickoff is set for 12 noon.

Navy is coming off a 17-10 loss to Rice, while the Eagles are coming off a 28-23 loss to third-ranked Virginia Tech.

Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the 10-station Navy Radio Network (locally, the game can be heard on 1430 WNAV in Annapolis, 980 WTEM in Washington, D.C. and 1300 WJFK in Baltimore) and worldwide on the internet at www.navysports.com(.) Bob Socci and John Feinstein will call the action, starting at 11:30 a.m. with the Navy Pregame Show.

Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller will host the Navy Tailgate Show, starting at 10:30 a.m., on 1430 WNAV (www.wnav.com).

Injuries

The following players are out for Saturday's game: junior safety Paul Clarkson (knee), sophomore safety Scooter Ross (knee), senior slot back Donnie Fricks (collarbone), senior defensive tackle Josh Brindel (neck) and junior defensive tackle Kevin Schwind (leg).

The following players are questionable for Saturday's game: senior fullback Cee Harris (neck), junior safety Eli Sanders (neck) and sophomore kicker Geoff Blumenfeld (groin)

Rebuilding The Program

Navy head coach Paul Johnson took over a program that had won just one game in the last two years (1-20)-the worst two-year record in the 122-year history of Navy football. As Johnson likes to say, the program didn't get this way overnight and its not going to change overnight.

For instance, Navy's all-time winningest coach, George Welsh, who was 55-46-1 (41-44-1 against Division I-A teams, 14-2 against I-AA opponents) from 1973-81 at Navy, took over a program that had won seven games the previous two seasons and didn't have a winning season until his third year (7-4 in 1975) and only had one winning season in his first five years (24-31 in his first five years). It wasn't until year six that Welsh got the program turned around and the Mids posted a 31-15-1 record over his final four years in Annapolis and played in three bowl games, including a win over BYU in the Holiday Bowl, over those final four years.

Since Welsh, Gary Tranquill posted a 17-26-1 (.398) record, Elliott Uzelac was 8-25 (.242), George Chaump won 14 of his 55 games (.255) and Charlie Weatherbie was 30-48 (.385).

Since Roger Staubach won the Heisman Trophy in 1963 (38 seasons), Navy has had eight winning seasons (1967, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1996, 1997) and eight seasons with two wins or less (1968, 1969, 1970, 1987, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001). In the last 20 years, Navy has had three winning seasons (1982, 1996 and 1997) and five seasons with two wins or less (1987, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001).

Mids Drop Fifth Straight

Rice put together two long scoring drives, a 17-play drive in the first quarter and a 19-play drive that took up most of the third quarter and part of the fourth, in defeating Navy, 17-10, in front of 25,104 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Rice started the game by marching 77 yards on 17 plays with Ed Bailey capping the drive with a four-yard touchdown run. Navy answered Rice's score with a touchdown of its own on its first drive, marching 68 yards on seven plays with Craig Candeto (Jr./Orange City, Fla.) hitting Eric Roberts (So./Miami, Fla.) with a seven-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-7.

The game then settled into a defensive struggle, though the Mids did have plenty of opportunities to put points on the board, taking the ball over on four different occasions in Rice territory. A holding penalty, a fumble, a missed field goal and twice failing to get a first down on fourth down thwarted drives.

The Navy defense played its best game since the opener, holding Rice to 67 yards over six possessions after the opening touchdown. Ben Mathews (Jr./Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Joey Owmby (Jr./Houston, Texas) came up with fumble recoveries in Rice territory for the Midshipmen.

The Owls, though, were able to put together one more scoring drive, chewing up 8:01 off the clock and driving 82 yards on 19 plays. Twice Rice was able to pick up fourth down plays, including a fourth-and-one from its own 39. Bailey ended the drive with his second touchdown of the day to make it 14-7.

The Owls tacked on a field goal to increase its lead to 17-7 with 2:33 left and Eric Rolfs (Jr./Bartlesville, Okla.) hit a 39-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining to pull Navy to within seven at 17-10.

The Mids did make it exciting when Frank Divis (So./Avon, Ohio) recovered Navy's onside kick, but Aaron Polanco (So./Wimberley, Texas) was blindsided on a second-down pass and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Rice.

Navy was held to a season-low 205 yards total offense thanks to a stout Rice defense and awful field conditions that caused both teams to slip and slide. Candeto was the Mids' leading rusher, carrying the ball 24 times for 58 yards. He also completed six of his 11 passes for 53 yards. Tony Lane (Jr./Wrens, Ga.), Roberts and Chandler Sims (Sr./Oklahoma City, Okla.) had two catches apiece.

It was the second straight game that the Navy offense scored on its first possession and then was held out of the end zone for the rest of the game.

Josh Smith (So./Attica, Ind.) continued his standout season with a career-high 18 tackles, while Elliott had 13 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Vaughn Kelley (So./Coconut Beach, Fla.) was in on 12 tackles, while Michawn Yuvienco (Sr./Glen Burnie, Md.), who made his first-career start, was in on 11 tackles.

Series History

Boston College leads the all-time series, 16-11, including a 38-21 victory last year in Annapolis. The Eagles have won three straight over the Midshipmen.

Navy's last win over Boston College was a 32-31 stunner at Alumni Stadium in 1998 when the Mids outscored the Eagles, 22-3, in the fourth quarter for the thrilling come-from-behind win.

Navy leads the all-time series, 8-6, in games played at Boston College.

Navy-Boston College

1928 BC 0-6 Annapolis, Md.

1957 Navy 46-6 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

1959 Navy 24-8 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

1960 Navy 22-7 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

1962 Navy 26-6 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

1966 Navy 27-7 Annapolis, Md.

1968 BC 15-49 Annapolis, Md.

1969 BC 14-21 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

1970 BC 14-28 Annapolis, Md.

1971 BC 6-49 Annapolis, Md.

1972 Navy 27-20 Annapolis, Md.

1973 BC 7-44 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

1974 BC 0-37 Annapolis, Md.

1975 BC 3-17 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

1976 BC 13-17 Annapolis, Md.

1978 Navy 19-8 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

1980 Navy 21-0 Annapolis, Md.

1981 Navy 25-10 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

1982 BC 0-31 Annapolis, Md.

1989 Navy 27-24 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

1990 BC 17-28 Annapolis, Md.

1992 BC 0-28 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

1996 BC 38-43 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

1998 Navy 32-31 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

1999 BC 10-14 Annapolis, Md.

2000 BC 7-48 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

2001 BC 21-38 Annapolis, Md.

Scouting Boston College

The only reason Boston College is not ranked in the top 20 is that the Big East Conference schedule makers were very unkind, forcing the Eagles to play No. 1-ranked Miami (Fla.) and No. 3- ranked Virginia Tech in two of its first-three conference games. The Eagles were competitive with Miami (Fla.) for a half before losing, 38-6, and had numerous opportunities to upset the Hokies before falling, 28-23. BC owns victories over Connecticut (24-16), Stanford (34-27) and Central Michigan (43-0).

BC is led by quarterback Brian St. Pierre, who has thrown for 1,183 yards and seven touchdowns on the year. St. Pierre has been hurt by the interception, throwing nine.

Derrick Knight leads the Eagles ground game with 462 yards on 89 carries, while Jamal Burke is the leading receiver with 17 carries for 250 yards and two touchdowns.

BC is averaging 135.6 yards per game on the ground and 239.8 through the air.

Defensively, the Eagles are led by linebacker Vinny Ciurciu, who has 41 tackles, while Josh Ott has recorded 37.

BC is giving up 153 yards per game on the ground and 166.4 through the air.

BC-Navy Connections

Boston College head coach Tom O'Brien is a 1971 graduate of the Naval Academy and O'Brien was a three-year starter on the football team at defensive end (1968-70). Navy compiled a 5-26 record (2-8, 1-9, 2-9) in those three years. O'Brien was an assistant coach at Navy from 1975-81, coaching the tackles and tight ends. Navy was 47-32-1 in his seven years as an assistant under George Welsh.

BC defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani was an assistant coach at Navy at the same time at O'Brien (1975-81) under Welsh.

Eagles offensive line coach Dave Magazu was the offensive line coach at Navy from 1987-89 when Navy posted a three-year record of 8-25.

Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk is a 1973 graduate of Boston College and was a three-year letterwinner in football at center. The Eagles were 21-11 over those three years, including seasons of 8-2 (1970) and 9-2 (1971). Gladchuk served as Director of Athletics at Boston College from 1991-96.

Turnover Troubles

Since opening the season with no turnovers in a 38-7 win at SMU, Navy has committed 17 turnovers, 14 of them fumbles, in the last-five games. Navy's 14 lost fumbles are the second most in the country. Only Purdue (15) has lost more.

Since forcing five turnovers in the season opener, Navy has forced just four turnovers in the last-five games.

Newcomers Step Up

Senior Michawn Yuvienco (Glen Burnie, Md.) and sophomore Lane Jackson (Miami, Fla.) made their first-career starts against Rice and both played extremely well. Yuvienco saw the first real playing time of his career and came up with 11 tackles and forced a fumble. Jackson, who had not played much in the first-five games, contributed eight tackles. Dustin Elliott (So./New Castle, Pa.), who started the final-four games of last year, started his first game of the 2002 campaign against Rice and tied his career-high with 13 tackles, forced a fumble and came up with two sacks.

Not So Sweet Home

Navy has lost 13 straight and 18 of the last 19 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Mids last won a game at Navy-Marine Corps on Nov. 13, 1999, when the Mids knocked off Tulane, 45-21. The Mids have been outscored, 497-222 (average loss 38.2-17.1) during the 13-game home losing streak.

In A Rush

Navy is eighth in the nation in rushing, averaging 254.2 yards per game. Last year, the Mids averaged a paltry 181.8 yards per game. Navy has led the nation in rushing just once in school history, that coming in 1999 when the Mids averaged 292.2 yards per game en route to a 5-7 record.

NCAA Leaders In Rushing Offense

1. Air Force 339.17

2. West Virginia 300.67

3. Arkansas 272.00

4. Nebraska 267.43

5. Kent State 264.17

6. Kansas State 255.50

7. Bowling Green 254.60

8. Navy 254.17

9. Minnesota 254.14

10. Rice 241.50

Red Zone

Navy has scored on 17 of its 23 trips inside the Red Zone (.739) and has scored touchdowns on 14 of those 22 trips (.636).

The defense has given up points in 27 of the 32 times the opposition has reached the Red Zone (.844). Twenty three of the 32 trips have resulted in touchdowns (.719).

Navy In The 2002 National Rankings

{117 Teams in Division IA}

Rushing Offense 8th (254.2)

Passing Offense 111th (121.5)

Total Offense 59th (375.7)

Scoring Offense 92nd (21.8)

Rushing Defense 114th (262.3)

Pass Defense 27th (182.5)

Pass Efficiency Defense 115th (163.3)

Total Defense 103rd (444.83)

Scoring Defense 108th (38.2)

Net Punting 96th (31.6)

Punt Return 115th (3.2)

Kickoff Return 75th (19.8)

Turnover Margin 107th (-1.33)

Rushing Craig Candeto (58th, 82.3)

Total Offense Craig Candeto (82nd, 173.3)

Receiving Yards Per Game Eric Roberts (93rd, 56.7)

Punting John Skaggs (48th, 40.9)

Kickoff Returns Tony Lane (29th, 24.6)

Eric Roberts (78th, 19.9)

Scoring Craig Candeto (36th, 8.0)

All-Purpose Runners Eric Roberts (41st, 126.5)

Skaggs Is Navy's Top All-Time Punter

Navy junior John Skaggs (Cantonment, Fla.) currently ranks as Navy's all-time top punter by average. Skaggs, who set the school record for punting average in a season last year with a 44.8 average, is averaging 43.6 yards for his career

Career Punting Average Average

1. John Skaggs (2001-02) 44.8

2. Tray Calisch (1997-99) 40.7

3. Bill Busik (1940-41) 40.6

4. Dave Church (1965-66) 39.4

5. Brian Schrum (1992-95) 39.3

Long Pass Play

J.P. Blecksmith's (Sr./San Marino, Calif.) 79-yard pass completion to Eric Roberts (So./Miami, Fla.) against Northwestern was the fourth-longest pass play in school history and the longest pass play in school history that did not result in a score.

The longest pass play in school history came in 1995 when Chris McCoy hit Matt Scornavacchi with an 87-yard touchdown pass in Navy's 35-7 victory over Tulane.

Three of the five-longest pass plays in school history have come when Navy was running the current spread offense. The fifth- longest pass play in school history came in 1998 when Brian Broadwater threw a 78-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Read in Navy's 32-31 upset win at Boston College.

Player-Receiver (Opponent, Year) Yards

1. Chris McCoy-Matt Scornavacchi (Tulane, 1995) 87

2. Rob Klemick-Jim Stewart (Miami, Fla., 1961) 83

3. Brian Broadwater-Dominic Bailey (Tulane, 2000) 81

4. J.P. Blecksmith-Eric Roberts (Northwestern, 2002) 79

5. Brian Broadwater-Ryan Read (Boston College, 1998) 78

Piling Up The Yards

Navy piled up 678 yards of total offense against Northwestern, the third most in school history. The school record for total offense is 724 yards, which ironically enough also came in a loss, was when the Mids lost to Tulane, 50-38, in 2000. The second-biggest output was 680 yards against Colgate in 1998. Four of the six-best total offensive days in school history have come when either Paul Johnson or Ken Niumatalolo have called the plays.

Yds. (R /P) Opponent Date

1. 724 (362/362) Tulane 11/11/00

2. 680 (515/165) Colgate 10/17/98

3. 678 (378/300) Northwestern 9/21/02

4. 653 (358/295) Colgate 9/12/70

5. 646 (251/395) California 12/25/96

6. 635 (563/72) Kent State 11/22/97

Throwing The Ball

Craig Candeto's (Jr./Orange City, Fla.) 212 yards passing against Northwestern were the most by a Navy quarterback since Nov. 11, 2000, when Brian Broadwater threw for 302 yards and two touchdowns in Navy's 50-38 loss to Tulane.

Scoring Outburst

Navy's 40 points against Northwestern were the most points scored by a Navy team since Nov. 20, 1999, when the Mids scored 41 in a 48-41 loss to Hawai'i.

100 Yards Receiving

Eric Roberts' (So./Miami, Fla.) 136 yards receiving against Northwestern marked the first 100-yard receiving day by a Navy player since Nov. 11, 2000, when Dominic Bailey (Sr./Houston, Texas) had three catches for 119 yards and Josh Bock had nine catches for 119 yards and one touchdown in Navy's 50-38 loss at Tulane.

Smart Up Front

Senior left offensive tackle Derek Jaskowiak (Chesterfield, Mo.) sports a 3.74 GPA in systems engineering, while senior left offensive guard Grant Moody (Eureka, Kan.) carries a 3.91 GPA in quantitative economics. Both are Academic All-America candidates.

Brotherly Love

The Mids have a remarkable four sets of brothers on the team. Junior linebacker Ben and freshman slot back Sam Mathews (Pittsburgh, Pa.), junior guard Nate and freshman linebacker Jeremy Chase (Norfolk, Va.), senior guard Grant and freshman guard Evan Moody (Eureka, Kan.) and sophomore quarterback Aaron and freshman wide receiver James Polanco (Wimberley, Texas). Aaron and James, who transferred to Navy from Texas Tech, are identical twins.

No Overtime

Since the NCAA adopted the overtime rule in 1996, Navy is one of just eight schools who have not played an overtime game.

Schools That Have Never Played An Overtime Game

Navy

North Texas

Ohio State

South Carolina

Temple

Tulane

Troy State

Tulsa