11/4/2002 - Football
Navy-Notre Dame Notes

Game Data

Navy will take on 10th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish Saturday at Ravens Stadium (70,000). Kickoff is set for 12:10 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally by CBS with Craig Bolerjack calling the play-by-play and Craig James handling the color analysis. Andre Ware will be the sideline reporter.

Saturday's game will be the 76th-consecutive meeting between the two institutions, the longest continuous intersectional rivalry in the country.

Westwood One Radio will broadcast the game nationally to over 200 stations on the Notre Dame Radio Network with Tony Roberts (play-by-play), Allen Pinkett (analysis) and Paul Hornung (pregame/halftime analysis) calling the action.

The 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 2 p.m., on 1430 WNAV (www.wnav.com).

Injuries

The following players are out for for the Notre Dame game: junior safety Paul Clarkson (knee), senior slot back Donnie Fricks (collarbone), senior defensive tackle Josh Brindel (neck), senior fullback Cee Harris (neck) and sophomore linebacker Dustin Elliott (foot).

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 it's 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).

Struggling Against Winning Programs

For those fans expecting Navy head coach Paul Johnson to perform a miracle in his first year, it should be noted that since 1990, Navy has defeated just four Division IA schools that finished the season with a winning record. In 1990, Navy defeated Toledo (9-2), 14-10; in 1993 Navy defeated Bowling Green (6-3-2), 27-20; in 1996 Navy defeated Air Force (6-5), 20-17; and in 1997 Navy defeated SMU (6-5), 46-16. Navy's other 28 wins against Division IA opponents since 1990 finished with a losing record.

Tulane Scores On Six Of First-Seven Possessions In 21-Point Win

Tulane scored on six of its first-seven possessions and the Mids, able to match the Green Wave score-for-score for much of the first half, finally missed a couple of turns on offense which allowed Tulane to pull away for a 51-30 victory over Navy. The game was played in front of a Homecoming day crowd of 28,123 at Tad Gormley Field in New Orleans.

Navy scored touchdowns on three of its first-four drives, as slot back Tony Lane (Jr./Wrens, Ga.) scored on a 26-yard touchdown run, junior quarterback Craig Candeto (Orange City, Fla.) scored on a 21-yard run and Kyle Eckel (So./Haveford, Pa.) scored on an 18-yard run with 10:49 left in the second quarter to give Navy a 20-17 lead.

The lead, though, would not hold up as the Green Wave scored on a 29-yard touchdown pass from J.P. Losman to Nick Narcisse to take a three-point lead with 4:34 left in the second quarter. After stopping Navy on a fourth-and-two play from the Navy 47, the Green Wave took a 10-point halftime lead when Losman threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Hoover to give Tulane a 30-20 lead at the half.

Navy had one more chance to get back into the game, trailing 36-23 with 3:37 left in the third quarter, but Eckel was drilled by Anthony Cannon just as he was taking the handoff from Candeto and fumbled the ball. Chris Williams picked the ball up at the Navy 35-yard line and never looked back, scoring his first- career touchdown to make it 43-23 Tulane.

Navy had 431 yards total offense compared to Tulane's 435. The Mids rushed for 355 yards and threw for 76, while Tulane rushed for 106 yards and threw for 329.

Lane rushed for 80 yards and one touchdown on six carries, while Candeto rushed for 65 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries and Eckel had 63 yards rushing and one touchdown on 15 carries. Backup quarterback Aaron Polanco (So./Wimberley, Texas) came off the bench to rush for 57 yards and a touchdown on two carries.

Freshman Jeremy Chase (Norfolk, Va.), making his first career start, tied Eddie Carthan (Jr./Donalsonville, Ga.) for the team lead in tackles with 10. Josh Smith (So./Attica, Ind.) recorded nine tackles and picked off a pass. It was Navy's first interception by a member of the secondary this season.

Tulane-Navy Postgame Notes

The loss was Navy's seventh straight since opening the season with a win at SMU ... Tulane now leads the all-time series, 10-5-1 ... Navy is now 1-8 all-time against Tulane in New Orleans ... Navy has given up 50 or more points twice in a season for the first time since 1994 when the Mids gave up 50 or more points on three different occasions (56 to San Diego State, 59 to Bowling Green and 58 to Notre Dame) ... Navy has given up 40 or more points six times this year which ties the 1994 team for most games giving up 40 or more points in a season ... Tulane has scored 101 points against Navy in the last-two games played in New Orleans (50 in 2000) ... Tulane's Chris Williams' 35-yard fumble return for a touchdown was the third touchdown scored by the opposition this year on a fumble return (N.C. State and Air Force were the other two) ... Navy has rushed for over 300 yards three times this year, including the last two games (380 against Boston College and 355 against Tulane) ... Tony Lane's (Jr./Wrens, Ga.) 26-yard touchdown run was his first of the season ... Kyle Eckel's (So./Haverford, Pa.) 20-yard run at the 4:45 mark in the first quarter was a career long ... Josh Smith (So./Attica, Ind.) picked off his first-career pass in the second quarter ... Smith's interception was the first by Navy since the opener against SMU when Navy intercepted two passes and was the first by a member of the secondary this season ... Navy averaged a season-high 6.7 yards per rush against the Green Wave ... Navy's two sacks tied a season high ... Navy's eight penalties were a season high ... Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman set opponent season highs for pass attempts (35), pass completions (25), yards passing (329) and TD passes (5, tied Philip Rivers) ... Tulane wide receiver Tristan Smith tied an opponent season high with seven catches and two touchdown catches.

Series History

Notre Dame leads the all-time series, 65-9-1, and has won 38-straight games against the Midshipmen, an NCAA record for consecutive wins against one opponent .

Navy's last win over Notre Dame came in 1963 when Roger Staubach, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy that year, led the Mids to a 35-14 victory.

This will be the 20th time that Notre Dame has played Navy in Baltimore and the first at Ravens Stadium. The previous-19 meetings were at the old Memorial Stadium. Notre Dame is 41-6-1 all-time against Navy in neutral site contests.

Navy-Notre Dame

1927 ND 6-19 Baltimore, Md.

1928 ND 0-7 Chicago, Md.

1929 ND 7-14 Baltimore, Md.

1930 ND 2-26 South Bend, Ind.

1931 ND 0-20 Baltimore, Md.

1932 ND 0-12 Cleveland, Ohio

1933 Navy 7-0 Baltimore, Md.

1934 Navy 10-6 Cleveland, Ohio

1935 ND 0-14 Baltimore, Md.

1936 Navy 3-0 Baltimore, Md.

1937 ND 7-9 South Bend, Ind.

1938 ND 0-15 Baltimore, Md.

1939 ND 7-14 Cleveland, Ohio

1940 ND 7-13 Baltimore, Md.

1941 ND 13-20 Baltimore, Md.

1942 ND 0-9 Cleveland, Ohio

1943 ND 6-33 Cleveland, Ohio

1944 Navy 32-13 Baltimore, Md.

1945 Tie 6-6 Cleveland, Ohio

1946 ND 0-28 Baltimore, Md.

1947 ND 0-27 Cleveland, Ohio

1948 ND 7-41 Baltimore, Md.

1949 ND 0-40 Baltimore, Md.

1950 ND 10-19 Cleveland, Ohio

1951 ND 0-19 Baltimore, Md.

1952 ND 6-17 Cleveland, Ohio

1953 ND 7-38 South Bend, Ind.

1954 ND 0-6 Baltimore, Md.

1955 ND 7-21 South Bend, Ind.

1956 Navy 33-7 Baltimore, Md.

1957 Navy 20-6 South Bend, Ind.

1958 ND 20-40 Baltimore, Md.

1959 ND 22-25 South Bend, Ind.

1960 Navy 14-7 Philadelphia, Pa.

1961 Navy 13-10 South Bend, Ind.

1962 ND 12-20 Philadelphia, Pa.

1963 Navy 35-14 South Bend, Ind.

1964 ND 0-40 Philadelphia, Pa.

1965 ND 3-29 South Bend, Ind.

1966 ND 7-31 Philadelphia, Pa.

1967 ND 14-43 South Bend, Ind.

1968 ND 14-44 Philadelphia, Pa.

1969 ND 0-47 South Bend, Ind.

1970 ND 7-56 Philadelphia, Pa.

1971 ND 0-21 South Bend, Ind.

1972 ND 23-42 Philadelphia, Pa.

1973 ND 7-44 South Bend, Ind.

1974 ND 6-14 Philadelphia, Pa.

1975 ND 10-31 South Bend, Ind.

1976 ND 21-27 Cleveland, Ohio

1977 ND 10-43 South Bend, Ind.

1978 ND 7-27 Cleveland, Ohio

1979 ND 0-14 South Bend, Ind.

1980 ND 0-33 East Rutherford, N.J.

1981 ND 0-38 South Bend, Ind.

1982 ND 10-27 East Rutherford, N.J.

1983 ND 12-28 South Bend, Ind.

1984 ND 17-18 East Rutherford, N.J.

1985 ND 17-41 South Bend, Ind.

1986 ND 14-33 Baltimore, Md.

1987 ND 13-56 South Bend, Ind.

1988 ND 7-22 Baltimore, Md.

1989 ND 0-41 South Bend, Ind.

1990 ND 31-52 East Rutherford, N.J.

1991 ND 0-38 South Bend, Ind.

1992 ND 7-38 East Rutherford, N.J.

1993 ND 27-58 Philadelphia, Pa.

1994 ND 21-58 South Bend, Ind.

1995 ND 17-35 South Bend, Ind.

1996 ND 27-54 Dublin, Ireland

1997 ND 17-21 South Bend, Ind.

1998 ND 0-30 Landover, Md.

1999 ND 24-28 South Bend, Ind.

2000 ND 14-45 Orlando, Fla.

2001 ND 16-34 South Bend, Ind.

Scouting Notre Dame

The Irish are one of the surprise stories of the college football season, winning their first-eight games before being upset by Boston College last Saturday, 14-7 . Notre Dame started the season unranked and has climbed to as high as No. four in the Associated Press poll.

The Irish have won games with a dominant defense and an opportunistic offense. They have forced 25 turnovers while turning it over just 17 times (five of those coming in the loss to Boston College). The Irish are giving up just 84.6 yards per game on the ground (seventh in the country) and 196.9 through the air (seventh in the country in pass efficiency defense, 92.31). Offensively, Notre Dame is averaging 168.8 yards per game on the ground and 159.3 through the air. It is giving up just 13.6 points per game (sixth best in the country).

Running back Ryan Grant leads the Notre Dame offense with 920 yards and eight touchdowns. Quarterback Carlyle Holiday has thrown for 1154 yards and five touchdowns, while throwing just two interceptions. Former quarterback Arnaz Battle has been Holiday's favorite target, catching 38 passes for 553 yards and three touchdowns.

The Irish have produced big plays on defense, scoring five touchdowns. Shane Walton has picked off a team-high six passes (fifth in the country in interceptions per game averaging .67), returning one for a score, while Courtney Watson and Vontez Duff have also reached the end zone after interceptions. Gerome Sapp and Lionel Bolen have returned fumbles for touchdowns. Watson leads the team with 69 tackles, while Sapp has recorded 60 stops.

Turnover Troubles

Since opening the season with no turnovers in a 38-7 win at SMU, Navy has committed 25 turnovers, 20 of them fumbles. Three of those turnovers (all fumbles) were returned for touchdowns (N.C. State, Air Force and Tulane). Navy's 20 lost fumbles are the most in the country and three more than any other team (Purdue has lost 17 fumbles). Navy's 25 turnovers are tied for the 13th most in the country.

Since forcing five turnovers in the season opener, Navy has forced just seven turnovers in the last-seven games. Navy's 12 forced turnovers ranks 104th in the country.

All In The Family

Bill Gompers, the grandfather of Navy junior linebacker Ben Mathews (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and freshman slot back Sam Mathews (Pittsburgh, Pa.), was a three-year letterman at halfback at Notre Dame (1945-47). The Irish were 24-2-2 in those three years and won the National Championship in 1947. Gompers scored a rushing touchdown against Navy in 1946 which ironically was played in Baltimore.

Notre Dame junior defensive end Kyle Budinscak's brother, Guy, is a senior at the Naval Academy.

In A Rush

Navy is fourth in the nation in rushing, averaging 282.5 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. West Virginia 297.33

2. Air Force 290.56

3. Nebraska 283.20

4. Navy 282.50

5. Rice 260.67

6. Kansas State 256.44

7. Bowling Green 253.63

8. Wake Forest 248.10

9. Minnesota 246.89

10. Arkansas 246.88

Smith A Tackling Machine

Navy sophomore Josh Smith (Attica, Ind.) has recorded 42 tackles over the last-three games, more than all but two Navy players have recorded all year. His 86 total tackles are 33 more than the next-closest teammate (Vaughn Kelley with 48). The school record for tackles, which wasn't officially kept until 1970, is 169 by Andy Ponseigo in 1983. Smith has reached double figures in tackles in four of Navy's eight games (14 against SMU, 10 against Air Force, 18 against Rice and 15 against Boston College).

Also of note, until this year, official tackle totals were kept by the coaches. The NCAA mandated that tackles be kept as an official stat in the press box this year.

Smith's season is more impressive if you consider the fact that coming out of spring practice, he wasn't selected to appear in the Navy football media guide and barely made the invite list (105 players) to go through two-a-day practices. Thanks to an injury to last year's leading tackle, Lenter Thomas (Sr./Eagle Lake, Texas), Smith got his chance to show the coaches what he could do during two-a-day practices.

Chase Impressive

Freshman Jeremy Chase (Norfolk, Va.) got his first career start at Tulane and came through with a game-high tying 10 tackles and deflected a pass.

Fourth Down Problems

Navy has had problems on fourth down this year, converting on just seven of 20 attempts (35 percent), while stopping the other team on fourth down just three times in 13 attempts (23 percent). Navy is just two for its last 12 in converting fourth downs on offense.

Problems Getting Stops

Navy has given up scores on 46 of the opposition's 97 possessions (.474) this year, including 42-of-76 possessions (.553) in the first three quarters. The first quarter has been the deadliest of them all, as opponents have scored on 15 of 25 possessions (.600). The Mids have given up just four scores on 21 possessions (.190) in the fourth quarter.

Touchdown Navy Quarterback

Navy quarterbacks Craig Candeto (Jr./Orange City, Fla.) and Aaron Polanco (So./Wimberley, Texas) have scored 14 of Navy's 22 rushing touchdowns. Candeto leads the team with nine touchdown rushes, while Polanco has five in just 38 carries (1 touchdown every 7.6 carries).

Red Zone

Navy has scored on 22 of its 29 trips inside the Red Zone (.759) and has scored touchdowns on 19 of those 29 trips (.655).

The defense has given up points in 36 of the 42 times the opposition has reached the Red Zone (.857). Thirty two of the 42 trips have resulted in touchdowns (.762).

Navy In The 2002 National Rankings

{117 Teams in Division IA}

Rushing Offense 4th (282.5)

Passing Offense 112th (108.9)

Total Offense 45th (391.4)

Scoring Offense 89th (22.8)

Rushing Defense 111th (233.6)

Pass Defense 56th (213.0)

Pass Efficiency Defense 116th (172.8)

Total Defense 105th (446.6)

Scoring Defense 113th (40.8)

Net Punting 73rd (33.6)

Punt Return 112th (4.9)

Kickoff Return 79th (19.3)

Turnover Margin 115th (-1.6)

Rushing Craig Candeto (67th, 77.8)

Total Offense Craig Candeto (95th, 154.9)

Kickoff Returns Tony Lane (40th, 23.5)

Scoring Craig Candeto (69th, 6.8)

All-Purpose Runners Eric Roberts (71st, 109.4)

Skaggs Is Navy's Top All-Time Punter

Navy junior John Skaggs (Cantonment, Fla.) is 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 43.7 yards for his career

Career Punting Average Average

1. John Skaggs (2001-02) 43.7

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

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.

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 seven schools who have not played an overtime game.

Schools That Have Never Played An Overtime Game

Navy

North Texas

Ohio State

South Carolina

Temple

Troy State

Tulsa

Mids Have Dropped 33-Straight To Ranked Opponents

Navy has lost 33-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.

Losses To Ranked Opponents

Year Teams

1985 Air Force, Notre Dame and South Carolina

1986 Notre Dame

1987 Notre Dame and Syracuse

1988 Notre Dame and Syracuse

1989 Air Force, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame

1990 Virginia and Notre Dame

1991 Notre Dame

1992 Virginia and Notre Dame

1993 Notre Dame and Louisville

1994 Virginia, Notre Dame and Duke

1995 Notre Dame

1996 Notre Dame

1997 Notre Dame and Air Force

1998 West Virginia and Notre Dame

1999 Georgia Tech

2000 TCU and Notre Dame

2001 Georgia Tech

2002 North Carolina State and Air Force