Oct. 24, 2005

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Game Data... The Navy Midshipmen (4-2), winners of four-straight games, travel to Piscataway, N.J. to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-2) Saturday at Rutgers Stadium (41,500). The game is being televised by Fox Sports New York and will be shown on a tape delayed basis at 11:30 p.m. Saturday night. Bruce Beck and Ray Lucas will call the action for FSNY.

The Rutgers game can be heard on the Navy Radio Network, which includes WBAL in Baltimore (1090 AM), Sportstalk 980 in Washington, D.C. (980 AM), WNAV in Annapolis (1430 AM) and ESPN Radio in Cambridge, Md. (1240 AM).

The game can also be heard nationally on Sirius Radio (Channel 146) or around the world at www.navysports.com, www.wbal.com, www.sportstalk980.com and www.wnav.com. Armed Forces Radio will carry the game live to our troops around the world.

Bob Socci, the voice of Navy athletics, and former Navy fullback Omar Nelson (`97) will call the action.

The Navy Football Pregame Show will air an hour before kickoff (2:30 p.m.) on those same networks.

Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller will get things started with the Navy Tailgate Show on 1430 WNAV and www.wnav.com at 1:30 p.m.

Mids Win Four Straight For Just The Third Time In 25 Years... Navy's victory over Rice gives the Mids four-straight wins, a feat that has been accomplished just two other times in the last 25 years. Navy won the first-five games of the 2004 season and won four-straight games to end the 1997 season.

Navy has won five-straight games in a season just five times in the last 45 years. Navy won seven-consecutive games in 1960 and 1978, six straight in 1963 and 1979 and five-straight games last year. Each of those teams except the 1979 squad went on to participate in a bowl game.

Defense Steps Up In 41-9 Rout Of Rice... Tyler Tidwell (Jr./Edmond, Okla.) recorded eight tackles, four tackles for a loss and two sacks to pace a defense that recorded six sacks and 12 tackles for a loss as Navy steadily pulled away for a 41-9 victory over Rice in front of 12,714 fans at Rice Stadium. The nine points were the least amount of points scored by the Rice offense since scoring six against Navy in 2003.

Jake Biles (Sr./Lorena, Texas) added 11 tackles, Rob Caldwell (Jr./St. John, Ind.) had 10 stops and David Mahoney (Jr./Fort Myers, Fla.) recorded nine tackles, three tackles for a loss, a sack, a fumble recovery and a pass break up, as the defense played its best game since shutting out Tulsa last year.

Offensively, the Mids were led by junior fullback Matt Hall (Cape Coral, Fla.), who rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. Brian Hampton (Jr./Scott Air Force Base, Ill.), Trey Hines (Jr./Douglasville, Ga.) and Karlos Whittaker (Fr./North Chicago, Ill.) also scored touchdowns for the Midshipmen. Whittaker's touchdown run in the third quarter was his fifth of the year, the most in school history by a freshman.

Notes From The Rice Game **The Mids did not turn the ball over for the first time all season.

*Trey Hines (Jr./Douglasville, Ga.) garnered his first-career start and carried the ball three times in the opening drive after carrying the ball just three times in the first five games. He finished the night with 39 yards rushing on six carries. Hines' 11-yard touchdown run with 10:23 remaining in the fourth quarter marked his first TD since last year's 29-26 win over Vanderbilt.

*Four of Navy's seven scoring drives against the Owls were under one minute.

*Navy topped the 300-yard rushing barrier for the third time this season with 301 yards, 34 yards over the season average. The Mids' 66 yards through the air are the fewest since lst year's Tulane contest (Nov. 6) in which Navy threw for just 50 yards. Navy finished the game with 367 yards of total offense, the second-lowest output of the season (343 against Maryland).

*Thanks to Matt Hall's (Jr./Cape Coral, Fla.) 31-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, Navy put points on the scoreboard first for the second-consecutive game.

*Junior quarterback Brian Hampton (Scott Air Force Base, Ill.), who entered the Rice game with 34 yards rushing on 16 carries, produced 40 yards on back-to-back carries in the second quarter, including a career-long 24-yard run. He finished the game with 46 yards on five carries with one touchdown.

*Junior linebacker Tyler Tidwell (Edmond, Okla.) recorded career-highs in tackles (eight), tackles for a loss (four), sacks (two) and forced his first-career fumble. Senior linebacker Jake Biles (Lorena, Texas) paced the Mids with a career-high tying 11 tackles. Junior linebacker Rob Caldwell (St. John, Ind.) recorded double-figure tackles (10 vs Rice) for the fifth time in six games this year. Outside linebacker David Mahoney (Jr./Fort Myers, Fla) posted a season-high nine tackles and recovered his first-career fumble. Senior outside linebacker Jason Monts (Midlothian, Va.) produced a career-high eight tackles. Junior safety Keenan Little (Boiling Springs, N.C.) forced a fumble for the first time in his career. Andrew Tattersall (Jr./Fern Park, Fla.) recovered his first fumble of his career.

*Freshman Ketric Buffin (Rowlett, Texas) made his first-collegiate start in just his second collegiate appearance.

*Freshman kicker Matt Harmon (Taylors, S.C.) scored his first-career point on an extra-point kick with 59 seconds left in the game.

Scouting Rutgers... The Scarlet Knights enter Saturday's game on a roll of their own, winning five of their last six contests. Rutgers is coming off a 26-24 victory over Connecticut and also owns victories over Villanova, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Syracuse. Rutgers' only losses have been at the hands of Illinois (in overtime) and West Virginia.

The Scarlet Knight are averaging 153.9 yards per game on the ground, 237.4 yards through the air and 391.3 yards of total offense per contest. Defensively, Rutgers is allowing 113.9 rushing yards per game, 234 yards through the air and 347.9 yards of total offense. It is averaging 27.6 points per game and allowing 18.7.

Ray Rice leads a solid ground attack with 542 yards and one touchdown on 93 carries. Last week against Connecticut, he rushed for 217 yards on 27 carries. The gritty and gutty Brian Leonard has rushed for 504 yards and five touchdowns.

Quarterbacks Ryan Hart and Teel have both garnered starts. Hart has completed 82 of his 145 passes for 1,086 yards and 11 touchdowns with just three interceptions. Mike Teel has completed 38 of his 75 pass attempts for 576 yards with two touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Tres Moses leads a talented receiving corps with 28 catches for 456 yards and three touchdowns. Leonard has 26 catches for 302 yards and four touchdowns.

Defensively, Rutgers is led by Courtney Green, who had recorded a team-high 63 tackles, and Ryan Neill, who is second in the nation in tackles for a loss with 17 and has recorded six sacks.

Series History... Navy leads the all-time series, 10-8-1, including a 54-21 victory last year in Annapolis. Rutgers is 4-2 all-time against Navy in games played at home, including a 48-27 victory over the Mids in 2003. Navy last won in Piscataway in 1999, 34-7.

Close Calls The Mids are getting used to tight games as eight of the last 18 games have been decided by four points or less with the Mids winning six of those contests (.750). Navy is 2-2 this year in games decided by four points or less.

Cardiac Kids Each of Navy's first five games this year were decided by seven points or less. It's the first time since 1928, when the Mids lost to Davis & Elkins (2-0), Boston College (6-0) and Notre Dame (7-0) and beat Duke (6-0) and Penn (6-0), in which the first-five games were decided by seven points or less. The 1916 team also opened the season by playing five-straight games that were decided by seven points or less (they went 3-1-1).

The Red Zone Navy has scored 22 of the 27 times (81%) it has gotten inside the red zone, including 16 touchdowns (59%). The opponents have scored on 18 of their 23 opportunities in the red zone (78%) with 13 going for touchdowns (57%).

Navy Third In The Country In Rushing Offense Navy enters the Rutgers game third in the country in rushing offense (Rutgers is 25th in the country in rushing defense), averaging 272.67 yards per game. Navy has never finished lower than third in the country in rushing during Paul Johnson's tenure at the Academy. Last year, the Mids finished third in the nation in rushing offense, averaging 289.50 yards per contest, while in 2003 the Mids led the nation in rushing, averaging a school-record 323.2 yards per game. In 2002, Johnson's first year at Navy, the Mids finished third in the nation in rushing, averaging 270.8 yards per contest.

Caldwell Seventh In The Nation In Tackles Per Game Junior linebacker Rob Caldwell (St. John, Ind.) is seventh in the nation in tackles per game, averaging 12.7 per contest. Caldwell, who entered the season with 15-career tackles, has recorded 76 tackles this season and is on pace for 139 tackles on the year.

If Caldwell finishes the season as the team's leading tackler, it will mark the fourth-consecutive year and sixth time in the last 14 years that a player from the great state of Indiana has led Navy in tackles. Safety Josh Smith (Attica, Ind.) led Navy in tackles in each of the last three years, and Javier Zuluaga (Indianapolis, Ind.) led Navy in tackles in 1992 and 1993. Caldwell would also be the first linebacker to lead Navy in tackles since Clint Bruce in 1995 and 1996. Caldwell's 21 tackles against Air Force are the third most in the country this year and the most by a Navy player since Smith had 21 against Connecticut in 2002.

Mahoney Fifth In The Nation In Tackles For A Loss Junior outside linebacker David Mahoney (Fort Myers, Fla.) is fifth in the nation in tackles for a loss per game, averaging 1.83 per contest. Mahoney, who entered the season with 14.5 tackles for a loss for his career and recorded a career-high 12 last year, already has recorded 11 tackles for a loss of 51 yards in the first six games this year. The school record for tackles for a loss in a season is 20, set by Eric Rutherford in 1984. The school record for tackles for a loss in a career is 44, set by Andy Person (1992-95). Junior outside linebacker Tyler Tidwell (Edmond, Okla.) is right behind Mahoney, averaging 1.67 tackles for a loss per game, which ranks 15th in the nation.

Navy Tough On Punt Returners

Whittaker Sets Freshman Touchdown Record Freshman slot back Karlos Whittaker (North Chicago, Ill.) turned in his fifth touchdown of the season on a 19-yard run against Rice, setting the school record for touchdowns by a freshman. Former quarterback great Alton Grizzard scored four as a freshman in 1987. Whittaker's five touchdowns this year are tied for the 14th most in the country by a freshman. He is averaging a touchdown once every 3.7 carries.

Whittaker has now scored in five-consecutive games, becoming the first Navy player to accomplish that feat since Brian Madden in 1999. Madden actually scored a touchdown in eight-consecutive games from 1999-2001 (He missed all of the 2000 season and the first three games of the 2001 season with a knee injury).

Whittaker became just the second freshman in school history (Grizzard was the other) to rush for over 100 yards in a game when he rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries against Stanford. Grizzard rushed for 225 yards on 23 carries in 1987 against Penn.

Whittaker, who is the first Navy freshman to score a touchdown since Trey Hines (Jr./Douglasville, Ga.) scored on a four-yard touchdown run against Tulane in 2003, scored his first-career touchdown on a 44-yard jaunt in the second quarter against Stanford. Whittaker has also started to become quite a threat on kickoff returns, averaging 27.2 yards per return, which is tied for the third-best mark in school history. Whittaker's 52-yard kickoff return against Rice was the longest by a Navy player since Aaron Weedo returned a kickoff 53 yards against Army in 2002.

Defense... Rice's nine points are the fewest since Navy's 38-6 win over the Owls on Oct. 18, 2003. It's the fewest points scored by a Navy opponent since the Mids shut out Tulsa last year, 29-0. The Mids finished the game with a season-high six sacks.

Offense... The Mids' 32-point win over Rice marks the largest margin of victory by Navy since its 33-point win (54-21) over Rutgers last season (Nov. 20). The 41 points scored are the most since last year's Army-Navy game when the Mids scored 42 (Dec. 4).

In Paul We Trust... Navy football has struggled at times over the last 21 years, compiling an overall record of 82-159 (.340). The Mids, however, have not struggled when Paul Johnson has been calling the plays.

Johnson has been at Navy for six of those 21 years (two years as a coordinator and four as a head coach), and in those six years, the Mids are 38-28 (.576) and have appeared in three bowl games, winning two. The Mids are 22-9 (.710) over the last three years and have won 20 of the last 27 contests (.741).

On A Roll... Navy is 22-9 over the last three years (.710) after posting a 3-30 (.091) record the previous three years. The Mids are 12-2 (.857) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium over the last three years after losing 14-straight at home the previous three years.

Tomlinson Records Back-To-Back 100-Yard Receiving Games Junior wide receiver Jason Tomlinson (Arlington, Texas) had back-to-back big games for the Midshipmen, catching five passes for a career-high 115 yards against Kent State and catching four passes for a then career-high 114 yards and a touchdown against Air Force. He is the first Navy player to top 100 yards receiving in back-to-back games since Ryan Read in 1998.

His touchdown against the Falcons came on a 61-yard toss from Lamar Owens (Sr./Savannah, Ga.). It was the longest reception in Tomlinson's career and the longest play by Navy since last year's Emerald Bowl when Aaron Polanco hit Corey Dryden with a 61-yard touchdown pass against New Mexico.

Tomlinson is averaging 18.5 yards per catch for his career, with 43 receptions for 790 yards. It's the fifth-best receiving average in school history.

Owens Putting Up Big Numbers... Senior quarterback Lamar Owens (Savannah, Ga.), who entered the Maryland game with 129-career rushing yards, rushed for 122 yards on 19 carries in his first-career start. Owens became just the 14th Navy quarterback to rush for over 100 yards in a game (54th time overall). He also joined Chris McCoy (26 carries for 273 yards on Sept. 9, 1995 at SMU) and Brian Madden (34 carries for 168 yards on Oct. 30, 1999 at Notre Dame) as the only Navy quarterbacks to rush for over 100 yards in their first-career start. Owens rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown against Duke and 110 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries against Kent State making him just the seventh quarterback in school history to rush for 100 yards in a game on three or more occasions. Owens has already amassed 1,246 yards of total offense (463 rushing and 783 passing) on just 163 plays. His 7.6 yards per play would be a school record for a season and his 6.85 average yards per play for a career would also be a school record.

NCAA First Senior slot back Marco Nelson (Scottsdale, Ariz.) is the first player in NCAA history to return a fumble for a touchdown, score a rushing touchdown and catch a touchdown pass in the same game as he accomplished this feat in Navy's 41-38 loss to Stanford. Nelson returned a fumbled punt 19 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, scored on a one-yard run with 5:33 remaining in the second quarter and then caught a 54-yard touchddown pass from Lamar Owens in the fourth quarter (12:38). Nelson, who entered this season with just one-career touchdown, has four in the first two games. Nelson's fumble return for a touchdown was the first by a Navy player since Brad Wimsatt returned a fumble for a touchdown against Army on Dec. 2, 2000.

A's Make Plays Navy's slot backs, or A-Backs as they are called in the offense, have been big-play contributors in both the rushing and passing game. As a unit, the A-backs have rushed for 554 yards and eight touchdowns on just 76 carries (7.3 yards per carry) and have caught 17 passes for 346 yards and one touchdown (20.4 yards per reception). All told, the slot backs have gained 900 yards and scored nine touchdowns on 93 touches (9.7 yards per touch).

Lots Of Yards Navy amassed 532 yards of total offense against Kent State, the 23rd-most yards in school history and the most since last Nov. 20 when Navy produced 613 yards against Rutgers. Navy's 336 yards rushing against the Golden Flashes are the most since last year's Rutgers game when the Mids piled up 476 yards on the ground.

Throwing To The Wrong Jersey Navy quarterbacks have thrown seven interceptions in the first-six games after throwing just four all of last season.

Slow Start Navy got off to an 0-2 start for the first time since 2001, which was the last year of the Charlie Weatherbie era and the last time Navy opened with two-straight opponents from BCS conferences (thanks to the Rice game being cancelled Navy started the year against three BCS opponents for the first time since 2001). The Mids finished the 2001 season 0-10. This season marked the 19th time in school history that Navy has started 0-2 and on only two occasions have the Mids bounced back to have a winning season. In 1928, the Mids started 0-2 and finished the year 5-3-1 and in 1892, the Mids lost their first two before winning the final five games. In the previous 18 years that Navy has started 0-2, the Mids have finished with a combined record of 38-135-5 (.228).

Johnson Dominant Against Service Academy Teams... Navy head football coach Paul Johnson is 6-1 (.857) as a head coach against service academy teams, which equals the best start for a Navy head coach against the other two service academies. Wayne Hardin was 6-1 against the two service academies from 1959-1964 (1-0 against Air Force and 5-1 against Army).

Three-Straight Wins Against The Falcons... Navy has beaten Air Force three-consecutive times for just the second time in series history and for the first time since 1977-79. Navy also owns a three-game winning streak against Army for the first time since 1978-80. Navy will look to make it four straight for the first time since 1973-76 on Dec. 3 in Philadelphia.

The Staff That Stays Together, Wins Together... One of Navy's strengths is an experienced coaching staff that has not only coached a significant amount of time at the Naval Academy, but has also coached together as a staff for a long time. Ths year's coaching staff has combined for 69 years of coaching at the Naval Academy and has served 60 years under the direction of Paul Johnson, including 46 years under Johnson at the Naval Academy.

When Navy Passes For More Yards Than It Rushes, It Usually Means Defeat Navy's 248 yards through the air against Stanford are the most passing yards by a Navy team since Oct. 26, 2002, when Navy threw for 329 yards in a 51-30 loss to Tulane. Navy produced more yards through the air (248) than on the ground (235) for the first time since its 21-17 loss to Delaware on Nov. 1, 2003. The Mids are 0-3 under Paul Johnson when they accumulate more yards passing than rushing in a game.

Owens Can Throw The Ball Senior quarterback Lamar Owens (Savannah, Ga.) threw for 193 yards against Stanford, the most by a Navy quarterback since Nov. 1, 2003, when Craig Candeto threw for 201 yards against Delaware. Owens' 54-yard touchdown pass to Marco Nelson (Sr./Scottsdale, Ariz.) in the fourth quarter was the first of his career. Owens has completed 38 of his 67 pass attempts (.567) on the year for 783 yards and three touchdowns. The only negative for Owens has been his six interceptions.

Versatile Plebe Freshman wide receiver/quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (Kapolei, Hawaii) is one of just 13 quarterbacks in the country that also play another position. Kaheaku-Enhada threw an incomplete pass as a wide receiver and nearly caught a touchdown pass against Stanford. He has also made two tackles on special teams.

Mids Inexperienced... With just six returning starters off last year's team (two on offense, three defense and one specialist), Navy is tied with Northern Illinois as having the fewest returning starters of any team in the country.

Mighty Mites... Not only does Navy have the fewest returning starters of any team in the country, it also has the shortest group of starters. Six starters measure in at 5-9 or smaller, including the entire starting backfield of quarterback Lamar Owens (5-9), fullback Matt Hall (5-9) and slot backs Marco Nelson (5-7) and Reggie Campbell (5-6). No other team in the country is starting more than three players 5-9 or smaller.

Starting right offensive guard Antron Harper (So./Eastman, Ga.) is the lightest starting offensive lineman in the country. Harper weighs just 249 pounds.

No Overtime... Since the NCAA adopted the overtime rule in 1996, Navy is one of just two schools (North Texas is the other) who have yet to play an overtime game.

Johnson Tough With Time... Paul Johnson has posted a 11-5 record (.688) as Navy's head coach when having more than one week to prepare.

In 2002, the Mids posted a 2-2 record with more than one week to prepare, defeating SMU and Army and losing to Northwestern and Notre Dame.

In 2003, Navy was 4-1 in games in which they had more than one week to prepare, defeating VMI, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Army and losing to Texas Tech in the Houston Bowl.

In 2004, the Mids were 4-1 (defeating Duke, Rutgers, Army and New Mexico and losing to Notre Dame) when having more than one week to prepare.

This year, Johnson is 1-1, losing to Maryland and beating Duke. Navy still has one more game where the coaching staff will get more than one week to prepare-Army on Dec. 3.

Little Steps Up... Junior safety Keenan Little (Boiling Spring, N.C.), who recorded 10 tackles in 2003 and 12 tackles last year, has already been in on 36 tackles this year and has picked off two passes and forced a fumble.