Oct. 13, 2008

• Navy Football Game Notes

Game 7: Navy (4-2) vs. #23 / RV Pitt (4-1)

Saturday, Oct. 18 • 3:30 p.m. • Homecoming • Annapolis, Md. • Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

Gameday Multimedia
Television:
• CBS College Sports Network - Tom Hart (play-by-play), Trev Alberts (analyst)
Radio / Internet:
• Navy Radio Network - Bob Socci (play-by-play), Omar Nelson (analyst), John Feinstein (analyst), Pete Medhurst (sideline)
• Sirius Radio - Channel 125
Navy All-Access:
• All home Navy football games are available via the internet at www.NavySports.com
Live Stats:
• Gametracker on NavySports.com

Navy-Pitt Game Data
• Following a week off, Navy (4-2) will celebrate Homecoming on Saturday when it plays host to 23rd-ranked Pitt (4-1) in a nationally-televised contest on CBS College Sports Network.
• Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Trev Alberts (color) will call the action from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000) beginning at 3:30 p.m.
• The Mids, who defeated 16th-ranked Wake Forest earlier this year, have not defeated more than one ranked team in a season since 1957 when Navy beat No. 5 Notre Dame (20-6), No. 10 Army (27-20) and No. 8 Rice (20-7) in the Cotton Bowl.
• The Navy Football Radio Network will provide more than six hours of coverage starting at 1:30 p.m. Eastern with its pregame show on 1430 WNAV (Annapolis) hosted by Pete Medhurst, Joe Miller and Wiley Baker.
• The Navy Football Pregame Show will get underway at 2:30 p.m. with Bob Socci, Omar Nelson, John Feinstein and Pete Medhurst setting the scene from Annapolis, followed by game action beginning at 3:30 p.m. Sirius Radio will also carry the Navy broadcast on channel 125.

The Navy Radio Network includes of the following ...
• WNAV 1430 AM (Annapolis) | WBAL 1090 AM (Baltimore)
• WFED 1050 AM, 1500 AM, 820 AM (Washington DC)
• WTRI 1520 AM (Frederick)
• WXTG 102.1 FM (Va. Beach) | 1490 AM (Hampton Roads)

• Get the insider news by tuning in to the Navy Football Pregame Show with Bob Socci, Omar Nelson, John Feinstein and Pete Medhurst. The pregame show includes feature news on "This Date in Navy History" presented by Navy Federal Credit Union, "The Coaches Corner" presented by General Dynamics, "Keys to the Game" presented by Toyota, "Today in College Football" presented by BAE Systems, as well as interviews with head coach Ken Niumatalolo and select players.
• New to this year's radio line-up is a 60-minute postgame show on 1430 WNAV. Recapping the day's events will be Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller live from the Superintendent's tent in the southwest corner of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Pregame Information
• Pregame festivities will get underway Saturday at 1:15 p.m. with the Navy Football Team Walk.
• Originating at the Blue Angel in the southwest corner of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, the team will make its way down the sidewalk and through NavyFest before walking up the drive to the stadium. Fans are encouraged to line up on both sides of the sidewalk to cheer for the team.
• The march-on of the Brigade of Midshipmen will take place at 3:09 p.m.
• Saturday's fly-over features two Northrup Grumman E-2C Hawkeye 2000 aircraft from the "Seahawks" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 126.
• Piloting the lead aircraft is Lt. Cmdr. Chris "Thumper" Hayle, USNA Class of 1995, with Lt. Cmdr. Dave "Spalding" Dull, USNA Class of 1995, serving as the Mission Commander. The wing aircraft is piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Brad "Big Time" Stevens, Class of 1996, with Cmdr. James "J.J." Elias, Class of 1993, serving as the Mission Commander.
• The Seahawks recently returned from a seven-month combat deployment to the Persian Gulf as part of Carrier Air Wing Three onboard USS Harry S. Truman CVN-75 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Scouting Pitt
• Like Navy, Pitt enjoyed a week off from action, heading into Saturday's game with a 4-1 record. In addition to its 26-21 win over 10th-ranked South Florida two weeks ago, the Panthers also own victories over Buffalo (27-16), Iowa (21-20) and Syracuse (34-24).
• Pitt's only loss came in the season opener to Bowling Green, 27-17.
• Pitt is ranked 58th nationally in rushing offense (151.4), 66th in passing offense (205.6), 70th in total offense (357.0) and 65th in scoring offense (25.0).
• The Panthers are ranked 40th nationally in rush defense (117.8), 27th in pass defense (176.4), 27th in total defense (294.2) and 48th in scoring defense (21.6).
• Running back and All-America candidate LeSean McCoy ranks 17th in the country in rushing yards per game, averaging 106.6 yards per contest.
• Inside linebacker Scott McKillop is 11th in the country in tackles per game (10.4) and sixth in tackles for a loss (1.80).
• Kicker Conor Lee is tied for 10th in the country in field goals made per game, averaging 1.80 per contest.

The Last Time ...
Navy 48, Pitt 45 (2OT) Oct. 10, 2007 | Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Cornerback Rashawn King knocked down a fade pass from Pitt quarterback Pat Bostick intended for Darrell Strong on fourth-and-goal from the Navy two-yard line in the second overtime to give Navy a thrilling, 48-45, double overtime victory over the Panthers.
• The victory was the first overtime win in program history for the Midshipmen.
• Kicker Joey Bullen gave Navy the three-point lead with a 29-yard field goal on the Mids' possession in the second overtime and then the Navy defense broke up two passes in the end zone to give the Mids their third-straight victory.
• The game was an offensive slugfest as the two teams combined for 915 yards and 93 points. Neither team held a lead of more than seven points all night in a game that featured six ties and four lead changes.
• Quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada continued his sensational play at quarterback, rushing for 122 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries and completing nine of his 12 pass attempts for 166 yards and two touchdowns.
• Slot back Reggie Campbell had the best game of his senior campaign, piling up 139 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns (1 rushing, two receiving).
• The Navy defense was led by freshman Wyatt Middleton, who recorded a career-high 12 stops. Irv Spencer had 10 tackles, while King had nine tackles and his first-career interception to go along with his game-winning pass break-up.

Niumatalolo Looks to Reverse Trend
• Since World War II, Navy's 11 head coaches are a combined 41-76-4 (.355) in their first season at the helm.
• Only Wayne Hardin in 1959 (5-4-1) and Gary Tranquill in 1982 (6-5) were able to post a winning record ... Ken Niumatalolo stands 4-2-0 in his first full season (.667).
• No Navy head coach has led the Mids to a bowl game in their first year, however Wayne Hardin, Charlie Weatherbie and Paul Johnson all led the Mids to a bowl game in their second season.

Niumatalolo Wins First Service Academy Game
• Thanks to a 33-27 victory over Air Force, Ken Niumatalolo became the first Navy head coach to win his first service academy game since George Welsh in 1973 (Welsh beat Air Force, 42-6).
• Niumatalolo is also the first service academy coach to win a service academy game on the first try since Fisher DeBerry beat Navy, 29-22, in 1984.

Navy Finds Homecoming a Struggle
• Navy owns a 36-21 (.632) all-time record on Homecoming weekend, with the majority of the wins coming against teams that are currently in the FCS.
• The Mids have produced an 11-12 (.478) all-time record against FBS teams on Homecoming, including just one win in the last six games.
• Navy has been hammered the last two Homecoming games, losing to Rutgers, 34-0, and Wake Forest, 44-24, and are just 3-7 in its last 10 Homecoming games.

Mids Endure Long Stretch Between Home Games
• Navy last played a home game on Sept. 20 which resulted in a memorable 23-21 win over Rutgers.
• When Oct. 18 rolls around, it will have been 28 days since Navy last played at home.
• The 28 days without a home game is tied for the ninth-longest stretch in the country.
• Navy will finish the season with three-straight home games, two neutral site games (Notre Dame in Baltimore and Army in Philadelphia) and one road game (Northern Illinois).
• Central Michigan has the toughest schedule in the country in terms of not playing at home with two stretches of 30 days or more without a home game.

Navy Vs. Ranked Opponents
• Navy's 24-17 victory over No. 16 Wake Forest on Sept. 27 was its first win over a ranked opponent since Oct. 4, 2003, when Navy beat Air Force, 28-25 at FedExField in Landover, Md. The Falcons were ranked No. 25 in the Coaches Poll.
• It's the Mids' first win over a team ranked in BOTH polls since 1985 when the Mids upset Virginia who was No. 20 in the Associated Press Poll and 17th in the Coaches Poll.
• Wake Forest is the highest ranked team Navy has defeated since stunning No. 2 South Carolina at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in 1984.
• Navy's last win over a ranked team in the Associated Press Top 25 was on Sept. 28, 1985, when the Mids upset No. 20 Virginia, 17-13.
• It's Navy's first win over a ranked team on the road since beating Virginia, 20-17, on Sept. 28, 1985, in Charlottesville.
• Navy has beaten just two ranked teams in the last 20 years, six in the last 30 years and 10 in the last 40 years.
• Navy has not beaten more than one ranked team in a season since 1957, when it defeated No. 5 Notre Dame (20-6), No. 10 Army (27-20) and No. 8 Rice (20-7) in the Cotton Bowl.

BCS Busters
• Since 2003, Navy owns a 13-13 (.500) mark against BCS schools.
• The Mids own victories over Vanderbilt (2003, 2004), Duke (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), Rutgers (2004, 2008), Stanford (2006), Connecticut (2006), Pittsburgh (2007), Notre Dame (2007) and Wake Forest (2008).
• The 13 wins over BCS opponents are the most by a non-BCS school since 2003.

Mids In the Red Zone
• Navy has scored 21 of the 23 times (.913) it has reached the red zone this year, but just 10 of those scores have gone for touchdowns (.435).
• The Navy defense has given up 16 scores in the 20 times (.800) the opposition has reached the red zone, with 13 of those scores resulting in touchdowns (.650).

Harmon Serves Notice as All-America and Lou Groza Award Candidate
• Senior kicker Matt Harmon (Greenville, S.C.), who is ranked No. 2 nationally with his 2.3 field goals per game average, has made 14 of his 15 field goals on the year (.933), including a current streak of 13 in a row dating back to the Mids' opener against Towson.
• He is 11-of-11 inside of 40 yards.
• His 14 field goals this season are the sixth most in school history, while his 28-career field goals are tied for the fourth most.
• His four field goals against Air Force tied a school record, accomplished five other times. It marked the first time a Navy player has made four field goals since 1999 when Tim Shubzda nailed four against Army.
• Harmon has made 72 of the 73 (.986) extra points he has taken during his career, including 19-of-19 this season, which ranks No. 1 in school history.
• He became Navy's record holder in consecutive PATs made after connecting on all five extra-points in Navy's opener against Towson (52) ... he split the uprights twice against Ball State, four times at Duke, twice in the Mids' win over Rutgers, three times at Wake Forest and three times at Air Force to boost his consecutive PATs made streak to 66 in a row.
• He moved past Bob Tata (1976-78) into third on the career PATs made list with 72 after kicking in three extra points at Air Force. He trails second-place Tom Vanderhorst (1995-98) by 21.
• He has scored 156 points in his career, the fifth most in school history.
• Averaging 10.2 points per game, he is ranked No. 12 in the country among all players, including third among kickers (Jeff Wolfert of Missouri and Louie Sakoda of Utah are ahead of him).

Mids Looking for Fourth-Straight Rushing Title
• In the last six years, the Mids have consistently been one of the top rushing teams in the country, never finishing lower than third.
• In 2002, Navy finished third in the nation, averaging 270.8 yards per contest.
• In 2003, the Mids led the nation in rushing, averaging a then school-record 323.2 yards per game.
• In 2004, Navy finished third in the nation, averaging 289.5 yards per contest.
• In 2005, Navy led the country in rushing for the second time in three years, averaging 318.7 yards per game.
• Navy finished the 2006 campaign averaging a nation's-best and then school-record 327 yards per game.
• The Mids rushed for a school-record 348.8 yards per game in 2007, becoming the first team in NCAA history to lead the nation in rushing three-consecutive years.
• The 348.8 yards per game are the most yards rushing by a FBS team since Nebraska averaged 349.3 yards per game in 2000.
• Navy is the nation's second-leading rushing team, averaging 313.5 yards per contest.