Sept. 15, 2008

• Navy Football Game Notes

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 119
Navy All-Access:
• All home Navy football games are available via the
internet at www.NavySports.com
Live Stats:
• Gametracker on NavySports.com

Navy-Rutgers Game Data
• Navy (1-2) play host to Rutgers (0-2) on Saturday afternoon 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 Navy Football Radio Network will provide more than six hours of coverage starting at 1:30 p.m. with a 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, channel 119, will also carry the Navy broadcast.

The Navy Radio Network includes of the following ...
• WNAV 1430 AM (Annapolis) | WBAL 1090 AM (Baltimore)
• WFED 1050 AM | WWWT 1500 AM (Washington DC)
• WWWB 820 AM (Wash. 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 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 3:11 p.m.
• Saturday's fly-by is two MV-22 Ospreys from Marine Squadron 263 out of MCAS New River, N.C.

1958 Cotton Bowl to Be Honored At Half
• Navy will honor the 1958 Cotton Bowl team at halftime of Saturday's game.
• The Mids finished the 1957 campaign with a 9-1-1 record under the direction of head coach Eddie Erdelatz who said his team was "the best ball club I ever had the privilege of coaching."
• That year they defeated Boston College (46-6), William & Mary (33-6), Cal (21-6), Georgia (27-14), Penn (35-7), Notre Dame (20-6), George Washington (52-0) and Army (14-0). The Mids tied Duke (6-6) and dropped their only game of the season to North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 13-7.
• Navy earned a Cotton Bowl bid where they defeated Rice, 20-7. Joe Tranchini, Harry Hurst and Ned Oldham provided touchdowns for the Mids, while receiving dominant defensive performances from Tony Stremic and Bob Reifsnyder.
• Reifsnyder and quarterback Tom Forrestal earned First-Team All-America honors, while Forrestal was also named an Academic All-American.
• Reifsnyder was named the Maxwell Award winner at the end of the 1957 season, awarded annually to college football's most outstanding player. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997.

Scouting Rutgers
• The Scarlet Knights enter Saturday's contest with an 0-2 record, dropping a pair of home field decisions to nationally-ranked Fresno State (24-7) in their opener, as well as North Carolina (44-12).
• Rutgers has found it a difficult task to score, averaging just 9.5 points per game which is ranked 116th out of 119 teams. Meanwhile, it is surrendering and average of 34 points per game.
• It is averaging 123 yards per game on the ground, 253 yards per game through the air for a total of 376 yards per contest. The opposition is averaging 181.5 yards per game on the ground, 218.5 yards per game through the air and a total of 400.0 yards per game of total offense.
• Quarterback Mike Teel has completed 45 of his 79 pass attempts for 506 yards with one touchdown and five interceptions. His leading receivers are Kenny Britt (14 catches for 198 yards) and Tiquan Underwood (10 catches for 107 yards). Mason Robinson is the leading ground gainer for the Scarlet Knights, averaging 47 yards per contest.
• Defensively, the always stout Rutgers defense is led by Ryan D'Imperio with 21 tackles and two sacks, while Kevin Malast has recorded 20 tackles.

Jersey Boys
• Navy has four players on the roster that hail from the state of New Jersey:
# Player Yr. Pos. Hometown
71 Shane Bothel So. DE Marlton
72 Anthony Gaskins Sr. OG West Orange
65 Sander Gossard Sr. OT Harrington Park
95 John Maddox Sr. NG Manasquan

Navy Vs. The Big East
• The Midshipmen are 45-55-4 (.452) all-time against current members of the Big East Conference.
• In addition to Saturday's contest against Rutgers, Navy will also face Big East contender Pitt on Oct. 18 in the Mids' Homecoming contest.
• Navy owns winning record against Cincinnati (2-0), Connecticut (6-1) and West Virginia (6-2) and a win over Rutgers on Saturday would even the series at 11 wins apiece with a tie thrown into the mix.

Second Half Struggles Lead to Mids' Demise vs. Duke
• Duke outscored Navy, 21-7, in the second half to hand the Midshipmen a 41-31 defeat in front of 25,082 fans at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham.
• Navy, who played without starting fullback Eric Kettani (Kirtland, Ohio) for all but three plays and starting quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (Kapolei, Hawai'i) for the entire second half, gained just 130 yards on 27 plays against the Blue Devil defense.
• Navy held a 14-10 lead early in the second quarter on the strength of a 73-yard touchdown run by Shun White (Sr. / Memphis, Tenn.) and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Kaheaku-Enhada to Greg Shinego (Port St. Lucie, Fla.).
• The Mids had a chance to take an 11-point lead, but on third-and-two from their own 43, White fumbled a pitch from Kaheaku-Enhada and Duke linebacker Vincent Rey scooped it up and ran 37 yards for the touchdown to give the Blue Devils a 17-14 lead.
• Navy came back to tie the game at 17 on a 27-yard field goal by Matt Harmon (Sr. / Greenville, S.C.). The key play on that drive was a 26-yard pass from Kaheaku-Enhada to Barnes. Barnes made a spectacular catch on a ball that was lofted high into the air with three Blue Devil defenders around him. Kaheaku-Enhada took himself out of the game after that play with heat exhaustion and he did not return to action.
• The Navy defense forced Duke to go three-and-out on the next series and, after a 16-yard punt return by Mario Washington (So. / Boiling Springs, N.C.), the Mids regained the lead at 24-17 on a 17-yard touchdown run by Bobby Doyle (Jr. / Chardon, Ohio).
• The Blue Devils did regain some of the momentum at the end of the first half when they were able to get into field goal range in just 14 seconds and Joe Surgan nailed a career-long 52-yard field goal to cut Navy's lead to 24-20 at the half.
• Navy put itself in a hole to start the second half as Alex Teich (Fr. / Conroe, Texas) and John Angelo (So. / Newport Beach, Calif.) collided on the opening kickoff and fumbled the ball. Navy's Jordan Eddington (Jr./San Antonio, Texas) recovered the fumble at the12-yard line, but the critical error gave the Mids bad field position and it would eventually lead to a Duke touchdown.
• On second-and-10 Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis hit Sheldon Bell for just two yards, but Navy outside linebacker Corey Johnson (Sr. / Anderson, Ind.) was called for a questionable personal foul that gave Duke an automatic first down. Four plays later, Lewis hit Eron Riley with a five-yard touchdown pass to give the Devils a 27-24 lead.
• The Navy offense continued to struggle on the next series and when quarterback Jarod Bryant (Sr. / Hoover, Ala.) was stopped short on fourth-and-one, the Blue Devils took over at the Navy 38-yard line. Six plays later, Tielor Robinson scored from two yards out to take a 34-24 lead.
• The Mids cut the lead to three when Bryant hit Barnes with a wide receiver screen and he raced 68 yards down the left sideline to make the score 34-31.
• The Navy defense forced a Duke punt on the next possession, but the offense could do nothing with it and Delahooke's 26-yard punt was partially blocked setting the Blue Devils up in excellent field position once again. Two plays later, Lewis hit Riley with a 49-yard touchdown pass to give the Blue Devils a 41-31 lead.
• White led the Navy offense with 112 yards rushing and one touchdown on 15 carries. Bryant completed five of his seven pass attempts for 105 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Barnes had his best day as a Navy receiver with four catches for 113 yards and one touchdown. Johnson led the Navy offense with nine tackles, including a tackle for a loss, while Rashawn King (Sr./Raleigh, N.C.) and Ross Pospisil (Jr./Temple, Texas) had eight tackles apiece.

Navy Vs. BCS Schools
• Since 2003, Navy owns an 11-13 (.458) mark against BCS schools.
• The Mids own victories over Vanderbilt (2003, 2004), Duke (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), Rutgers (2004), Stanford (2006), Connecticut (2006), Pittsburgh (2007) and Notre Dame (2007).
• The 11 wins over BCS opponents are tied with Utah for the most by a non-BCS school since 2003.

Bouncing Back
• Since 2003, Navy owns a 15-5 (.750) record in games following a loss.
• The Mids have lost back-to-back games just five times during that six-year span:
2005 Maryland and Stanford
2006 Rutgers and Notre Dame
2007 Rutgers and Ball St.; Wake Forest and Delaware
2008 Ball State and Duke
• Navy has not lost three-straight games since the 2002 season when the Mids lost 10 in a row.

Achilles Heel - Third Down Efficiency
• Navy has not done a good job on third down conversions so far this year on either side of the football.
• The offense has converted just 15 of 38 third down tries (.395), which ranks 65th in the country.
• Last year the Mids were No. 4 in the country in third down conversions, converting 90 of 176 (.511).
• The Mids have really struggled in the second half on third down, converting just six of 20 (.300) including two of 10 (.200) in the fourth quarter.
• Defensively, the Mids are allowing the opposition to convert on third down 61 percent of the time (23 of 38), which ranks 117th out of 119 schools.
• Last year the Mids allowed opponents to convert on third down 48 percent of the time (86 out of 181 times), which ranked 110th in the country.
• Navy has been good in the fourth quarter on third down conversions, allowing just three out of eight (.375).

Offense Unable to Score in Second Half
• The Navy offense has scored 64 points in the first half of the first three games (21.3 points per game in the first half), but just 31 points in the second half (10.3 points per game in the second half).
• The Navy defense has improved their play from the first half to the second half, allowing 54 points in the first half (18.0 points per game in the first half) and just 35 points in the second half (11.7 points per game in the second half).

Navy Football Luncheon Series
• The Navy Football Luncheon series debuted on Aug. 25 in the N-Room at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• The luncheon allows Navy fans to get the inside scoop from head football coach Ken Niumatalolo before some of Navy's biggest games of the year.
• The cost of the luncheon is $25 and will include parking, a catered lunch by Martin's/Bo Brooks, door prizes, highlights from the previous game and a breakdown of past games and of the upcoming contest by Niumatalolo.
• Luncheon dates are ...
>> Monday, Aug. 25, season-opener week
>> Tuesday, Sept. 30, Air Force week
>> Tuesday, Nov. 11, Notre Dame week
>> Tuesday, Dec. 2, Army week
• Tickets to the luncheon can be purchased in advance by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY or by logging on to www.NavySports.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the door on the day of the event.

The Key to Victory: Score 30 Points
• The Mids are 31-5 (.881) over the last six years when scoring 30 or more points in a game.
• Navy scored 30 or more points seven times in 2003 (7-0), four times in 2004 (4-0), seven times in 2005 (6-1), five times in 2006 (5-0), 11 times in 2007 (8-3) and twice in 2008 (1-1).
• The Mids are 7-15 (.318) over the last six years when allowing 30 or more points in the game.
• Navy gave up 30 or more points three times in 2003 (1-2), once in 2004 (0-1), five times in 2005 (2-3), twice in 2006 (0-2), eight times in 2007 (3-5) and twice in 2008 (0-1).

White Off to Record Shattering Start
• Slot back Shun White (Sr. / Memphis, Tenn.) rushed for a school-record 348 yards and a career-high three touchdowns on 19 carries (18.3 yards per carry) in Navy's 41-13 rout of Towson in the Mids' opener.
• White is the first Navy player to rush for 300 yards in a game and is the 80th player in NCAA FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) history to bust the 300-yard plateau.
• He rushed for 214 yards on 11 carries in the first half.
• Additionally, his 348 yards go down as a school record for all-purpose yardage and total offense per play (18.3 yards per play).
• White's rushing mark ranks 17th on the NCAA's all-time single-game rushing list and it's the most rushing yards by a player from the FBS since Northern Illinois' Garrett Wolfe rushed for 353 yards against Ball State on Sept. 30, 2006.
• White's 87-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was the fourth longest in school history and the longest since Pat McGrew ran for a 91-yard touchdown against Kent State on Nov. 22, 1997.
• White, who owns four of the 14-longest runs in the country this year, heads into the Rutgers game averaging a nation's-best 238 yards per game on the ground.

Long Runs
• Slot Back Shun White's (Sr. / Memphis, Tenn.) owns four of the 14-longest runs in the FBS this season, three of which have scored points for the Mids.
• White's 87-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of Navy's win over Towson in the opener was the fourth longest in school history and the longest since Pat McGrew ran for a 91-yard touchdown against Kent State on Nov. 22, 1997.
• Quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (Sr. / Kapolei, Hawai'i) produced two of the seven-longest runs in school history last season.
• His 80-yard touchdown run in the second quarter against Ball State was the fifth-longest run (now sixth) in school history and the longest by a Navy quarterback.
• His 78-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter against Air Force was the seventh-longest run (now eighth) and the second-longest by a Navy quarterback.

White Cracks Career Rushing Top 10
• Behind his 15-carry, 112-yard rushing effort at Duke, slot back Shun White (Sr. / Memphis, Tenn.) broke into the school's all-time rushing top 10 list with 1,807 yards.
• He moved into 10th place by eclipsing Brian Madden's 1,802 yards in 1991 `01.
• White needs just 84 yards to pass Joe Gattuso Jr. for ninth on the list and 143 yards to surpass former Navy QB Craig Candeto for eighth.

Mids to Join Exclusive 1200 Club
• Navy, who owns an all-time record of 625-513-57 (.547), will become just the second school in Football Bowl Subdivision history to play 1,200 games when it faces SMU on Oct. 25.
• Navy's opponent this Saturday, Rutgers, has played the most games in FBS history with 1,216.
• Two other schools will also join the exclusive list later in the year. Michigan will play its 1,200th game on Nov. 1 against Purdue, while Nebraska will play game No. 1,200 on Nov. 28 against Colorado.

On a Roll
• The Mids are 44-22 (.667) over the last six years after posting a 3-30 (.091) record from 2000-02. The 44 wins are tied for the 22nd most in the country.

Winning Record
• Navy clinched a fifth-straight winning season a year ago by defeating Northern Illinois, 35-24.
• It marked the first time Navy has strung together five-straight winning seasons since 1978-82.
• If the Mids can win at least seven games this year, it will be the first time since 1952-61 (10 in a row) that they have put together six-straight winning seasons.

Senior Class Takes Aim at School's Career Victories Record
• Navy's senior class has a chance to be the winningest class in school history.
• The Class of `09 owns 28 wins after picking up a 41-13 victory over Towson in Navy's opener.
• The record is 36 wins set by the Class of 1909.

Quick Strike Offense
• In the first three games of the season, Navy has had eight touchdown drives of five plays or less, which is tied for the fifth most in the country.
• The Mids have also put together eight touchdown drives of two minutes or less, which is tied for the fifth most in the country.
• Three of those eight touchdown drives were off of long runs by slot back Shun White (Sr. / Memphis, Tenn.), who ripped off touchdown runs of 87 and 73 yards against Towson and an 73-yarder at Duke. White's 87-yard touchdown run is the longest rush in the country this season.
• Additionally, four of the Mids touchdowns this fall have gone for 50 yards or more, including two at Duke, which leads the country.