Oct. 20, 2014

2014 Navy Football Game Specifics Game 8 Navy (3-4) vs. San Jose State (3-3, 2-1 Mountain West Conference) Date and Kickoff Oct. 25, 2014 at 1:00 pm ET Location Annapolis, Md. | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000) Television CBS Sports Network TV Talent John Sadak (play-by-play), Randy Cross (analyst) and Sheehan Stanwick-Burch (sideline) Video Streaming Navy All-Access Radio WNAV (1430 AM, 99.9 FM; Annapolis) | WBAL (1090 AM; Baltimore) | WFED (1500 AM, 820 AM; Washington, D.C. / Northern Virginia) | WBQH (1050 AM; Washington, DC / Northern Virginia) | WXTG (102.1 FM; Virginia Beach, Va.) | ESPN/XEPE 1700 AM (San Diego) | Satellite Radio (Sirius Ch. 92 / XM Ch. 201) Game Notes Navy | San Jose State Live Stats GameTracker on NavySports.com Game Day Info Game Day Central

Setting the Stage
• Navy and San Jose State will meet for the fourth time when the two squads square off on Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. Navy's Homecoming Game is set for 1:00 pm with Leidos serving as the presenting game day sponsor.
• San Jose State leads the all-time series, 2-1, with Navy winning last year's game in triple overtime, 58-52, in one of the best college football games of 2013.
• Saturday's game will be televised by CBS Sports Network with John Sadak (play-by-play), Randy Cross (analyst) and Sheehan Stanwick-Burch (sideline) on the call.
• The Navy Football Tailgate Show on WNAV 1430 AM / 99.9 FM will air at 11:00 am with Robert Bode, Chloe Gunther, Wiley Baker and Joe Miller live from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• The Navy Football Pregame Show with Pete Medhurst, Omar Nelson and Joe Miller will get underway at 12:00 pm, followed by game action beginning at 1:00 pm on the Navy Radio Network.
• Following the contest, Medhurst, Miller and Baker will recap the day's events in a 60-minute postgame show live on WNAV 1430 AM / 99.9 FM and WFED 1500 AM. The tailgate show, the pregame show, the game and the postgame show are available over the internet to Navy All-Access subscribers.

Game Day Festivities
• Pregame festivities will get underway at approximately 10:45 am with the Navy Football Team Walk. Originating at the Blue Angel in the southwest corner of the stadium, the team will make its way down the sidewalk and through NavyFest and the Vice Admiral Smedberg Gate 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 12:43 pm as 4,400 midshipmen will march on to the field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium by company. It is one of the great traditions in all of college athletics.
• The Navy men's soccer team is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its historic 1964 NCAA Division I Championship. That team reunites this weekend and will be recognized at both the Navy-San Jose State football game and at the Navy-Holy Cross men's soccer game Saturday evening at 7:00 pm. Navy went undefeated during the 1964 season with a 15-0-0 mark. The Mids would also go on to win their first 10 games of the 1965 season and still hold the NCAA record for most consecutive wins with 25 in a row. Navy outscored its opponents, 48-11, in 1964 and allowed only six goals during the regular season. Myron Hura was named a First-Team All-American and Paul Daulerio was named to the second team. Daulerio led the team with 16 goals and 32 points during the championship season. Head coach Glenn Warner led Navy to the national title in his 19th season at Navy. Warner would go on to coach at Navy for 30 years and win 241 games..
• Following the game, Navy's alma mater, the Navy Blue & Gold, will be played as the team will stand at attention in front of the Brigade of Midshipmen. It, too, is one of the greatest traditions in college sports.

Scouting San Jose State
• San Jose State enters Saturday's game with a 3-3 record and is coming off a 27-20 overtime victory at Wyoming.
• The Spartans started the year with a 42-10 victory over North Dakota, before losing three straight to Auburn (5-1), Minnesota (6-1) and Nevada (4-3). San Jose State got back on the winning track with a 33-10 victory over UNLV and improved to 2-1 in the Mountain West Conference with last week's win over Wyoming.
• Tyler Ervin leads the San Jose State ground attack with 317 yards and a touchdown on 51 carries. Ervin is also a dangerous punt returner and has already returned one for a touchdown this year. Meanwhile, the team ranks 14th in the country in punt returns (15.0 yds/return).
• Quarterback Joe Gray has completed 91 of his 131 pass attempts for 930 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. His .695 completion percentage ranks seventh nationally.
• Gray's favorite target is Tyler Winston, who has 43 catches for 398 yards and four touchdowns. His 7.2 receptions per game rank as the 14th best in the country.
• The San Jose State offense ranks fifth in the country in time of possession (34:21).
• The strength of the San Jose State team is the defense as new defensive coordinator Greg Robinson has come in and turned the Spartans into one of the top defenses in the country.
• San Jose State ranks No. 1 in the country in pass defense (94.5 yds/gm) and pass efficiency defense (84.62), fifth in first downs allowed (96) and 12th in total defense (313.0 yds/gm).
• Christian Tago leads the Spartans with 54 tackles, three tackles for a loss and three pass breakups, while Vince Buhagiar has 43 tackles and a forced fumble.
• Kicker Austin Lopez ranks 23rd in the country in field goals per game, averaging 1.5 field goals per contest. His 50-yard field goal at the end of regulation sent the Wyoming game into overtime.

Navy vs. The Mountain West
• Navy is 23-35 (.397) all-time against teams currently residing in the Mountain West Conference.
• The Mids went 3-0 against the Mountain West last year, beating Air Force, Hawai'i and San Jose State.

Navy Routs VMI, 51-14
• Tago Smith ran for a score and passed for another, Noah Copeland scored on a run and a pass and Navy's defense chipped in nine points, as the Midshipmen routed the Keydets, 51-14.
• Copeland's 64-yard run on Navy's third offensive play jump-started an offense that, coupled with two defensive scores, built a 37-7 halftime lead.
• Smith started for the second time this season - both Navy wins - in place of an injured Keenan Reynolds.
• Smith finished with three completions in five attempts for 82 yards passing. His 32-yard pass to Geoffrey Whiteside set up his own 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. He also had 27 yards rushing.
• Navy's starters, including Copeland and Smith, left after three quarters with the score 44-7.
• Third-string quarterback Will Worth scored the final Navy touchdown on a 2-yard run with 5:52 to play, capping a 70-yard drive.
• Navy finished the game with 432 yards total offense, including 350 rushing. Its defense dominated the overmatched Keydets, holding them to four first downs and 86 yards in the first half.
• VMI's only score over the game's first 59 minutes came from its defense on a recovery of a Smith fumble. On the play, Smith was hit just after taking the snap at his own 16. The ball bounded off several VMI players until it reached the end zone where Damien Jones recovered.
• VMI's other touchdown came with 14 seconds left on a 1-yard pass from Al Cobb to Chad Jacob. Cobb completed 26 of 40 passes for 202 yards, but the Keydets rushed for only 60 yards on 30 carries.
• After VMI scored on the fumble recovery, Navy responded by scoring the final 23 points of the first half on a safety, two offensive scores and a defensive score. Additionally, a 70-yard scoring run by Smith was nullified by a penalty.
• The safety resulted from a high snap on a VMI punt deep in its own territory and was followed by Quinton Singleton's 14-yard touchdown run.
• Only 56 seconds later, the defense added a touchdown on Parrish Gaines' 39-yard interception return, and a minute after that, Smith connected with Copeland for a 16-yard scoring pass and a 37-7 halftime lead.
• The 37 first-half points were the most for Navy since Nov. 7, 2007, when the Midshipmen scored a school-record 45 in the first half against North Texas State.

Niumatalolo Spells Success
• Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo has been on the Navy sideline as either an assistant or head coach for 17 of the last 20 years (1995-98 as an assistant, 2002-07 as an assistant, 2008-current as the head coach).
• Over those 17 years, Navy has compiled a record of 121-84 (.590), won nine Commander-In-Chief's Trophies, gone to 11 bowl games and won five bowl games. Navy is 23-10 in Service Academy games over that stretch (.697).
• In the 117 seasons without Niumatalolo, Navy has compiled a record of 555-460-57 (.549), won five Commander-In-Chief's Trophies (in 26 years), gone to eight bowl games and won three bowl games. Navy is 54-64-7 (.460) in Service Academy games without Niumatalolo.

Tough Schedule
• Navy's first six FBS opponents have a combined record of 24-14 (.632) on the year. Four of the six have a winning record and just one (Western Kentucky) has a losing record. Meanwhile, Ohio State is ranked 12th in the country.
• Navy's 12 opponents are a combined 45-34 (.570) on the year and its 11 FBS opponents are a combined 44-27 (.620). Notre Dame joins Ohio State in the rankings at seventh.
• Only three of Navy's 12 opponents have losing records (two if you take out VMI, who is an FCS program).