Oct. 27, 2014

2014 Navy Football Game Specifics Game 9 Navy (4-4) vs. No. 6/7 Notre Dame (6-1) Date and Kickoff Nov. 1, 2014 at 8:00 pm ET Location Landover, Md. | FedExField (79,000) Television CBS TV Talent Andrew Catalon (play-by-play), Aaron Taylor (analyst) and Jamie Erdahl (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. 102 / XM Ch. TBA) Game Notes Navy | Notre Dame Live Stats GameTracker on NavySports.com Game Day Info Game Day Central

Setting the Stage
• Navy and Notre Dame will meet on the gridiron for the 88th consecutive year in the longest continuous intersectional rivalry in the country on Saturday night at FedExField in Landover, Md. Kickoff is set for 8:00 pm.
• Notre Dame has dominated the series overall, leading 74-12-1, but Navy is 3-4 against the Irish over the last seven meetings. Last year, Notre Dame won in South Bend, 38-34.
• Saturday's game will be televised nationally by CBS Sports with Andrew Catalon (play-by-play), former Notre Dame great Aaron Taylor (analyst) and Jamie Erdahl (sideline) on the call.
• The Navy Football Tailgate Show on WNAV 1430 AM / 99.9 FM will air at 6:00 pm with Robert Bode, Chloe Gunther, Wiley Baker and Joe Miller live from FedExField.
• The Navy Football Pregame Show with Pete Medhurst, Omar Nelson and Joe Miller will get underway at 7:00 pm, followed by game action beginning at 8:00 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
• The March-On of the Brigade of Midshipmen will take place at 7:42 pm as 4,400 midshipmen will march on to the field at FedExField. It is one of the great traditions in all of college athletics.
• 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.

Indiana Ties
• Navy does not have any players from the state of Indiana. It is one of 24 states not represented on the Navy football roster.

Scouting Notre Dame
• Despite having already played Ohio State, there is little doubt that Notre Dame is the best team the Mids will see this year. The Irish, ranked sixth in the Associated Press poll and seventh in the USA Today/Coaches Poll, enter Saturday's contest with a 6-1 record including victories over Rice (48-17), Michigan (31-0), Purdue (30-14), Syracuse (31-15), Stanford (17-14) and North Carolina (50-43). Notre Dame's only loss was a heartbreaker at Florida State, 31-27.
• The Irish are led by their sensational quarterback Everett Golson, who is a surefire Heisman Trophy candidate. Golson has completed 166 of his 268 pass attempts for 1,996 yards (ranked 18th nationally in passing yds/gm, averaging 285.1 yds/gm) with 19 touchdowns (ranked 18th) and six interceptions. Golson is ranked seventh in the country in points responsible for per game (20.0), 13th in total offense per game (319.3) and 15th in completions per game (23.7).
• Golson has a host of weapons at wide receiver led by Will Fuller (43 catches for 583 yards and eight touchdowns, tied for sixth in the country) and Corey Robinson (27 catches for 359 yards and four touchdowns). Robinson is the son of former Navy basketball great David Robinson.
• The Irish also possess a potent running attack led by Tarean Folston (81-383, 2 TDs) and Golson (69-239, 4 TDs).
• Notre Dame features an attacking defense led by linebackers Joe Schmidt and Jaylon Smith. Schmidt leads the Irish in tackles with 57 stops, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. Smith leads the team with 6.5 tackles for a loss and is second with 53 tackles. The Irish are ranked 12th in the country in rushing defense, giving up just 102.7 yards per contest, and 14th in scoring defense, giving up 19.1 points per game.
• Kyle Brindza handles both the kicking and punting duties. He is 10-14 on field goals and is averaging 41.7 yards per punt.

Reynolds rushes For 251 Yards In Navy's 41-31 Victory Over San Jose State
• Junior quarterback Keenan Reynolds ran for a career-high 251 yards and three touchdowns to lead Navy to a 41-31 victory over San Jose State on Homecoming last Saturday in Annapolis.
• Reynolds, who had a career-high 39 carries, scored on runs of 8, 3 and 2 yards and accounted for 93 yards during a pivotal third-quarter drive.
• His three touchdowns gave him 52 for his career, breaking the Navy mark of 49 held by Ricky Dobbs (2008-10). Ten of Reynolds' TDs have come against San Jose State, including seven last year in a 58-52 triple overtime win.
• Reynolds ran for 240 yards in that overtime game. That was his career high until this one, when he gained 17 yards in the first quarter, 100 in the second quarter and added 106 in the third period.
• Joe Gray went 33 for 46 for 322 yards and three touchdowns for San Jose State.
• After falling behind 3-0, the Midshipmen peeled off five touchdowns and two field goals over their next seven possessions. Navy used a 24-point second quarter to go up 24-17 at halftime, then took control in the third quarter with a 98-yard drive that ended with a touchdown and a 31-17 lead.
• Reynolds ran for 93 yards on 11 carries during the 13-play march, including a 2-yard touchdown.
• An 8-yard run by Navy's DeBrandon Sanders made it 38-17 with 14:21 remaining.
• At the outset of this one, Reynolds showed his rust by losing a fumble on the game's first play from scrimmage.
• Gray gave it back by throwing an interception near the goal-line, but the Spartans' next possession lasted 18 plays over 7 1/2 minutes before Austin Lopez kicked a 22-yard field goal.
• Because the San Jose State defense was jamming the line, Reynolds opted to test the nation's top-ranked unit against the pass. Completions of 27 and 13 yards set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Noah Copeland on the opening play of the second quarter.
• Gray promptly took the Spartans the other way and threw a 6-yard TD pass to Billy Freeman.
• Reynolds then ran 47 yards to the San Jose State 12 before scoring from the 8 to put Navy ahead for good. Minutes later, Reynolds scored again to make it 21-10.
• An impressive display of balance brought San Jose State to 21-17. Tim Crawley caught a short pass and was seemingly tackled by Quincy Adams, but Crawley twisted out of Adams' grasp and regained his footing before sprinting into the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown.
• Reynolds then took Navy 73 yards to set up a field goal on the final play of the half.

Prime Time, Under The Lights
• This will be just the second time in the long history of the Navy-Notre Dame game that these two teams have met under the lights. In 1986, the Mids and Irish kicked off at 7:05 pm at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium in a game that was televised nationally by TBS with Mel Proctor and Paul Hornung on the call. Notre Dame won that game, 33-14.
• Saturday's game is believed to be the first time Navy has played a game in prime time on an over-the-air network (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox).