Nov. 9, 2015

GAME 9: NAVY (7-1, 5-0 AAC) vs. SMU (1-8, 0-5 AAC) | 2015 Media Center
When	Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015 | 3:30 pm (ET)
Location	Annapolis, Md. | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | Directions
Tickets	Buy Online | 1-800-US4NAVY
Television	CBS Sports Network (John Sadak, Randy Cross, Sheehan Stanwick-Burch)
Live Video Stream	Navy All-Access (John Sadak, Randy Cross, Sheehan Stanwick-Burch)
Listen	Navy Football Radio Network (Pete Medhurst, Omar Nelson, Joe Miller) - WBAL (1090 AM; Baltimore) | WNAV (1430 AM, 99.9 FM; Annapolis) | WFED (1500 AM, 820 AM; Washington, D.C. / Northern Virginia) | WBQH (1050 AM; Washington, DC / Northern Virginia) | ESPN/XEPE 1700 AM (San Diego) | WXTG (102.1 FM; Virginia Beach, Va.) | WJXL 1010 AM (Jacksonville, Fla.) | KRKO 1380 AM (Seattle, Wash.) | Satellite Radio (Sirius Ch. 134 / XM Ch. 201)
Live Stats	Gametracker
Game Notes	Navy | SMU | AAC
Season Statistics	Navy | SMU | AAC
More on the Mids	Game Day Hub | Media Guide | Game Promotions
Social Media	@NavyAthletics | Facebook | Instragram

Setting the Stage
• #22/23 Navy (7-1, 5-0 in the American) will look to remain unbeaten in the American Athletic Conference as the Mids play host to SMU (1-8, 0-5 in the American) on Saturday at 3:30 PM at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000).
• Saturday's contest is Senior Day for the Midshipmen and Navy's 32 seniors will be honored in a pregame ceremony.
• The Mids are ranked #22 in the Associated Press Poll and #23 in the Amway Coaches Poll. It is the first time since the end of the 2004 season that Navy has been ranked.
• Navy's 7-1 record is the Mids' best start under head coach Ken Niumatalolo and its best start overall since 2004 when Navy opened the year 7-1 en route to a 10-2 record that included victories over Air Force and Army to win the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy and a victory over New Mexico in the Emerald Bowl. The Mids have not started 8-1 since 1963 when eventual Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach led Navy to wins in nine of its first 10 games.
• Dating back to last year, Navy has won 13 of its last 15 games with the only two losses coming to Notre Dame in Landover, Md. in 2014 and at Notre Dame in 2015. Navy has won eight straight games at home and 17 of the last 20 contests at the friendly confines of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• Senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds has scored 77 career touchdowns (all rushing), which is tied for the most in NCAA history among all players for rushing touchdowns with Montee Ball of Wisconsin.
• His 77 career touchdowns are the fourth most in NCAA FBS history for career total touchdowns (rushing and receiving). He is one behind second-place Travis Prentice (Miami of Ohio), four behind Kenneth Dixon of Louisiana Tech (active) and six behind record-holder Montee Ball (Wisconsin).
• His 3,977 career rushing yards are the second most in school history, trailing record-holder Napoleon McCallum by 202 yards.
• The two teams will also be playing for the Frank Gansz Trophy, created in 2009 in memory of Frank Gansz, who played at Navy from 1957-59 and was an assistant coach at both Navy and SMU. Gansz died in April of 2009 from complications following knee replacement surgery. Navy has won all three meetings since the Gansz Trophy was awarded.
• Saturday's game will be televised nationally by CBS Sports Network with John Sadak, Randy Cross and Sheehan Stanwick-Burch on the call.
• The Navy Football Tailgate Show on WNAV 1430 AM / 99.9 FM will air at 1:30 PM ET.
• The Navy Football Pregame Show with Pete Medhurst, Omar Nelson and Joe Miller will get underway at 2:30 PM ET, followed by game action beginning at 3:30 PM ET on the Navy Radio Network.
• Following the contest, Medhurst, Nelson and Miller will recap the day's events in a 60-minute postgame show.

Game Day Festivities
• Pregame festivities will get underway at approximately 12:45 PM 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 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 PM and the salute to Navy's seniors will take place at 3:23 PM.
• There will be two fly-overs on Saturday. At the conclusion of the National Anthem, five T-34 Mentors will perform a fly-by, while four United States Marine Corps EA-6B Prowlers from VMAQ-4, the "SEAHAWKS" from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. will fly-by when the Midshipmen take the field.
• Between the first and second quarters the honorees from the Patriot League 25th Anniversary teams will be recognized.
• Following the game, Navy's alma mater, Navy Blue & Gold, will be played as the team stands at attention in front of the Brigade of Midshipmen. It is one of the greatest traditions in all of sports.

American Rising
• The American Athletic Conference has four teams ranked in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches Polls.
• Houston is ranked #16 in both polls, Temple is ranked #21 in both polls, Navy is ranked #22 and #23, while Memphis is ranked #25. Memphis, Temple, Houston and Navy are a combined 32-3 on the year. Temple and Navy both lost to Notre Dame, while Memphis lost to Navy.

Scouting SMU
• SMU, despite its 1-8 record, is a threatening foe due to its potent offensive attack.
• SMU gave a ranked Temple squad everything it wanted last week before falling in the fourth quarter, 60-40.
• Quarterback Matt Davis is a dangerous dual threat quarterback leading the Mustangs in both rushing (552 yards and eight touchdowns on 144 carries) and passing (154-272 for 1,946 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions). Davis is 17th in the country in fewest interceptions and is 19th in the country in points responsible for per game (15.6).
• Running back Xavier Jones has rushed for 478 yards and seven touchdowns on 117 carries and is second on the team in receiving with 22 catches for 149 yards. Davis' favorite target is Courtland Sutton, who has hauled in 40 catches for 748 yards and nine touchdowns. Sutton's nine touchdown catches are the ninth most in the country.
• Defensively, SMU is led by Darrion Richardson (50 tackles, two tackles for a loss and an interception) and Justin Lawler (49 tackles, eight tackles for a loss and five sacks).
• Kicker Chad Hedlund is 8-10 on field goals, while punter Josh Williams is averaging 40.6 yards per punt.
• SMU has been a disciplined squad this year, ranking 16th in fewest penalties per game (4.78) and 19th in fewest penalty yards per game (41.78).

13 Wins In The Last 15 Games
• The Mids enter Saturday's game against SMU having won 13 of their last 15 games.
• The only two losses in that stretch was a 49-39 loss to Notre Dame at FEDEXFIELD in Landover, Md. in 2014 and a 41-24 loss to Notre Dame in South Bend in 2015.

Home Field Advantage
• Navy has won eight straight home games dating back to last year. The Mids are 32-9 (.780) at home under head coach Ken Niumatalolo, including 17-3 (.850) over the last four seasons.

Navy Knocks Off 15th-Ranked Memphis
• Senior fullback Chris Swain ran for 108 yards and three touchdowns and the Midshipmen upset No. 15 Memphis, 45-20, snapping the Tigers' winning streak at 15 games.
• Navy ended the Tigers' perfect season, dropped them from the top of the West Division and jeopardized their No. 15 ranking and 13th spot in the College Football Playoff poll.
• The Midshipmen beat a top 15 team for the first time since Nov. 17, 1984, against then-No. 2 South Carolina, and accomplished the feat on the road for the first time since Sept. 21, 1974, against then-No. 8 Penn State.
• Senior slot back DeBrandon Sanders ran for 82 yards and Navy's triple-option rushing attack had 374 yards against a Memphis defense that had only allowed 118.8 yards a game.
• But it was a 75-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds to Sanders with 6:43 left in the third quarter that gave the Midshipmen the lead for good at 24-17. The pass came on the first play from scrimmage after Memphis tied it at 17.
• Memphis' Paxton Lynch was 26 of 42 for 305 yards, but threw an interception, just his second of the season, and one of three Tigers turnovers on the night.
• Navy held Memphis, which entered the game averaging 47.9 points and 560 yards of offense, to 438 yards.
• In addition to Swain's scores and Sanders' scoring reception, Calvin Cass Jr. scored on an 8-yard run in the fourth quarter and Demond Brown added a 1-yard touchdown run to close the scoring.
• Reynolds, tied with former Wisconsin star Montee Ball for the most career rushing touchdowns in NCAA history at 77, did not score.
• Reynolds gave Navy the lead early in the third quarter by crossing up the defense that was concentrating on the run with the long pass to Sanders. That came after Memphis had a 15-play drive, capped by a 1-yard run by Anthony Miller that tied it at 17.
• The game's first two possessions played according to script with Memphis striking first and quickly through the air, covering 85 yards in just four plays, the final 11 on a pass from Lynch to Miller. The Mids answered with a 9-minute drive over 75 yards, all on the ground. Swain scored from 3 yards.
• Swain scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter, and Austin Grebe's 44-yard field goal closed out the half with Navy leading 17-10.
• Lynch was 15 of 25 for 198 yards in the half, but Navy linebacker Daniel Gonzales picked off a pass to set up Grebe's field goal as time expired in the half.