Nov. 21, 2016

GAME 11: NAVY (8-2, 6-1 AAC) at SMU (5-6, 3-4 AAC) | 2016 Media Center
When	Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016 | 3:30 pm (ET), 2:30 pm (CT)
Location	Dallas, Texas | Ford Stadium
Television	ESPNU (Kevin Brown, Clint Stoerner)
Live Video Stream	WatchESPN
Listen	Navy Football Radio Network (Pete Medhurst, Omar Nelson, Joe Miller, Tim Murray) - 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	Navy Athletics
Game Notes	Navy | SMU | AAC
Season Statistics	Navy | SMU | AAC
Social Media	@NavyAthletics | Facebook | Instragram

Setting the Stage
• Navy and SMU will meet on Saturday afternoon at Ford Stadium (32,000) in Dallas, Texas in a huge game for both programs. Televised nationally by ESPNU, kickoff is set for 3:30 PM (ET), 2:30 PM (CT). Kevin Brown and Clint Stoerner will call the action for ESPNU.
• Navy is fighting for the right to play host to the AAC Championship Game on Dec. 3, while SMU is trying to become bowl eligible.
• Navy leads the all-time series against SMU, 10-7, and has won six consecutive games against the Mustangs including a 55-14 victory in Annapolis last year.
• Navy is 25-5 (.833) over its last 30 games. The Mids own wins over No. 15 Memphis (2015) and No. 6 Houston (2016) during that time period.
• Navy is 13-2 (.867) in the AAC since joining the conference at the start of the 2015 season.
• Navy's senior class (`17), which boasts a 36-13 (.735) mark, needs one win to become the school's all-time winningest class over a four-year period. Last year's seniors (36-16, .692) tied the Class of 1909 (36-7-5, .802) for the school record with 36.
• Navy owns the nation's longest home winning streak, having won 15 consecutive games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• Over the last five years, Navy is 26-1 (.963) when winning the turnover battle.
• Under head coach Ken Niumatalolo, the Mids are 34-11 (.756) in the months of November and December, including a 17-3 (.850) mark over the last four years.
• The Navy Football Tailgate Show on WNAV 1430 AM / 99.9 FM will air at 1:30 PM.
• The Navy Football Pregame Show with Pete Medhurst, Omar Nelson, Joe Miller and Tim Murray will get underway at 2:30 PM, followed by game action beginning at 3:30 PM on the Navy Radio Network. • Following the contest, Medhurst, Nelson, Miller and Murray will recap the day's events in a 30-minute postgame show.

Mids Playing With Heavy Hearts
• The Navy football team will be playing with a heavy heart for the remainder of the season. U.S. Marshall Patrick Carothers, a father of five including Paul, a freshman linebacker on the Navy football team, was shot and killed on Nov. 18 in rural southeast Georgia while serving a warrant. The Carothers family is in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
• The Navy football team is wearing helmet stickers with the initials PC in memory of Mr. Carothers.

AAC Championship Scenarios
• Navy has already clinched the American Athletic Conference West Division. However with a win over SMU and a Temple win over East Carolina, the Mids would likely host Temple in the AAC Championship Game. Navy would likely win the fifth tie-breaker which is the composite ranking of four computer rankings. Navy enters the week ahead in all four rankings.
• If Navy wins, Temple loses to East Carolina and USF beats UCF, then Navy will play at USF.
• If Navy wins, Temple loses and USF loses, then Navy would host the AAC Championship Game against Temple.
• If Navy loses to SMU and Temple beats East Carolina, then Navy will play at Temple.
• If Navy loses to SMU, Temple loses to East Carolina and USF beats UCF, then Navy would play at USF.
• If all three lose, Navy would most likely be the host and would play Temple.

Scouting SMU
• SMU enters Saturday's contest with a 5-6 record. A win over Navy would make the Mustangs bowl eligible. SMU could still get a bowl bid at 5-7 if there are not enough teams with .500 records.
• The Mustangs own wins over North Texas (34-21), Liberty (29-14), Houston (38-16), Tulane (35-31) and East Carolina (55-31). They have lost to Baylor (40-13), TCU (33-3), Temple (45-20), Tulsa (43-40, OT), Memphis (51-7) and USF (35-27).
• The SMU offense is led by quarterback Ben Hicks, who has completed 203 of his 378 pass attempts for 2,599 yards with 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
• Braeden West leads the SMU ground attack with 988 yards and six touchdowns on 190 carries.
• Courtland Sutton is one of the top receivers in the league with 70 catches for 1,186 yards and nine touchdowns. James Proche has 51 catches for 660 yards and six touchdowns.
• The SMU defense is led by Justin Lawler with 63 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss and six sacks. Kyran Mitchell has 62 tackles, six tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks. Darrion Millines has 61 tackles and five interceptions.
• Kicker Josh Williams is 16-20 on field goals and 34-34 on extra-points. Punter Jamie Sackville is averaging 39.6 yards per punt.

Navy Headed To The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex Area For Bowl Game
• Navy is headed to a bowl game for the 13th time in the last 14 years after a 28-27 victory over Notre Dame on Nov. 5 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville.
• Navy already had a contractual agreement to play in the 2016 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl as an Independent before joining the American Athletic Conference. The Armed Forces Bowl will be played at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth on Friday, Dec. 23 at 4:30 PM (ET), 3:30 PM (CT) against a team from the Big 12.
• Navy is still very much in play for the Group of Five bid to a New Year's Six Bowl, which goes to the top-ranked conference champion among the Group of Five Conferences (American Athletic Conference, Mountain West, Conference USA, Mid-American and Sun Belt) as selected by the College Football Selection Committee. The Group of Five Champion will play in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium (Cowboys Stadium) on Monday, Jan. 2 at 1:00 PM (ET), 12 noon (CT) against a team from the Power 5.
• If Navy is selected for the Cotton Bowl, that would preempt the contractual agreement with the Armed Forces Bowl.
• Tickets are available now for the Armed Forces Bowl at navysports.com
• Tickets prices are $30 (End Zone General Admission), $50 (Upper Level Sideline), $60 (Lower Level Goal Line) and $75 (Lower Level Sideline). Donated tickets for midshipmen and enlisted personnel and their families are $60.
• If Navy is selected for the Cotton Bowl, fans who purchase Armed Forces Bowl tickets can transfer their purchase towards a Cotton Bowl ticket or request a refund.

Navy Wins The AAC West Division With A 66-31 Rout Of East Carolina
• (AP) - Navy's ground attack was relentless, and its defense definitely got the job done when it mattered. And now Navy has something it has never had before -- a division championship.
• Senior quarterback Will Worth rushed for 159 yards and four touchdowns and fullback Shawn White added 150 yards and three scores as Navy walloped East Carolina 66-31 last Saturday.
• The win gave the Midshipmen the American Athletic Conference's West Division title and propelled them into the conference championship game, while the Pirates lost for the eighth time in their last nine games. Navy, which will be playing in its first conference title game, leads the all-time series 5-1.
• The result spoiled ECU's senior day celebration for Zay Jones, who passed former teammate and current Atlanta Falcon Justin Hardy for the FBS career receptions record.
• Jones caught 12 passes for 212 and two touchdowns, giving him 392 career catches. Jones broke Hardy's old record of 387 catches - for 4,541 yards and 35 touchdowns - set two seasons ago.
• Worth became the fifth player in Navy history to rush for over 1,000 yards and pass for over 1,000 in the same season. He rushed for over 100 yards in his sixth straight game.
• James Summers rushed for 134 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown, for the Pirates.

Niumatalolo A Semifinalist For George Munger Collegiate Coach Of The Year Award
• Navy head football coach Ken Niumatalolo has been named one of 16 semifinalists for the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award. Niumatalolo has led Navy to an 8-2 record and the American Athletic Conference West Division title this season.
• Voting for the Maxwell Football Club Collegiate Coach of the Year Award will begin on Nov. 18 and close on Dec. 11. The finalist round will include the top three coaches as selected in the semifinalist round. Finalist voting will open Dec. 12 and run until Dec. 27. The winner will be announced on Dec. 29.
• The formal presentation of the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award will take place at the Maxwell Football Club's National Awards Gala on March 10, 2017, at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
• Eligible voters include Maxwell Football Club members, NCAA Head Football Coaches, Sports Information Directors and selected national media. Clemson's Dabo Swinney was the 2015 winner of the award.

Navy and SMU Battle For The Gansz Trophy
• The SMU and Navy Athletic Departments created the Gansz Trophy in 2009, a travelling trophy to honor the late coaching legend Frank Gansz. Navy is 4-0 in Gansz Trophy games since the trophy was created.
• Considered perhaps the top special teams coach in the history of the NFL, Frank Gansz spent time at both SMU and the Naval Academy. Gansz was starting his second season as special teams coach on the Hilltop when he passed away on April 27, 2009. As a collegian, Gansz played center and linebacker for the Naval Academy from 1957 to 1959 and graduated in 1960. He also spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Navy.
• In all, Gansz was a veteran of 38 seasons of coaching - 24 in the NFL and 14 in the collegiate ranks.
• Prior to coming to SMU in 2008, Gansz was with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he was special teams coordinator in 2000 and 2001. Prior to his time with the Jags, he served as the special teams coach of the St. Louis Rams for three seasons, helping the team to its victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.
• In 1986, Gansz's first year as the assistant head coach/special teams for Kansas City, the Chiefs blocked or deflected an NFL-record 10 kicks and scored five touchdowns. Because of his success with the special teams, Gansz was promoted to head coach of the Chiefs, a role he served from 1987 to 1988.
• He left the Chiefs to become the special teams coach of the Detroit Lions from 1989 to 1993, a period in which Mel Gray developed into the NFL's all-time leader in combined kick return yardage. In 1989, Gansz was named NFL Special Teams Coach of the Year by his peers. Gansz then spent three years as the assistant head coach/special teams for the Atlanta Falcons from 1994 to 1996.
• Gansz's NFL career began in 1978 as special teams coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He coached special teams and tight ends for Cincinnati (1979-80), Kansas City (1981-82) and Philadelphia (1983-85).
• After serving as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force for nearly seven years, Gansz began his coaching career at the Air Force Academy (1964-66). He also had coaching stints at Colgate (1968), Navy (1969-72), Oklahoma State (1973, 1975), Army (1974) and UCLA (1976-77).