Oct. 9, 2006

Game Day Data

Navy (5-1) will play host to undefeated and 24th-ranked Rutgers (5-0) on Homecoming Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000). Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. The Mids need one win to become bowl eligible and clinch a berth in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte on Dec. 30 against a team from the ACC. CSTV will televise Saturday's game with Pete Medhurst and Trev Alberts calling the action. Tom Hart will serve as the sideline reporter. The game can also be viewed for free on the internet at www.navysports.com.

Bob Socci, Omar Nelson and John Feinstein will call the game on the Navy Football Radio Network which includes WBAL in Baltimore (1090 AM, www.wbal.com), WTWP in Washington (1500 AM and 107.7 FM), WNAV in Annapolis (1430 WNAV, www.wnav.com), WFED in Washington (1050 AM, www.federalnewsradio.com), WLRT in Norfolk (1490 AM, www.1490theoutlaw.com), WTRI in Frederick, Md. (1520 AM, www.vegasradiowtri.com), ESPN Radio in Jacksonville, Fla. (1460 AM, www.espn1460.com), Sirius Satellite Radio (Channel TBA) and navysports.com. Air time is 12:30 p.m. with the Navy Football Pregame Show.

Joe Miller and Pete Medhurst will host the Navy Football Tailgate Show on 1430 WNAV starting at 11:30 a.m.

Navy Beats Air Force For A Fourth-Straight Year

In Friday's edition of the Colorado Spring Gazette, Air Force junior defensive end Noah Garguile called Air Force's three-game losing streak to Navy an embarrassment. On Saturday, Navy made it four straight behind the running of junior fullback Adam Ballard (Lewisville, Texas) and senior quarterback Brian Hampton (Scott Air Force Base, Ill.) and an opportunistic defense that scored a touchdown and recorded five sacks.

Ballard rushed for 134 yards on 27 carries, while Hampton rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, as the Mids defeated the Falcons, 24-17, in front of 45,246 fans at Falcon Stadium. The Mids won the game despite completing just one pass in five attempts.

The Navy defense shut down Air Force for three quarters, recording five sacks and seven tackles for a loss. The play of the game was when senior linebacker Rob Caldwell (St. John, Ind.) forced his third fumble of the year in the first quarter, stripping Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney of the ball and senior corner Keenan Little (Boiling Springs, N.C.) picked the ball up and strolled 37 yards for a touchdown to give Navy a 7-0 lead. Senior outside linebacker David Mahoney (Fort Myers, Fla.) was nearly unblockable coming off the edge, recording nine tackles, three sacks and forcing a fumble. Mahoney has recorded five sacks against Air Force in the last two seasons. Caldwell recorded nine tackles and a sack to go along with his forced fumble, while sophomore corner Rashawn King (Raleigh, N.C.) broke up a pass on fourth down to end a furious fourth quarter comeback effort by the Falcons.

The victory marked the first time in school history that Navy has defeated Air Force four-straight years and the first time that Navy has won two straight in Colorado Springs.

Navy Receives 11 Votes In The Harris Interactive Poll Navy received 11 votes in this week's Harris Interactive Poll. Navy did not receive any votes in the Associated Press or USA Today/Coaches Poll. The Harris Interactive College Football Poll is comprised of former players, coaches, administrators and current and former members of the media who has committed to submitting rankings for the top 25 college football teams each week. The panelists were randomly selected from among more than 300 nominations submitted by the 11 Division I-A conference offices and independent schools.

Navy On Homecoming

Navy is 36-19 (.655) all-time on Homecoming and has won two-straight Homecoming games. The Mids last lost on Homecoming in 2003, 21-17, to Delaware.

Injuries

Senior safety DuJuan Price (Austin, Texas) is questionable with a pulled right quad. Junior kicker Joey Bullen (St. Simons Island, Ga.) is questionable with a strained groin.

Series History

The Rutgers-Navy series has been a good one, with Navy leading the all-time series, 10-9-1. Navy holds a record of 8-4-1 against the Scarlet Knights at home. Last year, Navy turned the ball over three times and had two questionable replay calls go against it as the Mids fell at Rutgers, 31-21. The victory clinched a bowl bid for the Scarlet Knights. The Mids defeated Rutgers, 54-21, in the Scarlet Knights' last visit to Annapolis. Scouting Rutgers

The Scarlet Knights, who will be the best team Navy has faced to date, come to Annapolis undefeated and ranked in the top 25. Rutgers is led by tailback Ray Rice, who is second in the country in rushing with an average of 161.2 yards per contest. Fullback Brian Leonard is also dangerous on the ground (146 yards and two touchdowns) and through the air (team-high 19 catches for 169 yards). Quarterback Mike Teel has completed 54 of his 96 pass attempts for 606 yards. He has thrown two touchdowns and six interceptions.

The Rutgers defense is stout, allowing just 233.4 yards per game, including a microscopic 73.8 rushing yards per game. Courtney Greene has recorded 30 tackles and has picked off three passes. The Scarlet Knights have recorded 38 tackles for a loss and 12 sacks in the first five games.

Rutgers has shown an ability to jump on teams coming out of the locker room, outscoring the opposition 48-7 in the first quarter and 34-0 in the third quarter.

Naval Academy At The Head Of The Class For Graduation Rates

For the second year in a row, the United States Naval Academy is at the head of the class for graduating NCAA student-athletes on the Division IA level. Navy graduated 100 percent of its student-athletes in 16 of the 19 sports reported on and no sport graduated lower than 97 percent.

"Our student-athletes continually strive to set the standard on the playing fields, in the classroom and in Bancroft Hall," said Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk. "The support and encouragement they receive through the Commandant and his staff and the academic dean's office is extraordinary and provides tremendous motivation to be successful across the board. We are all proud to be leaders on the field, but even more so when we can prove to be leaders in the classroom as well. It clearly defines the true meaning of student-athlete."

Division IA Football Graduation Rates

School Graduation Rate 1. Navy 98 2. Boston College 96 3. Notre Dame 95 4. Stanford 94 5. Air Force 93

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