All Three Service Academies Are Bowl Bound

• Con_Alma

  With Army's win yesterday all three Service Academies are Bowl* bound this year including Navy who has already committed to the Poinsettia Bowl. It's looking like their opponent will be the Aztecs from SDSU but we shall see.
  
  This is the very first first time all three Academies will be playing in a Bowl in the same year.
  
  The Commander In Chief Trophy has been won by the Falcons no matter the outcome of the Army Navy Game.
  
  Navy's senior class will be the first to win back to back 10 game season.
• vball10set

  pretty cool...thanks for sharing
• Con_Alma

  http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/10/sdsus-bowl-scenarios-all-point-home/
  
  SDSU's bowl scenarios all point to home
  Poinsettia Bowl would be SDSU's first game against Navy since 1997
  
  By Brent Schrotenboer
  
  The announcement won’t be made until Dec. 5, but San Diego State’s postseason bowl destination has become all but official.
  
  The Aztecs are almost certain to play Navy in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 23, according to virtually every outcome that could happen in the final three games of the regular season.
  
  Navy (6-3) already has clinched a berth in the game. The Midshipmen had a contract with the Poinsettia Bowl to come to San Diego as long as they became bowl-eligible with at least six wins.
  
  Meanwhile, the Aztecs (7-2) appear to be Poinsettia-bound whether they win or lose their remaining three football games.
  
  “We’ve looked at all the possibilities, and San Diego State is the frontrunner to make their first appearance in the Poinsettia Bowl,” said Bruce Binkowski, the game’s executive director. “But until everything is sorted out officially, we can never say it’s a slam dunk.”
  
  The Poinsettia this year matches Navy against a second pick from the Mountain West Conference. The Las Vegas Bowl gets the first pick among MWC teams after the Bowl Championship Series has made its selections. This year, the MWC will have, at most, five bowl-eligible teams: No. 3 Texas Christian (10-0), No. 15 Utah (8-1), SDSU, Air Force (6-4) and possibly Brigham Young (4-5), which needs to win two more games to become bowl-eligible.
  
  The following scenarios all point to SDSU staying home at Qualcomm Stadium for its first bowl berth since 1998:
  
  --If SDSU wins its last three games against TCU, Utah and UNLV: The Aztecs would finish 10-2 and win the MWC championship. Las Vegas Bowl officials could pick the Aztecs in this case but likely would not, if only because they wouldn't want to deprive the Poinsettia Bowl of hosting its local team.
  
  “If (the Poinsettia Bowl) asks us and San Diego State asks us to let them stay home, we’d greatly consider that just out of respect and being good partners with them,” Vegas Bowl executive director Tina Kunzer-Murphy said.
  
  TCU also would be attractive to Vegas in this case at 11-1.
  
  --If SDSU loses its next two games or even its last three: SDSU would finish 7-5 or 8-4, while TCU would be on track for a BCS game -- quite possibly the Rose Bowl-- after beating SDSU at home Saturday. Utah, with a win over SDSU Nov. 20, likely would be taken by the Vegas Bowl after that.
  
  With the next pick among MWC teams, the Poinsettia would be able to chose among SDSU, Air Force and maybe BYU. Poinsettia officials said they will not choose Air Force to play Navy in a rematch of the Falcons’ 14-6 win against the Midshipmen on Oct. 2. Poinsettia officials also are not likely to take a six- or seven-win BYU team over SDSU unless they desire local backlash.
  
  --If SDSU beats TCU and loses to Utah: A SDSU win over TCU Saturday could knock TCU out of a BCS game. In that case, the Vegas Bowl could take TCU or Utah. A TCU team with a 11-1 record could be too attractive for Vegas to pass up, leaving the Poinsettia Bowl to pick between Utah and SDSU. Even though Utah will have beaten SDSU in this scenario, Utah wouldn’t be as attractive to the Poinsettia for two big reasons: 1. Utah played in the Poinsettia last year and in 2007. Bowl officials generally like to avoid having the same team in consecutive years. 2. In this case, SDSU still would be 9-3 or 8-4 and would be coming off perhaps the biggest win in school history at TCU.
  
  --If SDSU loses to TCU and beats Utah: TCU would be headed for a BCS berth as long as it can beat New Mexico (1-8) in its final game. The Vegas Bowl then could choose Utah or SDSU but still likely wouldn't want to deprive the Poinsettia of SDSU. Utah probably would bring more fans to Vegas anyway.
  
  The Poinsettia Bowl is “what we all hope,” said Don Oberhelman, SDSU’s senior associate athletic director. “That’s what we want. I think it’s a natural fit. It’s a dream match-up for the city and the bowl.”
  
  The game would be SDSU’s first against Navy since the 1997 season opener, when the Aztecs won at home 45-31.
  
  The Poinsettia match-up won’t become official until after BCS games make their selections on Dec. 5. The game has a minimum payout of $500,000.
  
  Follow sports writer Brent Schrotenboer on Twitter @Schrotenboer
• Con_Alma

  http://www.goarmysports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=11100&ATCLID=205030421
  
  WEST POINT, N.Y. – With Saturday’s win over Kent State, the Black Knights are eligible to be selected for postseason play for the first time since 1996. Army does not have a primary bowl tie-in this season, but the Black Knights have entered into a pair of secondary agreements.
  
  Army’s first bowl option is with the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl that will be played in Dallas, Texas on Dec. 30, 2010. That game’s primary tie-ins are with the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA, but should either of those leagues not have enough teams to fill their slots in the game, the Black Knights will play in the game.
  
  The Black Knights’ second agreement is with the Military Bowl presented by Northrup Grumman that will be played in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 29. Army’s deal with the Armed Forces Bowl will take precedent should an opening be available for the Black Knights in that game, but if either of the Military Bowl’s primary tie-ins with the ACC and Conference USA are not filled and the Armed Forces Bowl does not select Army, the Black Knights will play in Washington, D.C.
  
  In preparation for Army’s potential bowl bid, fans can reserve their tickets by utilizing the links below. There are three options to choose from – the Armed Forces Bowl, the Military Bowl and Other. There is no charge to reserve the tickets, and fans will only be charged should Army be selected to play in the bowl of their choosing.
• Con_Alma

  I just looked up some records.
  
  Only twice since 1960 have all three Academies had winning records.
  
  In 1963, Army was 7-3, Air Force 7-4, and Navy 9-2
  
  1996, Army was 10-2, Navy 9-3, and Air Force 6-5, ...and now this year.
• sjmvsfscs08

  The triple option is the great equalizer?
  
  I would like to see Army play in D.C. in the Military Bowl, that'd be neat as hell.
• killer_ewok

  

  Thumbs up.
• darbypitcher22

  

  this is awesome. nice to see Army start winning some games
• jordo212000

  

  Army is having a pretty nice season. Crazy because they've been bad for a long time
• sherm03

  

  Gotta say...having all three of them go bowling is fucking awesome.
  
  
• Con_Alma

  jordo212000;558365 wrote:Army is having a pretty nice season. Crazy because they've been bad for a long time

  
  Since about 1996!!
• Tiernan

  This is one of the shining moments to an otherwise pretty crappy CFB season. Congrats to all the Acadamies
• gerb131

  

  Good for them they all used to be pretty good consistently nice to see them return to form.
  Navys coach should be on someones radar pretty soon.
• bigorangebuck22

  Good for all three.
  
  All we need is more bowl games so every FBS team can go to one
• reclegend22

  

  gerb131 wrote:Good for them they all used to be pretty good consistently nice to see them return to form.
  Navys coach should be on someones radar pretty soon.

  Certainly a congratulations goes to the Navy Midshipmen and all of their fans. Everyone at Navy's reward: With this successful season, their coach should be capable of being picked up on the radar of a better team and coach there soon.
  
  Lol. Truth is often bitter.
• ytownfootball

  

  Of course rec, the "rewarding" institution must be willing to run the triple option...that's a truth many are unwilling to accept.
• Con_Alma

  The success of Navy football is an extension of Paul Johnson. He created the style and philosophy surround the the triple option that the Midshipmen use. He is now at Georgia Tech where they run it there also but have a little more wide open flavor to it.
  
  Ken Niumatalolo continued what Paul Johnson started. Although I appreciate Ken's fiery personality and his appreciation for what and who Navy Football is I don't see him as taking a step "up" yet in the coaching ranks. He's not there yet.
• Con_Alma

  Some resume info on Coach Niumatalolo
  
  • Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo is just the second coach since World War II to lead Navy to a winning record in his first three years at the helm, joining Wayne Hardin (5-4-1 in 1959, 9-2 in 1960 and 7-3 in 1961) on the exclusive list.
  • He joins Eddie Erdelatz and Wayne Hardin as the only coaches in school history to beat Notre Dame in back-to-back years.
  • He is the only coach in school history to lead Navy to a bowl game in each of his first three seasons.
  • His 25 wins are tied with Paul Dashiell (1904-06) for the most in school history in the first three years of a career.
  • His 18 wins in his first two years are the most wins in school history bin his first two seasons.
  • His eight wins in his first year are tied for the fourth-most in school history and the most for a Navy coach in his debut season since Tom Hamilton won eight in 1934.
  • In 2009, Niumatalolo was the first coach to lead an unranked Navy squad over a ranked Notre Dame squad since 1936 (which was the first year of the polls) when Tom Hamilton led Navy to a 3-0 victory over Notre Dame.
  • He is the first head coach in Service Academy history to win the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy in each of his first two years.
  • Niumatalolo is the first Samoan head football coach on the collegiate level and the second Polynesian head coach in Division IA history (Larry Price, who was the head coach at Hawai'i from 1974-76 was the first).