Navy vs. Notre Dame

• Con_Alma

  Setting the Stage
  • Navy and Notre Dame will meet for the 86th time on the gridiron on Saturday, Sept. 1 in the Emerald Isle Classic at Dublin, Ireland’s Aviva Stadium. The game will kick at 2:10 pm in Dublin (9:10 am ET).
  • The Navy-Notre Dame football game is the longest continuous intersectional rivalry in the country. This will be the second meeting between these two schools in Dublin with Notre Dame beating Navy, 54-27, in 1996 at Croke Park.
  • CBS Sports will broadcast the game back to the United States to 100 percent of the country. Air time will be 9:00 am (ET), 8:00 am (CT), 7:00 am (MT), 6:00 am (PT) and 3:00 am in Hawai’i, the home state of Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo. Verne Lundquist (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (analyst), Tracy Wolfson (sideline) and David Feherty (sideline) will call the action.
  • ESPN America will take the television feed from CBS and air the game in 66 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. For a list of countries that get ESPN America, go to: www.espnamerica.com
  • American Forces Network will also carry the CBS television feed. The AFN worldwide radio and television broadcast network serves American service men and women, Department of Defense and other U.S. government civilians and their families stationed at bases overseas, as well as U.S. Navy ships at sea. The game will be available in 175 countries and U.S. territories thanks to AFN.
  
  
  Pregame Festivities
  • Pregame festivities will get underway at approximately 1:49 pm in Dublin with the march-on of the Brigade of Midshipmen. Nearly 1,000 of the 4,400 members of the Brigade of Midshipmen have paid their own way to be at the game.
  • The United States and the Irish National Anthems will be sung by the Naval Academy Glee Club at approximately 1:56 pm.
  • The Notre Dame marching band will perform at halftime.
  
  Navy-Notre Dame Series
  • Notre Dame leads the all-time series against Navy, 72-12-1, which includes a 56-14 win over the Mids in South Bend a year ago. Navy had won three of the previous four meetings against the Irish prior to last year’s loss.
  • In 2007, Navy defeated Notre Dame, 46-44 in triple overtime. The win by Navy broke Notre Dame’s 43-game winning streak over the Mids which marks the longest winning streak by one team over another in NCAA history.
  • Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo is one of just three Navy coaches to beat Notre Dame in back-to-back seasons (2009-10), joining Eddie Erdelatz (1956-57) and Wayne Hardin (1960-61).
  • Hardin is the only Navy coach to beat Notre Dame three times over the course of a career, defeating the Irish in 1960 with Heisman Trophy winner Joe Bellino (14-7), 1961 (13-10) and in 1963 with Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach (35-14).
  
  Why Navy And Notre Dame Play
  • While World War II raged in Europe during the early 1940s, it was becoming evident that the United States isolationist policy from entering the war would be in jeopardy.
  • In need of better cash flow as a private school, Notre Dame president Rev. Hugh O’Donnell offered the school’s facilities to the armed forces as a training ground. During World War I, the Army operated a Students Army Training Corps program on the Notre Dame campus. This combined military training for students who also were majoring in their college courses.
  • However, in the early 1940s, the Army did not respond to O’Donnell’s invitation -- but the Navy did. In Sept. 1941, it established the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps where approximately 150 Notre Dame students per year enrolled.
  • In early 1942, Notre Dame turned over four of its resident halls to the Navy for its V-7 program, which also was known as the Midshipmen’s School.
  • During that transformation, the Navy constructed a drill hall and a headquarters/classroom building on the north side of the campus -- where today’s Hesburgh Memorial Library with the “Touchdown Jesus” mural is located. (It was dedicated in 1962, after the Navy drill hall had been razzed after 19 years of standing.)
  • With the United States fully engaged in World War II by 1943, the Navy needed more men to serve and it again teamed with Notre Dame to form the V-12 program.
  • On July 1, 1943, Notre Dame welcomed 1,851 active-duty trainees -- the largest of its kind -- to the campus. By comparison, Notre Dame’s civilian student enrollment was merely 700. Thus, five more resident halls were opened to the sailors.
  • The V-12 men were scattered throughout Notre Dame’s five colleges, attended classes with the civilian students, were granted regular academic credit and, in contrast to the NROTC and the Midshipman’s School, were taught by the regular faculty.
  • “We were out of business during World War II,” notes 1952-87 Notre Dame president Rev. Theodore Hesburgh in a 1992 interview with the South Bend Tribune. “Navy came in and kept us afloat until the war was over.”
  • Hesburgh vowed that under his watch the football series between the two schools would be kept as long as Navy wanted it continued.
  -- excerpts from Blue & Gold Illustrated story by Lou Somogyi
  
  Navy, Notre Dame Extend Series
  • Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk and Notre Dame Director of Athletics and Vice President Jack Swarbrick announced last fall that Navy’s football series with Notre Dame, which is the longest continuous intersectional rivalry in college football, has been extended to 2026, which will be the centennial year for the series.
  • “Our institutional relationship with Notre Dame goes back decades,” said Gladchuk. “Along with the vast mutual respect we share as two of the finest educational institutions in the nation, that same dimension of appreciation is evident on the football field. Continuing this traditional and classic rivalry for years to come has always been a priority for both schools. I am grateful to Jack and his staff for working with us to ensure the continuation of this annual highlight enjoyed by millions of fans during each college football season.”
  • The Irish and Mids will meet in South Bend on odd years, while on even years the game will be Navy’s home game, customarily played at regional NFL venues.
  • The two schools, which have played every year since 1926, will meet for the 86th time on Sept. 1 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.
  Navy Nuggets
  • Navy is 2-2 in season openers under head coach Ken Niumatalolo, defeating Towson (41-13 in 2008) and Delaware (40-7 in 2011) and losing to Ohio State (31-27 in 2009) and Maryland (17-14 in 2010). Navy last beat an FBS opponent in the opener in 2007 when Navy won at Temple, 30-19.
  • This year’s game marks the first time Navy has opened its season against Notre Dame. The game is traditionally played in late October or early November.
  • Five of Navy’s seven losses in 2011 were by a combined total of 11 points. The Mids finished 2-5 in games decided by eight points or less. The five losses by eight points or less were tied for the fifth most in the country. Under head coach Ken Niumatalolo, Navy is 14-13 (.519) in games decided by eight or fewer points.
  • Navy finished 2011 ranked No. 1 in the country in fewest penalties per game (2.3) and penalty yards per game (20.0).
  • Navy owns a 17-15 (.531) record in games played away from the friendly confines of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium under Niumatalolo, including a 3-4 (.429) mark in 2011. Meanwhile, the Mids are 15-6 (.714) in home games under Niumatalolo which included a 2-3 (.400) record in 2011.
  • In Navy’s five wins last year, it outscored the opposition, 105-31, in the first half, including 43-0 in the first quarter.
  • In the Mids’ seven losses last year, they were outscored, 152-66, in the first half, including 59-10 in the first quarter.
  • The Mids are 8-9 (.470) under Niumatalolo with more than one week to prepare, including a 4-0 (1.000) mark against Army.
  • Navy made 48 trips inside the red zone in its 12 games, scoring 37 times (.771), including 30 touchdowns (.625). The Mids were tied for 88th in the country in red zone offense.
  • Navy was held below 300 yards rushing in half of its games last year, winning just one of those games (Army). The Mids were 4-2 (.667) when rushing for more than 300 yards in 2011.
  • Navy produced a 5-2 (.714) record in 2011 and is 27-4 (.870) under Niumatalolo when scoring first. The Mids were 0-5 in 2011 and are 5-17 (.227) under Niumatalolo when the opponent scores first.
  • The Mids were 5-0 last season when leading after the first quarter and 0-7 when tied or trailing after the first quarter. Under Niumatalolo, the Mids are 21-3 (.875) when leading after the first quarter and 11-18 (.379) when trailing or tied after the first stanza.
  • An opposing running back rushed for over 100 yards in a game against the Mids in eight of the 12 contests last year. In the previous three years, Navy surrendered only nine 100-yard rushing games to opposing running backs.
• vball10set

  [video=youtube;TINMx8YWF2Y][/video]
• Con_Alma

  From Irish Times
  
  http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0831/1224323381656.html
  
  AMERICAN FOOTBALL EMERALD ISLE CLASSIC: THERE’S SOMETHING of a maritime theme to life in Dublin these days. Last weekend it was the Tall Ships that graced the Irish capital. On Saturday the US Naval Academy, or Navy to borrow the sporting derivative, take on Notre Dame in a regular season college American football game at the Aviva Stadium.
  Somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 Americans will visit Ireland, 10,000 booked on week-long packages. The financial injection to the Irish economy is estimated at €100 million, a projection that may be endorsed by the assertion that Brown Thomas did more business yesterday than on any other single day outside Christmas Eve.
  The Navy players and officials were two hours late arriving at the back pitch in Lansdowne Road; their journey from Annapolis extended by a two-hour flight delay. The players were afforded a quick peek at the stadium in which they’ll play tomorrow’s game. They’ll train there today.
  The dimensions of the American football playing arena is considerably smaller than a rugby pitch, measuring, a slightly claustrophobic 53 yards wide and 100 yards long, not including the in-goal areas. It’s fair to say the Aviva stadium made an impression on the Navy players and management alike.
  Head coach Ken Niumatalolo smiled as he recounted a brief conversation with one of his staff moments earlier. “I was getting into an argument with our equipment guy because he was telling us we couldn’t get on the grass (main Aviva pitch) for practice. (I replied): what? We always get on the grass for practice.
  “He said ‘coach, you don’t understand, they take their grass very seriously over here’. I said what, what are you talking about? It (the pitch) looks like a golf course. I think our kids were in awe when they saw the stadium.
  “We have played in some nice NFL stadiums back home but this is one of the nicest stadiums I have ever seen; unbelievable.”
  The pitch was choc-full of Navy’s 80-strong playing roster supplemented by coaches and sundry officials. Every square inch was commandeered as players indulged in a variety of warm-up exercises and also aped some match situations; practising on-side kick-offs, field goals and punting.
  While this may be a sporting curiosity for the Irish public that will attend the game, those affiliated to Navy and Notre Dame are treating this as seriously as if the contest was taking place in South Bend or Annapolis. This isn’t a jolly; it is the season opener for two college football teams.
  Navy slot back (a running back, a some-time receiver and occasionally special teams) and senior Bo Snelson explained: “Yes it is my first time here. It is my first time over the Atlantic. It is really exciting to be here to get to play in such a beautifully stadium; to be welcomed into Ireland with open arms.
  “I have been really fortunate to play in some exciting venues but this one is definitely the most exciting. We are looking to come out here and handle our business.”
  So what can the Irish fans expect tomorrow? Snelson offered: “They can come out and get ready for an extremely physical ball game; more akin to rugby than soccer. Hopefully it’ll be crisp on both sides, not very sloppy; that’s not something that we’d like want the Irish people to see.”
  Navy are the home team for this fixture but given that their opponents, Notre Dame, boast long standing connections with this country, have tricolours on the heel of their boots, green, white and orange gloves, and whose nom de plume is ‘The Fighting Irish’, the locals are likely to cheer for the away team.
  While supporters and fellow students will be able to party and enjoy a bit of the Dublin night life, the players will be preparing for a 7.0am flight home Sunday.
• Cher

  Getting up bright and early tomorrow to watch this one!
  
  Just kidding. I'll probably sleep through it.
• Con_Alma

  [video]http://www.cbssports.com/video/player/sec-live[/video]
• Sonofanump

  Cher;1258736 wrote:Getting up bright and early tomorrow to watch this one!
  
  Just kidding. I'll probably sleep through it.

  So you'll be a sleeper. Interesting.
• Cher

  Sonofanump;1258837 wrote:So you'll be a sleeper. Interesting.

  
  another accuser of me being sleeper. How original.
• karen lotz

  

  Top o the morning
• killer_ewok

  

  GO IRISH
• vball10set

  I could get used to this Saturday morning game stuff :thumbup:
• killer_ewok

  

  vball10set;1259234 wrote:I could get used to this Saturday morning game stuff :thumbup:

  
  Not sure I could, vball! But it is kinda cool just waking up and only having to wait about an hour til kickoff.
• karen lotz

  

  killer_ewok;1259244 wrote:Not sure I could, vball! But it is kinda cool just waking up and only having to wait about an hour til kickoff.

  
  I've been waiting for 2 hours already...
• vball10set

  killer_ewok;1259244 wrote:Not sure I could, vball! But it is kinda cool just waking up and only having to wait about an hour til kickoff.

  karen lotz;1259249 wrote:I've been waiting for 2 hours already...

  lol--3 here
• Fly4Fun

  

  So I plan on watching this game just because it's on. I generally don't watch ND football. But I have the channel before the game starts so I don't have to change it on time (I'm lazy). Anyways, there is some show on called the Doodlebops that is making me want to gaugue out my eyes and cut off my ears. Seriously, what the hell is this shit? Their makeup and outfitting reminds me of the people from Capitol in Hunger Games.
• karen lotz

  

  Busytown mysteries?
• WebFire

  I think it's odd that the IRISH are the away team in IRELAND.
• killer_ewok

  

  Golson has some poise out there so far. Good to see. O-line getting off the ball and Theo running well. TD Irish....and then they miss the XP.
• karen lotz

  

  Pretty good start other than Koyack and the missed assignment.
  
  Verne and Gary are horrible. I'd almost rather listen to Hammond.
• vball10set

  ok, I'll admit it--Te'o's pretty damn good :thumbup:
• killer_ewok

  

  GAIII.....TD Irish!
• karen lotz

  

  He's fast
• killer_ewok

  

  vball10set;1259277 wrote:ok, I'll admit it--Te'o's pretty damn good :thumbup:

  
  Some NFL team will be pretty happy when they get the chance to pick him in the 1st round next year.
• karen lotz

  

  I didn't know Nix was an offensive guard last year...
• killer_ewok

  

  karen lotz;1259285 wrote:I didn't know Nix was an offensive guard last year...

  
  Me either. Probably because he wasn't.
  
  On another note, Bennett Jackson makes me nervous. Probably won't be a factor today but....
• karen lotz

  

  He looks lost. Hopefully he's more comfortable against traditional offenses.