Army-Navy at the half: Mids can’t shake Black Knights

“The enemy these seniors are gonna’ face is about eight months – they’re in for it; because we have some fighters”. At 10-2, No. 21 Navy has matched the school record for wins in a season and will play Pittsburgh in the Military Bowl in Annapolis on December 28. “Navy executed and made some plays when they needed to, and we made critical errors that weren’t forced”. This may be in Navy’s favor, depending on what Niumatalolo wants to do next as a head coach. “There are some bad things going on out there”. Army, as we all should have known, is not just going to lay down and die in Philly. It advanced into Navy territory three times in the final 15 minutes, but the result was a missed 29-yard field goal by Daniel Grochowski, a fumbled snap recovered by Navy linebacker Ted Colburn, and an interception by rover Daiquan Thomasson on a trick play by the Black Knights. “But I was encouraged”.

The two teams have been playing football against each other for more than 100 years, having first played each other in 1890, and then they played every season after 1930. If you know anyone in the armed service, you know there’s more than a fair share of good-natured ribbing between the branches, sometimes bordering on the not-so-good-natured. “It’s been my life” at Navy, he said. But we have some very talented players, and these guys will mature.

This might be their best team in decades. “But I don’t think there was a great disparity in terms of talent tonight”.

Those are the type of stats a great rushing quarterback would put up by the end of the game, so that should tell you a bit about the type of player that Reynolds is.

EX-FSU QB PLEADS OUT: De’Andre Johnson, the former Florida State freshman quarterback who was dismissed after he punched a 21-year-old woman at a Tallahassee club, entered a plea deal Thursday for his misdemeanor battery case. In his second career start, he threw for 208 yards and a touchdown. Tommy Gilligan, USA TODAY Sports Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds runs during the first quarter.

The turning point came late in the third quarter, on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds to Jamir Tillman that helped give the team a 21-17 lead. Reynolds accounted for all three of Navy’s touchdowns, including two rushing touchdowns to make him the NCAA’s leader in career rushing touchdowns with 85. Army finished 2-10. The separation, at least, Saturday, was not that wide.

Offenses come to lifeCompared to last season’s affair, this game was a shootout.

Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo improved to 8-0 against the 2-10 Black Knights, two days before he is set to visit BYU to talk about the Cougars’ coaching vacancy. I couldn’t do it to them.