Army Tries For Win that Gains Bowl Eligibility;
Air Force Looks for Second Straight Triumph;
Navy and No.3 Notre Dame Square Off in San Diego
by John Chuhran
White Plains, N.Y., October 25 -- The nation's three military academies enter their eighth games of the 2018 college football season on differing paths. Army is looking for its fourth straight win and sixth of the year, the number that would make the Black Knights eligible for consideration as a participant in a post-season bowl game. Air Force has its Homecoming Weekend and looks to even its record at 4-4. Navy travels to San Diego to play long-time rival No. 3 ranked Notre Dame in a primetime game on national television that the Midshipmen hope will start a winning streak. Sons of the American Legion Radio previews each game.
ARMY (5-2) @ Eastern Michigan (4-4), Sat, Oct 27, 12 p.m. ET (TV: CBS Sports Network)
After a thrilling 31-30 double overtime victory over Miami (Ohio) on Homecoming Weekend, Army heads back on the road to face Eastern Michigan. Sophomore quarterback Cam Thomas had a memorable first start, rushing for an impressive 137 (tops of any Army runner this year) as incumbent QB junior Kelvin Hopkins rested a lingering hip injury. Either could be behind center on Saturday. Senior fullback Darnell Woolfolk gave one of his finest performances, running for 96 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns, the second an eight-yard charge up the middle with five defenders failing to drag him down until he broke the plane of the goal. John Abercrombie nailed a 37-yard field goal -- the longest of his career -- in the first overtime. Defensively, Cole Christiansen led Army with 13 tackles while Elijah Riley added four tackles -- including the game-ending stop two yards from the goal line -- along with a quarterback sack and a pair of broken up passes.
Eastern Michigan might be 4-4, but they could be a formidable opponent. In week two, the Eagles squeaked out a 20-19 win over Purdue -- which toppled No. 2 ranked Ohio State last Saturday. In Eastern Michigan's four losses, the combined margin of defeat has been just 16 points including a pair of overtime losses to San Diego State and Northern Illinois. The Eagles are riding a two-game winning streak and are led by senior Quarterback Tyler Wiegers, who has completed 107 of 162 passes for 1,268 yards and eight touchdowns with just a single interception. Blake Banham, Jackson and Line Latu have all tallied three receiving touchdowns and more than 300 yards this year. Shaq Vann (455 yards and four touchdowns) and Mike Glass III (361 and six) are Eastern Michigan's top running threats. On Defense, Junior Brody Hoying recorded a team-best 11 tackles against Ball State while seniors Justin Moody and Kyle Rachwall (with 291 so far in his career) added seven.
Boise State (5-2) @ AIR FORCE (3-4), Sat, Oct 27, 7 p.m. ET (TV: CBS Sports Network)
Air Force is coming off a solid 41-35 win at UNLV and is looking for its first back-to-back wins of the year. Junior quarterback Isaiah Sanders performed spectacularly, rushing for a season-high 173 yards (including a career-long 49 yard run) and three touchdowns while completing 9-of-11 passes for a career-best 217 yards and a score. He completed a career-long 69 yard touchdown pass to Ronald Cleveland (three catches for a career-best 100 yards). Air Force had a season best of 572 total yards (355 rushing yards and 217 yards passing). Cole Fagan added 77 yards rushing. The defense was led by Jeremy Fejedelem, who had 13 tackles and an interception. Kyle Johnson added a career-best 12 tackles and Brody Bagnall had 10 with a career-best 2.5 tackles for loss.
Boise State has won two straight, scoring a total of 87 points in those contests. Senior quarterback Brett Rypien is the Broncos sparkplug, averaging 25.6 completions for 309.4 yards per game.
Redshirt senior receiver A.J. Richardson posted career highs in receiving yards (137) and touchdown catches (two) while matching his best with six receptions in last Saturday's 56-28 win over Colorado State. Through seven games, seven Bronco receivers have pulled in at least 10 passes, with redshirt senior Sean Modster leading the way with a team-high 37. Five receivers have caught at least two touchdowns, with Richardson (33 catches for 567 yards) leading the way with six, followed by Modster with four, and John Hightower (21 catches for 306 yards) with three. Running back Alexander Mattison leads the Broncos with 501 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Defensive standouts are senior cornerback Tyler Horton, Redshirt sophomore cornerback Avery Williams, and sophomore linebacker Riley Whimpey.
Notre Dame (7-0) vs. NAVY (2-5) at San Diego, Sat, Oct 20, 8 p.m. ET (TV: CBS Network)
Navy is coming off a 49-36 setback against Houston. Part of Navy's struggles this year can be traced to a volatility at quarterback. Zach Abey started at quarterback most of last year, but he was replaced by slotback Malcolm Perry (who ran for 97 yards and completed one pass attempt for a 43-yard gain against the visitors last week but was barely on the field in the second half after sustaining an apparent leg injury) in the Army-Navy game. Perry ran for 250 yards against the Black Knights, but this year he failed to produce that sort of success and has yielded in recent weeks to Garret Lewis. All three are likely to see time behind center in the coming weeks as the Midshipmen try to find the combination that consistently leads to victory. Lewis was 9-for 14 for 135 yards with one TD and one interception; he also ran 22 times for 85 yards. Taylor Jackson had five receptions for 120 yards and a TD. Kicker Bennett Moehring drilled a field goal and three point-after-touchdown kicks to become the all-time top scoring kicker in Navy history with 129 points. The defense was led by safety Sean Williams (7 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 1 interception), Michael McMorris (6 tackles), Jacob Springer, Juan Hailey and Nizaire Cromartie (5 tackles each)
The undefeated Fighting Irish also switched quarterback in the middle of the season, but that swapped has strengthened the team. Ian Book took over the starting quarterback duties from Brandon Wimbush starting with the fourth game of the year (Wake Forest) and the offense has come alive. He has completed 75 percent of his passes for 1,151 yards with 11 touchdowns and three
interceptions. Book’s 75.2 completion percentage is the best in the country, while his 8.4 yards per pass attempt ranks 25th. Running back Dexter Williams missed the first four games of the season after being suspended, but in just three games he is already Notre Dame’s leading rusher with 370 yards and four touchdowns on 51 carries. Williams is averaging 7.3 yards per carry. Miles Boykin leads the Notre Dame receivers with 32 catches for 512 yards and four touchdowns, while Chris Finke and Alize Mack have 25 catches each. Chase Claypool has 23 catches, three of which have gone for a touchdown. Te’von Coney is the team’s leading tackler with 56 stops, 5.5 tackles for a loss and a sack. Drue Tranquill is second with 46 tackles and six tackles for a loss, while Navy transfer Alohi Gilman is third on the team with 38 tackles and two tackles for a loss. Jerry Tillery has forced three fumbles, which is tied for the sixth most in the country, while Julian Love has recovered a nation’s-best three fumbles.