Tag: Army

Army football with stirring tribute on 20th anniversary of 9/11

Army football players each took the field with an American flag on the 20th anniversary of 9/11

Saturday marked the 20th anniversary of the treacherous terror attacks on the United States.

There were tributes across the country. The United States Military Academy took the field for its game with Western Kentucky in one of the most stirring.

Every person associated with the team ran onto the field at Michie Field carrying an American flag.

An incredible tribute to those lost on Sept. 11, 2001.

Watch: Band of the Fighting Irish plays Victory March everywhere

The Band of the Fighting Irish will play the Notre Dame Victory March anywhere.

Wednesday was a great day for Notre Dame football fans as it was announced that Notre Dame Stadium will be open at full capacity in 2021. As the day wound down, the football program’s Twitter account tweeted out a sound that sorely has been missed:

Yes, there’s nothing like the Band of the Fighting Irish playing the Notre Dame Fighting March with over 77,000 fans making noise in the background. Simply hearing this sound makes us wonder why September can’t get here sooner. However, you never have had to go to Notre Dame Stadium on game day to hear the most famous fight song in college sports. Often, the band has taken its act on the road if the football team is traveling to a prominent location, or it will play for a select group of people on campus. Here are a few examples of the band playing outside its most famous surroundings in recent years:

Notre Dame volleyball wins first-round match of NCAA Tournament

The Irish are moving on in the NCAA Tournament.

Notre Dame has advanced in the NCAA Tournament after defeating Army in four sets, 23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-11, in the first round. This is the 12th time the Irish (15-3) have made it to the Round of 32 in their history, and they did it in their first-ever meeting with the Black Knights. They will continue their tournament stay Thursday against Oregon (14-4), which swept the Irish in the teams’ only previous meeting Oct. 20, 1985.

Among the key contributors for Notre Dame were Charley Niego with 12 kills and 11 digs, Caroline Meuth with 10 kills and five blocks, and Zoe Nunez with 30 assists, 12 digs and three of the team’s season-high 10 service aces. The Irish got a match-high eight blocks apiece from Hannah Thompson and Lauren Wenzel. Hattie Monson contributed 14 digs.

If the Irish defeat the Ducks, it will mean the seventh Sweet 16 trip in program history. They now have won four matches in a row and six of their past seven.

Bowl cancellation leaves Army in the dark

The Independence Bowl was canceled on Sunday, leaving Army in the dark and cold while they hope to somehow find another game.

The list of canceled bowl games grew on Sunday as the Independence Bowl was forced to cancel after they could not find an opponent for Army.

The opponent was supposed to come from the Pac-12 Conference but with so many programs from there opting out of bowl season, finding an opponent for Army couldn’t be done.

Army accepted their invitation to the Independence Bowl way back on October 26, after they improved to 6-1 with a win over Mercer.

However, with other bowls having contracts with various conferences, Army now appears to be left out of the bowl season despite finishing the year 9-2.

Just a brutal end to the season for a group of guys who obviously wanted a chance to win their tenth game of the year together.

Army released a statement Sunday saying they’d continue to try and get a bowl game of some kind figured out:

And a brutal turn of events for this poor guy who was so excited just days ago:

 

Watch: ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit makes picks from helicopter

Kirk Herbstreit took flight and made his picks before the annual Army-Navy game

It is Army-Navy weekend.ESPN brought “College GameDay” to West Point, where the game was being played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kirk Herbstreit got the call to take flight in a helicopter and the network had its lead college football analyst make his picks from the air.

Recap: Gators conquer Army in a nail-biting 76-69 finish

Florida defeated their first opponents of the 2020-2021 season in a game that was much closer than the final score would indicate.

Wednesday afternoon, Florida came away from their first game of the 2020-2021 season with a win, defeating the Army Black Knights by a final score of 76-69. Although the Gators had a none-too-comfortable seven-point margin when game ended, it felt downright paunchy compared to the razor thin lead that the two sides traded a handful of times within the last minutes of the game.

The Gators’ most notable player on the afternoon was guard Tre Mann. He shot 46.2 percent from the field (including half of his 3-point attempts) and went 6-for-8 from the free-throw line, tallying to a career-high 19 points. Mann added six rebounds and four assists to his already packed stat sheet for a performance that was downright impressive from any angle.

Also making meaningful contributions to the Gators’ victorious outing were forward Keyontae Johnson and guard Tyree Appleby. It’s no surprise that Johnson played a major role — he led the team in scoring last season and is an early favorite to be the SEC player of the year. He’s never been the best 3-point shooter, and scored on only a third of his attempts from beyond the arc, but he is still a cornerstone of the Gators’ offense.

As a transfer who didn’t receive the start, Appleby’s contributions were less expected. However, if Florida is going to improve on last season’s 19-12 record, they’ll need to consistently see rotational players play well. Appleby took that step on Wednesday, providing 15 points thanks to his steady shooting from the field and capitalizing on his frequent free throw opportunities.

On the other side of the court, Army’s top scorer was Lonnie Grayson. The small guard took over a starting role for the Black Knights in 2019 and looks to reprieve his role this season as well. He notched 13 points for Army and hit both of his free throws. His shooting percentage from the field was not especially dazzling, but he hauled in eight rebounds and was crucial in his team’s effort to keep the game close.

Florida’s next game tomorrow will be the second of their two contests scheduled to take place at Mohegan Sun Arena during the Bubbleville event. They will take on the Boston College Eagles at 9:30 p.m. EST. The Eagles are three games deep into their schedule and will be looking to bounce back from a loss to St. John’s on Monday.

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Preview: Florida takes on Army at Bubbleville in first game of season

Florida’s men’s basketball team is debuting a new look as they open their season in a winnable matchup against the defense-first Army squad.

If this year had a catchphrase, it would probably be “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” The truth of that age-old aphorism has undoubtedly been felt by the Gators men’s basketball program in their delayed start to the 2020-21 season. Initially scheduled for their first tip-off of the season on November 25th, their opening game against UMass Lowell and the following two games were all canceled due to COVID concerns.

Unless something goes terribly wrong (here’s a friendly reminder that jinxes don’t exist) Florida should finally open their season on Wednesday afternoon against Army West Point at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Gators’ roster has experienced a fair amount of turnover below the surface, but the team will still be anchored by pair of familiar faces.

“Florida returns stalwart juniors Keyontae Johnson, who earned All-SEC honors while averaging 14.0 points and 7.1 rebounds last season, and Noah Locke, who shot .432 from 3-point range and averaged 10.6 points,” boasts the published game notes. “Johnson earned preseason SEC Player of the Year from the media and first-team All-SEC recognition from coaches and the media.”

One of the Gators’ more notable additions is power forward Osayi Osifo, who has all the early makings of a fan favorite. Born in South Africa and joining the team courtesy of a transfer from junior college, the 6-foot-8-inch junior has a reputation for intensity and quiet leadership.

The oddsmakers at DraftKings predict that Florida will come away victorious in this matchup, favoring them by 18.5 points in the afternoon contest. If that comes to fruition, it would constitute Army’s first loss on the season — they’ve established an oppressive defense and come away to a trio of wins in their first three games as a result.

A winnable matchup against a defense-first team, this game effectively serves as a litmus test for how well the Gators’ new-look offense will perform out of the gate. The team’s 2020-21 schedule is no cakewalk, but if the team’s leading scorers hold steady and are able to click with the freshly assembled group rotational players, they should be able to improve on last season’s 19-12 record.

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Army and Navy reveal incredible alternate uniforms for their 2020 game

These are awesome.

When Army and Navy play each other in their annual, traditional football game, another tradition has sprouted up: awesome new uniforms.

In 2019, Army won our poll to see who had the best alternate unis, which were meant to be 1960s throwbacks. The 2018 editions were inspired efforts and both 2017 uniforms were amazing.

The Army’s uniforms for this year’s game are meant to pay tribute to the 25th infantry division that fought during the Korean War, with the nickname “Tropic Lightning.”

The Navy is going with threads celebrating the Naval Academy’s 175th anniversary, with patterns inspired by the chapel and Bancroft Hall on its campus.

Here’s the Army’s look:

And the Navy uniforms:

The two teams face off on Saturday, December 12 at 3 p.m. Eastern.

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USA TODAY bowl projections call for two ACC playoff teams

Notre Dame and Clemson both make the College Football Playoff? USA TODAY’s latest bowl projections say yes. That and every other ACC pick.

The USA TODAY has released their updated bowl projections after college football’s Week 11 and the good news for ACC fans is that two members of their conference are projected to make the College Football Playoff.

The bad news is that neither of those two ACC teams are projected to win a game as they have neither in the national championship game.

USA TODAY projects the following in regards to the College Football Playoff as of November 17:

Rose Bowl:  2. Ohio State vs. 3. Clemson
Sugar Bowl:  1. Alabama vs. 4. Notre Dame

The projections call for both Alabama and Ohio State to win those games which would certainly set up an intriguing national championship game.

As for the rest of the ACC, here’s what the USA TODAY has shaking out:

Jan. 2 – Orange Bowl: Miami (FL) vs. Florida
Jan. 2 – Gator Bowl:  North Carolina St. vs. Kentucky
Dec. 31 – Sun Bowl: Boston College vs. Washington
Dec. 30 – Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Michigan
Dec. 29 – Cheez-It Bowl: North Carolina vs. Texas
Dec. 29 – Pinstripe Bowl: Virginia vs. Purdue
Dec. 28 – Military Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Navy
Dec. 26 – Gasparilla Bowl: Louisville vs. Central Florida

Some compelling games here and quick takeaways:

  • Seemingly nobody is giving Notre Dame a chance in the ACC Championship Game against Clemson. I know there was no Trevor Lawrence but even with him that game was going down to the final few possessions.  The Irish are understandably underdogs in that potential rematch but its getting treated like there is simply no chance they can do it a second time against a Clemson team that is great, but certainly has flaws.
  • Miami and Florida brings me flashbacks of the Sugar Bowl a couple decades back when the teams brawled on Bourbon Street their first night in town for the game.
  • The Cheez-It Bowl would lose it’s collective Cheez-It filled mind if it were to get Mack Brown and North Carolina to take on a Texas team that has only disappointed since his exit.
  • If Michigan qualifies for a bowl this year you can bet your bottom dollar I hope it’s the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.  And you can parlay that bottom into me hoping they lose it.

In this strange season Army has actually already accepted an invitation to play in the Dec. 26 Independence Bowl and the projection has them taking on Colorado.

Bowl games are set to get underway the same day most conferences will be playing their championship games.  What an odd twist on an incredibly odd year.

Watch: Army trickeration on kickoff return becomes a Tulane touchdown

An Army trick play turned into a Tulane touchdown

Trick plays can be rewarding … or disastrous. Army found out the latter on Saturday against Tulane.

Trailing 31-12 in the fourth quarter Saturday, the Black Knights of the Hudson decided to reach into their playbook. It backfired. Big time.

Watch as the lateral from Tyrell Robinson attempts to throw a lateral across the field — think Music City Miracle.

Jaetavian Toles grabbed the ill-advised lateral and took it into the end zone. Toles was credited for an 8-yard fumble recovery that made it 38-12 after the PAT.

Watch: