Around the Yard: First Week of October Edition

It’s time to take a look at what’s being said about our three favorite teams this week ahead of the first Commander-in-Chief Trophy game of the year!

Before we dive into each school, take a look at some history behind the Texas-Oklahoma game taking place this weekend. The 36th division lost more men in a single day in American military history, but once the war was won, they won some ballgames.

Army:

Last week, with a 14-7 lead, Buffalo lined up for a chip-shot 28-yard field goal to bring the game within four. Until Army blocked the kick and Elijah Riley ran 80 yards for an Army touchdown to put the game out of reach. See the players involved give a rundown inside the play.

If you missed the game last week, you’ve got plenty of time to catch up during the bye week with our recap from last week’s win.

The win on the road against an in-state opponent didn’t get the same amount of notoriety as the loss against Oklahoma, but winning is always more fun than losing, at least according to Jeff Monken. But that loss may have helped in the recruiting battle as big 6’5 TE Spencer Witter inches closer to a commitment to the Black Knights.

On the links, Army earned its second consecutive Star win over the men from Navy, winning 8-3 in the Ryder Cup style match. They jumped out to a 3.5-1.5 lead after day one and a strong day of singles play put things out of reach.

In cross country news, the men’s team placed 3rd out of 41 teams at the Paul Short Run, ahead of a trip to face the Midshipmen of Navy October 13.

The men’s basketball team announced their matchup at Cameron Indoor Stadium will be on ESPN. The November 11 game will be their first meeting since 2014.

Navy:

There’s been no shortage of news about the Naval Academy as they head to Colorado Springs for this year’s first CIC Trophy matchup. You can check out some of the pranks between the two groups of students here.

We also got a group of Air Force and Navy graduates together for a little Q&A.

Air Force is looking to bounce back from last year’s 48-45 loss during what was once of the most exciting games of the season. Navy lead much of the game before AFA took the lead 45-41 with less than two minutes to go. From there, the Midshipmen would need a long touchdown drive, and Zach Abey was just the man to deliver.

For many coaches, Sunday is hardly a day off. There is film to watch of the previous game, player injuries to monitor, and even more film to watch on the upcoming opponent. That’s why Navy’s policy of giving coaches a day of rest on Sunday is so surprising.

Andrew Wood picked Navy over Vanderbilt and Purdue. But for the the three-year starter from just outside of Nashville, that was never much in doubt.

The women’s soccer team heads to Boston University for a battle of the top two teams in the Patriot League. Red Sox-Yankees isn’t the only big game in Boston this weekend.

Air Force:

It’s been a rough start to the season for the Falcons. Uncertainty on game day has lead to a bad start in Colorado Springs, and with Navy coming to town, things may get worse before they get better.

Taking undersized players and competing against the rest of FBS is a tall task. One that Troy Calhoun doesn’t take lightly.

If you needed a reason to get to the stadium before kick on Saturday, Air Force is willing to help you out.

That’s not the only thing flying high in Colorado Springs this week, as the men’s basketball team got practice underway last week and announced that 14 games will be broadcast nationally, including four on the ESPN family of networks.

The 7th-ranked men’s soccer team stretched its unbeaten stretch to 10 games, with sights set on the program record of 15 wins in a season, and an unbeaten streak of 14 games. They head to California for a pair of games at CSU-Bakersfield and Cal-Baptist. Win those, and games against Seattle University and Houston Baptist, two of the top teams in the WAC, can become record setters for the program.

To top that off, senior Tucker Bone was named WAC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.