Week 4 Service Academy Football Press Conference Recap

Navy fell to SMU 31-30 in OT.

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Navy is on a bye this week so there was no Tuesday practice report, but Coach Niumatalolo still had his weekly American Athletic Conference teleconference and provided some insights into the SMU loss and the upcoming bye week.

Coach Niumatalolo said he was of course disappointed at the very tough, very close loss, but emphasized that he was proud of his team for the way they fought and the fact that they had a chance at all given the three turnovers and kickoff return for a touchdown they allowed.

He then pointed out that the bye week came at as a good time as they try and get healthy, but also because the Naval Academy is currently in its six-week exam period and it allows the team to put the necessary focus into their school work. Those two things plus the fact that the bye comes before they kick off the CIC competition against Air Force made it an ideal landing spot this year.

The Mids will head out to Colorado Springs next weekend for that service academy battle against Air Force, with a 3:30 EST kickoff on CBSSN.

Army brought it to the Sooners in Norman, but ultimately fell to Oklahoma 28-21 in overtime.

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Some called it the Most Magical Triple Option Game Possible.

Coach Monken spent just a few moments recapping last weekend’s matchup, stating the team battled in a close one and but were ultimately outmatched in a tough environment. He was quick to point out the importance of not lingering on the tough loss, and transition to this weeks opponent in Buffalo, their 5th undefeated opponent in as many weeks. Monken spoke about how well coached Buffalo is, but Army is ready to practice well, practice hard and be prepared anyways. Monken spent some time at Buffalo as an assistant in the mid 90’s, and tried to provide some context as to how challenging it is to coach there. He stopped short of comparing Buffalo’s challenges to that of Army’s, but alluded to some similarities.

Kelvin Hopkins Jr. played well against Oklahoma, and Monken did not hold his QB responsible for the turnovers late in the game. Of his QB Monken also said “I think he’s really improved and done a good job leading our team. He’s getting better each week and that’s promising.”

Air Force fell in their first Mountain West Conference contest against Utah State 42-32.

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Air Force has a QB controversy with all three QBs will see playing time against Utah State. Calhoun expects his entire WB trio to see action throughout the season, although the likelihood of all three playing in every game was small.

Calhoun said he wants Ronald Cleveland getting the ball more often, potentially as a kick off return man or even at tailback, given the right circumstances.

Kadin Remsberg is continuing to work on his fundamentals and grow as an all around football player. Coach Calhoun went on to say how coachable Remsberg has been, and that is one of the most desirable traits for a coach to find in their players.

Calhoun addressed Nevada’s tough defense and how they are able to quickly get behind the line of scrimmage. The Head Coach said his team needs to avoid the things that “really sting ya like fumbles, sacks, and interceptions in order to give your team a chance to win.”

He also spoke about Nevada’s fast paced offense that is highly productive, with a dynamic punt returner on special teams. He summarized by noting Nevada has a “talented and explosive football team”

He wants the Falcons defense to limit damage on first downs and he believes that will help to slow down Nevada’s offense that is more fast pace. Calhoun is convinced you have to be effective at stopping both the run and the pass while on defense in today’s game.

For his offense, Calhoun noted how being effective at converting on third downs has great second and third order effects.