[Rally]

Ivan Maisel predicts Navy will crack the top 25 this year.

The Midshipmen are a veteran team that is going to make Ohio State work to win on Saturday, and Navy is playing a schedule that could easily have them 7-1 when they play the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends at FedEx Field on Nov. 1. Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo is 2-4 against the Fighting Irish, who narrowly beat the Midshipmen a year ago. Navy's biggest trouble is its schedule; the Midshipmen have a week off before four of their last five games. With an option offense that depends on timing, that might be an issue. If Niumatalolo figures that out, Navy will be back in the rankings.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/stor...tions-2014

But, as for Army, the constant comparison to Navy football is like trying to run before learning to walk. Army over the last decade or so has truly been one of the worst FBS teams in the country. They need to emulate Duke, which gave Cutcliffe enough rope to have four consecutive losing seasons (4-8, 5-7, 3-9 3-9) before finally getting to 6-6 and then last year's 9-4.

(If you want to poke a hole in my argument, you can point out that Duke actually beat Navy in 2010. But Navy unquestionably had a better year in 2010, going 9-3 compared to Duke's 3-9 season. I chalk it up to basically a fluke win, with my point being that a team at Army's current level expecting/demanding to beat Navy this decade is a rather unrealistic position to have.)

Are there still height and weight maximums for admission to the Academies?  There used to be.  If they are still in place none of them will ever again be elite.  When Army and Navy were elite teams the game was played with normal-sized humans, not 6'7" 325 plbs plus behemoths (who move ,ike normal sized humans.)

[Rally]

Ivan Maisel predicts Navy will crack the top 25 this year.

The Midshipmen are a veteran team that is going to make Ohio State work to win on Saturday, and Navy is playing a schedule that could easily have them 7-1 when they play the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends at FedEx Field on Nov. 1. Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo is 2-4 against the Fighting Irish, who narrowly beat the Midshipmen a year ago. Navy's biggest trouble is its schedule; the Midshipmen have a week off before four of their last five games. With an option offense that depends on timing, that might be an issue. If Niumatalolo figures that out, Navy will be back in the rankings.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/stor...tions-2014

But, as for Army, the constant comparison to Navy football is like trying to run before learning to walk. Army over the last decade or so has truly been one of the worst FBS teams in the country. They need to emulate Duke, which gave Cutcliffe enough rope to have four consecutive losing seasons (4-8, 5-7, 3-9 3-9) before finally getting to 6-6 and then last year's 9-4.

(If you want to poke a hole in my argument, you can point out that Duke actually beat Navy in 2010. But Navy unquestionably had a better year in 2010, going 9-3 compared to Duke's 3-9 season. I chalk it up to basically a fluke win, with my point being that a team at Army's current level expecting/demanding to beat Navy this decade is a rather unrealistic position to have.)

Are there still height and weight maximums for admission to the Academies?  There used to be.  If they are still in place none of them will ever again be elite.  When Army and Navy were elite teams the game was played with normal-sized humans, not 6'7" 325 plbs plus behemoths (who move ,ike normal sized humans.)