It’s what college football used to be.
Yeah, I know. The place to be Saturday is Yankee Stadium, 2:30p sharp. It’s rejuvenated Syracuse v. undefeated Notre Dame in a game with national implications. $150 will get you in the door or you can watch the game on NBC.
Courtesy: ESPN
But just up the Hudson River, another big game is on tap. It’s ‘MilitaryGate’ — 8-2 Army v. 9-0 Colgate. $30 will get you a sideline seat. If you can’t make it in person, then watch it on CBS Sports Network. Kickoff is Noon Eastern Time.
Why am I so high on this game? I’m a college football traditionalist who loves seeing a match-up that reminds me of what college football used to be…and, quite frankly, should be.
First, there’s Army—’The’ ARMY—is what we call the Black Knights as a sign of respect. Back in the day, The Army was a college football juggernaut.
Army’s legendary coach, Earl Blaik, in 1947 (photo, inquisitr.com)
The Cadets played a national schedule and won five national college football championships over the years, including three consecutive crowns from 1944-46 under legendary coach, Earl ‘Red’ Blaik.
Success then turned into decades-long suffering. From 2000-2015, for example, Army won 3 or fewer games twelve times and had only one winning season—and barely–7-6 in 2010. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Black Knights beat Navy only once during that 15-year stretch.
Thankfully, the Cadets now march in a different direction. Army went 8-5 in 2016, 10-3 in 2017, and are 8-2 so far this year with two games left. West Point is beating Navy again, too. The Knights will take a two-game winning streak into the big game on December 8.
Coach Jeff Monken is the reason for the turnaround. He’s doing for Army today what Blaik did years ago—bringing football glory to West Point.
Granted, Army no longer plays a consistent, national schedule. This year that meant playing Duke and Oklahoma, on the one hand, and Miami (OH) and Liberty, on the other.
But wins are wins. And you can’t always sneeze at teams that reside outside the Top 25. Saturday’s foe, Colgate, is a prime example.
Syracuse great, Jim Brown, v. Colgate, Nov. 1956 (photo, SU)
When I was a kid, Colgate played Syracuse almost every year (see the side panel to the left) and Colgate v. Cornell was almost always a good game. But Colgate is a small school (3000 students) that never tried to keep up with football’s Joneses.
Today, Colgate plays in the mid-major Patriot League, along with Lehigh, Bucknell, Lafayette, and other similarly inclined academic peers.
On the football field, the Raiders’ recent performances—5-5 in 2016 and 7-4 in 2017—gave no indication just how good the Red Raiders would be this year. Good is an understatement. CU is, in a word, GREAT!
Undefeated going into its regular season finale, the ‘Gate is clobbering the opposition. The Raiders have given up only 29 points all year—9 in the last five games—and they’ve won three of those five contests via shutout. Colgate’s average victory margin is 29 points, 32-3.
For ‘Gate, keep your eye on three players — RBs Grant Breneman and James Holland, and QB Sage Attwood.
How does Colgate stack up against Army? On paper, Army is heavily favored, largely because the Academy is a bowl division school and Colgate is a playoff division school. Odds Shark picks Army to win, 38-3, and ESPN gives Army an 88% chance to win.
Both predictions seem rich to me, largely because a good share of Army’s schedule looks a lot like Colgate’s. In fact, the teams have played a common opponent—Lafayette. Colgate shut out the Leopards 45-0, while Army triumphed 31-13.
But the Raiders haven’t faced a rushing attack like the one they’ll see on Saturday. They’ll be challenged by Darnell Woolfork and Kelvin Hopkins, Jr. Those two have combined for over 1400 rushing yards this year.
Yeah, I’ll be watching the game. It’s what college football used to be—when students played the game as athletes, commercialization was kept at arm’s length, and campus pride trumped all. All of that (and more) will be on display this Saturday, Noon sharp, Michie Stadium.
I can’t wait!
