PAT EATON-ROBB
Associated Press
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Army visits the Yale Bowl for the first time in 26 years on Saturday to renew a rivalry that once helped determine the best team in college football.
This season, the Black Knights (1-2) needed a waiver from the NCAA to play the game without hurting their bowl eligibility, because Yale (1-0) does not offer scholarships and does not play in the FCS postseason.
The game will mark the 46th meeting of the teams since 1893, but the first since 1996. Yale holds a 21-16-8 edge, but Army has won the last four games.
This one is part of a season-long celebration in New Haven of the 100th anniversary of the Yale Bowl, the first football stadium to completely surround the playing field.
“We’re much more on staying in the moment, staying in this game,” said Yale coach Tony Reno. “When all of us look back on this in December, I think all of us are going to be as honored as you possibly could be to be part of this.”
Yale is coming off a 54-43 season-opening win against Lehigh. Army beat Buffalo to open the season, but was blown out by Stanford lost 24-21 at Wake Forest last week.
“I came from an FCS league, and they play good football in that league too, so it’s going to be a tough fight for us,” said Army coach Jeff Monken. “Hopefully, our guys will rebound emotionally and mentally. I’ve told the guys and said this many times, you can’t let one team beat you twice.”
There is plenty to watch for on and off the field on Saturday:
GROUND AND AIR: Army’s triple option is averaging is averaging 293.3 yards on the ground, led by running back Larry Dixon, who already has rushed for 326 yards and three touchdowns. He is averaging 5.9 yards per carry and just under 109 yards per game. Yale put up 683 yards of total offense on the board in their season-opening win over Lehigh. Quarterback Morgan Roberts completed 31 of 40 passes for 376 yards and four touchdowns.
TRAVELERS: Army will be looking for its first road win in its third consecutive road game. But the Yale Bowl may have a home-like atmosphere. New Haven is less than 87 miles from West Point, and the Black Knights are expecting thousands of supporters to make the trip.
CROWD: More than 40,000 fans are expected at the Yale Bowl for the game. That compares to about 7,300 who showed up to watch last week’s game against Lehigh. Games against Army have drawn more than 70,000 fans seven times, including the largest crowd in the history of the bowl in 1923, when 80,000 watched Yale win 31-10.
MARCHING IN: Army plans to have 1,000 cadets march, four in a row, about 3 miles to the stadium. The route takes them through the Walter Camp Memorial and clockwise around the Yale Bowl before heading down the visitors tunnel. Five other cadets plan to jump out of a helicopter over the stadium to deliver the game balls.
HONORING SHERIDAN: Yale is honoring former Army player Dick Sheridan in the game program. Sheridan died of a broken neck suffered in the fourth quarter of the 1931 Army-Yale game.
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