Texas Bowl Blog

Big 12 This Week

Saturday October 31st

(4-3) Nebraska @ (3-4) Baylor

A couple of reeling Big 12 teams lock horns in Waco this weekend, as the Nebraska Cornhuskers face off against the Baylor Bears at Floyd Casey Stadium.
Once highly ranked, the Huskers' promising 2009 campaign has started to crumble following back-to-back home losses. After being knocked out of the Top 25 with a loss to Texas Tech (31-10) on October 17th, Nebraska was stunned last weekend, dropping a 9-7 decision to Iowa State. It was the team's first loss at home to Iowa State since 1977, as the Huskers fell to 1-2 within the conference.

Nebraska's defense did its part last weekend and held Iowa State to just nine points, all of which came in the first half. The unit gave up only 239 yards of offense and has now held its last six opponents to fewer than 280 yards. That is quite an accomplishment for one of the nation's top defenses, which is surrendering a mere 11.4 ppg and only 266.4 total ypg on the season. The defense, however, hasn't made many big plays in terms turnovers, forcing just 10 through seven games. The unit was obviously stout last weekend, but failed to create any turnovers, while the Huskers' offense committed eight. Ndamukong Suh guided Nebraska in defeat with eight stops and a sack. He has been a big factor in the success of this defense, leading the way with 44 stops, 10 TFLs and four sacks.

As for the Bears, their season took a big hit when star quarterback Robert Griffin III was lost for the year with a torn ACL in late September. Baylor now brings a three-game losing skid into this weekend's game, with all three losses coming versus league foes. Most recently, the team hosted Oklahoma State only to fall 34-7 last weekend. With the setback, the Bears dropped under .500 for the first time this season at 3-4.

Baylor's offense has really sputtered during the team's current losing streak, averaging just 8.0 ppg over its last three games. Last weekend, the Bears gained only 284 total yards, including a measly 43 rushing, and one touchdown in a loss to OSU. Nick Florence received a majority of the snaps under center and he completed 21-of-35 tosses for 235 yards, with one score against one pick. Blake Szymanski also saw some time at quarterback, but he threw for just six yards on 3-of-4 tosses. The duo have been filling in for Griffin III, who was lost for the year as mentioned earlier, but neither has had much success and they have combined for just three touchdown passes against six picks. Kendall Wright is the top threat through the air and he paces the Bears with 36 catches and 399 receiving yards.

Nebraska holds a 10-1 lead over Baylor and that includes a perfect 7-0 mark in Big 12 play.

(4-3) Missouri @ (2-5) Colorado
The Missouri Tigers are still in search of their first Big 12 win, and they will try to corral that victory this Saturday afternoon when the team travels to Boulder to battle the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field.

The Tigers opened the season with four consecutive wins, but since then the team has struggled, losing three straight matchups. All three losses came against ranked teams, and that includes a 41-7 setback to Texas on Saturday. Over the two previous seasons, Missouri tallied a 12-6 mark in league play, but this year the team is winless in three Big 12 matchups. As for the Buffaloes, they are coming off a 20-6 setback to Kansas State on Saturday. It was the third loss in the last four games for Colorado, which now has five setbacks on the year. Although it has been a losing season thus far for the Buffs, there is one bright spot and that is the team's play at home, as Colorado's two wins have come at Folsom Field.

The Tigers have won the last three matchups against Colorado and now hold a 39-31-3 edge over the Buffaloes in the all-time series. Although Colorado is on the losing end of the series, the team still holds a 20-15-1 edge at home against Missouri.

(5-3) Iowa State @ (4-3) Texas A&M

Iowa State stunned Nebraska 9-7 in Lincoln last week with eight takeaways including four inside the Cyclone five. Nebraska, as poorly as it played, still had a chance late, but Zac Lee was picked off. Iowa State LB Jesse Smith made 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, forced a fumble and picked off a pass in the win. Iowa State was without two of its top playmakers against Nebraska. Dual-threat quarterback Austen Arnaud was unavailable due to a hand injury suffered a week earlier. Alexander Robinson, who entered the week as the Big 12's leading rusher (105.3 ypg), was also out because of a groin injury.

Texas A&M is coming off their own stunning win, going into Lubbock and annihilating Texas Tech 52-30. The Aggies amassed 321 yards on the ground and 6 touchdowns. For the Aggie defense, it has been a decidedly different story. They enter this week ranked 98th in the nation in total defense (411.6 ypg) and 104th in scoring (32.9 ppg).

Texas A&M holds an 8-1 advantage in the all-time series, although Iowa State's lone win was in 2005 when the teams last met at Kyle Field. Iowa State becomes bowl eligible for the 1st time in 4 years with a victory.

(5-2) Kansas @ (5-3) Texas Tech

The Jayhawks enter the contest unranked for the first time this season, as the have dropped back-to-back games following a 5-0 start to the campaign. Kansas was recently topped by Oklahoma, 35-13, this past weekend, dropping its sixth straight decision to the Sooners. It was a disappointing effort by the Jayhawks, who were upset at Colorado (34-30) the prior week.

As for TTU, it too was knocked out of the Top 25 last weekend, suffering a surprising 52-30 loss to Texas A&M. It was the Aggies' first win in Lubbock since 1993, as the Raiders saw their 12-game home win streak come to an end. Now at 5-3 overall, TTU will once again try to deliver head coach Mike Leach his 82nd career victory and that would tie him with Spike Dykes as the school's all-time wins leader.

TTU has owned Kansas over the years, winning 10 of the 11 all-time meetings between the two schools, including the last three.

(5-3) Kansas State @ (4-3) Oklahoma

The post-Sam Bradford era begins against Kansas State , the North's surprise leader which has dropped three straight to Oklahoma since a 35-7 win at Norman on Dec. 6, 2003. Road dates against Nebraska and Texas Tech, plus home games versus Texas A&M and No. 13 Oklahoma State follow on the Sooners' schedule. Third in the Big 12 South, Oklahoma moves on with improving freshman quarterback Landry Jones, who's thrown for 1,363 yards and 13 touchdowns with six interceptions in six games.

After allowing 739 yards in a 66-14 loss at Texas Tech on Oct. 10, Kansas State has dominated the first half the past two weeks, leading Texas A&M and Colorado by a combined 58-6. The Wildcats have forced 10 turnovers and recorded nine sacks in those contests after getting six the first six games. Kansas State's running game has been a big part of its recent success. The Wildcats are second in league averaging 186.5 yards on the ground and 218.0 in their last two games.

(7-0) #3 Texas @ (6-1) #14 Oklahoma State

The lone remaining teams with perfect Big 12 records meet with first place in the South Division on the line when McCoy and the third-ranked Longhorns try to extend their 11-game winning streak over the 13th-ranked Cowboys on Saturday night in Stillwater.

Oklahoma State will be without All American WR Dez Bryant who has officially been suspended for the remainder of the season for lieing to the NCAA about contact with Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. Cowboys running back Kendall Hunter, an all-Big 12 selection as the league's leading rusher a season ago, has missed the last five games with a sprained ankle and is expected to have a limited role if he plays Saturday. Hunter ran for 161 yards on 18 carries at Texas last year. Keith Toston has replaced Hunter the last five games, averaging 97.0 yards on the ground.

Although Texas lost three defensive starters in the first three rounds of the NFL draft in April, its current defense is ranked second in the nation. Three of the last four Texas opponents have managed fewer than 175 yards of offense, and the last five have averaged 0.8 yards per carry.
Texas hasn't lost to Oklahoma State since a 42-16 defeat Oct. 4, 1997, and leads the all-time series 21-2. Colt McCoy has been exceptional against the Cowboys, completing 79.4 percent for 1,019 yards to go 3-0. In his lone visit to Boone-Pickens Stadium on Nov. 3, 2007, McCoy was 20 of 28 for 282 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. He helped engineer a comeback from a 21-point deficit entering the fourth quarter in a 38-35 victory.

Navy This Week

(5-2) Temple @ (6-2) Navy

Temple has been the surprise story in the Mid-American Conference this season, racing out to a perfect 4-0 start in league play. The days of the Owls being the NCAA's doormat are long gone. Under fourth-year head coach Al Golden, they've reeled off five straight wins for the first time since 1979. Last week, they notched a 40-24 triumph over Toledo to take over sole possession of first place in the MAC's East Division.

The Owls face a stiff test playing on the road at Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, where Navy is unbeaten through four games this year. Overall, the Midshipmen have also won five straight, including last week's 13-10 triumph over Wake Forest. Their last two wins, and three of the last four have come by a three-point margin. Navy won last week despite not attempting a single pass

Navy has won four straight meetings with Temple to take a 5-4 lead in the all- time series. The Midshipmen can clinch a birth in the Texas Bowl with a win over Temple.

October 24th Weekend Games

Big 12 This Week

Saturday October 24th

(4-3) Iowa State @ (4-2) Nebraska
Freshman Cody Green (A Houston Native) could make his 1st collegiate start for Nebraska on Saturday. Green came off the bench during the 4th quarter of the Huskers 31-10 loss to Texas Tech. Outside of a wild fourth quarter against Missouri, the offense hasn’t produced against a BCS team this year. It couldn't’t get into the end zone against Virginia Tech, it struggled for most of the game against Mizzou, and it was a disaster against Texas Tech and its pass rush. The Husker defense did its job against Tech keeping the Red Raiders to just 259 yards, but the offense did not pick up the slack with no big pass plays down the field.
Iowa State could easily be 3-0 in the conference. The Cyclones lost in the last two minutes to both Kansas State and Kansas.

(5-1) #15 Oklahoma State @ (3-3) Baylor

With Dez Bryant missing his third straight game and Kendall Hunter sidelined for his fourth game in a row with a sprained right ankle, Oklahoma State (5-1) defeated Missouri 33-17 on Saturday. The Cowboys are averaging 41.5 points during their four-game winning streak and eighth among Football Bowl Subdivision teams at 37.5 points per game overall. Baylor has not been able to get much going offensively without star QB Robert Griffin. Griffin’s replacement, Blake Szymanski, completed 23 of 38 for 223 yards and was intercepted three times in Saturday's 24-10 loss at Iowa State. Baylor, though, has lost 19 straight to ranked foes since a 35-34 overtime win over then-No. 16 Texas A&M on Oct. 30, 2004. Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with Baylor 15-12, winning 12 of the last 13.

(2-4) Colorado @ (3-3) Kansas State
The Buffalo offense appears reborn after Coach Dan Hawkins replaced his son Cody with Tyler Hansen. Hanson, a more mobile signal-caller can get on the perimeter on bootleg plays which makes the Buffs between the tackles running game more effective. The Colorado defense also had a decent outing sacking Kansas QB Todd Reesing six times.

Kansas State is coming off its most impressive performance of the season, a 62-14 win over Texas A&M. The Kansas State defense came up with six sacks, forced five turnovers, and ended Jerrod Johnson’s Big 12-record streak of 242 passes without throwing an interception, but it was the offense that made it a blowout. Daniel Thomas ran for four first half scores on the way to a 38-0 lead, and Brandon Banks kept the scoring going by taking the second half kickoff 97 yards for a score. With Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri all coming to Manhattan, it’s not insane to think that KSU can be a major player in the North race.

(3-3) Oklahoma @ (5-1) Kansas

Oklahoma’s running game was non-existent against Texas totaling -16 yards. Now the Sooners will likely play the remainder of the season without QB Sam Bradford. Sooners DL Jeremy Beal leads a group of pass rushers that have made OU No. 1 in the Big 12 and fourth in the nation in sacks and tackles for loss. Their run defense is just as good. OU has only allowed 410 yards on the ground through the 1st 6 games of the season.

(3-3) Texas A&M @ (5-2) Texas Tech

This is a tale of two teams heading in opposite directions. Tech is coming off its most impressive victory of the season, a 31-10 win in Lincoln over then-No. 15 Nebraska. The Red Raiders unsung defense held the Cornhuskers to their lowest point total since 2007. Senior defensive end Brandon Sharpe had four of Texas Tech's five sacks -- increasing his season total to eight -- and also batted down a pass.

The Aggies may have hit bottom last Saturday, turning the ball over five times and falling behind 59-0 en route to a 62-14 defeat at Kansas State, their worst loss since a 77-0 rout by then-No. 1 Oklahoma in 2003. Jerrod Johnson threw his first 3 INT’s of the season while the Aggie defense was gouged for 232 yards on the ground by the Wildcats.
The Red Raiders will start Taylor Potts at QB this week for the injured Steven Sheffield who will sit with a foot injury. Potts has not played since suffering a concussion on October 3rd at New Mexico.

Texas Tech has won 12 straight games at Jones Stadium. That is one short of setting a new school record which has stood since 1939-41. The Red Raiders have also won seven in a row in Lubbock against A&M and four straight overall over the Aggies.

(6-0) #3 Texas @ (4-2) Missouri

Cold Weather is expected in Columbia where the Longhorns hope to complete the second third of a challenging October schedule. Game time temperature is predicted around 38 degrees. Missouri has lost two straight games. The Tiger offensive line has struggled to block for QB Blaine Gabbert which is a huge reason why the QB is no walking around with a sprained ankle. Texas has thrived in October and especially after playing the Sooners. The Longhorns are 21-1 in the month since beating the Tigers on Oct. 16, 2004, and haven't lost the week after playing the Sooners since 1997, when they fell 37-29 at Missouri in former coach John Mackovic's final season. The Longhorns have won five straight over the Tigers since then and 14 of 15.

Navy This Week

(4-3) Wake Forest @ (5-2) Navy

The Midshipmen are two wins away from writing their ticket for Houston, Texas. Behind Ricky Dobbs and its powerful ground game, Navy scored on four straight possessions and rushed for 247 yards after halftime to overcome a 21-7 halftime deficit to SMU. These two teams played twice last season with Wake Forest winning both games. Wake Forest has a tendency to turn the ball over, so Navy definitely has a shot to win this game.

Texas Bowl: The New Frontier!

Great news for the Texas Bowl this week as it announced new conference affiliations beginning the 2010 season. The Big 12 and Big 10 will send teams to Houston beginning with the 2010 Bowl Game. Just as an example of what an upgrade this should turn out to be, if the agreement was in place for the 2009 season, the current game could pit Michigan and Oklahoma. This year’s game should be outstanding, but 2010 shapes up to be better than anyone could hope when the Bowl was 1st founded.

Big 12 This Week

Saturday October 17th

(3-2) #20 Oklahoma vs. (5-0) #3 Texas

The 104th edition of the Red River Shootout commences in Dallas this weekend with the Longhorns holding a 58-40-5 series edge. Both teams are seeking revenge after last year’s strange circumstances which saw the Longhorns win the actual game 45-35 at the Cotton Bowl, but the Sooners represent the Big 12 South in the Conference Title game due to a strange league tie-breaking system. This game figures to be much more defensive in nature with the defensive lines of both teams emerging as standout units. The Sooners have played much better competition having played likely bowl teams Miami, BYU, and Tulsa. It may take Texas a quarter or so to adjust to the Sooners speed on defense.

(4-2) Texas Tech @ (4-1) #15 Nebraska

Chalk up another example to Mike Leach’s fantastic offensive system. Junior QB Steven Sheffield made his 1st start ever in Lubbock and destroyed Kansas State completing 33-41 passes for 490 yards and 7 touchdowns. The Red Raiders figure to find success more difficult against the best defensive line in college football. Ndamukong Suh is a likely top 5 NFL draft pick this Spring. Nebraska is one of the few teams in the country that can produce a pass rush with just the down linemen.

(5-0) #17 Kansas @ (1-4) Colorado

Kansas has a chance for another big game against Colorado, which is last in the conference allowing 30.0 points per game and 11th by giving up 389.6 yards per contest.Todd Reesing has thrown for 515 yards and four touchdowns in three games against the Buffaloes.

(3-2) Baylor @ (3-3) Iowa State

Baylor’s defense deserved a better fate than a 33-7 loss to Oklahoma last weekend. Four times the Bears stuffed the Sooners inside the ten yard line and made them settle for field goals. The Bears have been unable to generate a ground game without injured QB Robert Griffin. Freshman QB Nick Florence played pretty well under the circumstances of never having faced a legit top 5 defense. Iowa State played great football for 58 minutes last Saturday before bowing down the aerial assault of Kansas Jayhawk Senior Savant Todd Reesing. The Cyclones allowed 551 yards of total offense spoiling their own fireworks led by QB Austin Arnaud (293 yards passing, 67 yards rushing, 3 TD’s) and RB Alexander Robinson (152 yards, 2 TD’s). This is probably the most winnable game remaining on the schedule for both the Bears and the Cyclones, so it would behoove each squad to snag a “W” if they intend to go bowling.

(3-2) Texas A&M @ (3-3) Kansas State

The Aggies let a great opportunity slip by last weekend losing to an Oklahoma State team that was missing both WR Dez Bryant and RB Kendall Hunter. The Aggies fell to 0-5 against ranked teams under Mike Sherman. The Aggies need to search for more balance, they were out gained on the ground by nearly 60 yards and the lack of a running attack likely did not help QB Jerrod Johnson who completed just a shade over 50% of his passes. If the Aggies play mistake free football on the road, they are clearly the more talented team in this game.

(4-1) Missouri @ (4-1) #16 Oklahoma State

Last year, Missouri came into this game ranked #3 in the country and were behind from the opening whistle falling to the Cowboys 28-23 in Columbia. This year it is a reversal of fortune with Oklahoma State carrying the burden of raised expectations. The Cowboys are likely to be without All-American WR Dez Bryant who is still seeking re-instatement from the NCAA after lying to investigators about a Summer meeting with former NFL Superstar Deion Sanders. Cowboy RB Kendall Hunter is also out with a possible foot fracture. His understudy, Keith Toston filled in admirably last week rushing for 130 yards in the win over Texas A&M. The Tigers are coming off a 27-12 loss to then-No. 21 Nebraska on Oct. 8 -- the first of three consecutive games against ranked opponents. The Tigers led 12-0 before collapsing in the final period. Two of their fourth-quarter drives ended in interceptions that eventually led to Cornhusker scores. I’m calling for the upset here with Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert out-dueling the suddenly inaccurate Zach Robinson.

Navy This Week

(4-2) Navy @ (3-2) SMU

Two very good offenses that score in totally opposite fashion square off in Dallas, Saturday night. The Midshipmen triple option was on fire last weekend accumulating close to 500 yards on the ground during a 63-14 thrashing of Rice. June Jones’ Ponies prefer the air. His infamous “Run and Shoot” offense tends to churn between the 20 yard lines, but the Ponies have struggled to convert enough of these scoring chances. Bo Levi Mitchell continues to make mistakes as his 10 TD 10 INT ratio would suggest.

This Weekend October 8th-10th Games

Oklahoma’s 2nd loss of the season to Miami, is good news for the Texas Bowl. Unless Kansas or Missouri runs the table to the Big 12 Title game, there is a decent chance that only one Big 12 team would make a BCS game.

Big 12 This Week

Thursday October 8th

(3-1) #21 Nebraska @ (4-0) #24 MissouriThe Tigers handed Nebraska one of its worst losses in school history last season (52-17).While the Missouri offense has continued to produce points, its running game has been less consistent. The burden clearly falls to the surprisingly effective Blaine Gabbert to pick apart a shaky Husker secondary. Nebraska has an advantage on both lines, but has gotten poor QB play out of Zac Lee. Look for Nebraska to force a couple of turnovers and create a short field for its offense.

Saturday October 10th


(3-1) #15 Oklahoma State @ (3-1) Texas A&MBoth teams failed their only tests against legit competition(UH and Arkansas respectively). The Cowboys defense has been shaky against the pass. They will see the bullets flying early and often against Jerrod Johnson and the Aggie offense. Texas A&M’s defense was assaulted by the pigs last week and does not have an answer for a mobile QB like Zach Robinson. Expect this game to be in the high 30’s or low 40’s scoring wise and likely decided on the final possession of the game.

(3-2) Iowa State @ (4-0) #16 KansasThe Jayhawks offense, led by senior QB Todd Reesing has been exceptional averaging over 500 yards per contest. Reesing has thrown for 572 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception in two starts against the Cyclones. He helped the Jayhawks rack up 343 second-half yards as they rallied from a 20-0 halftime deficit in last season's 35-33 win in Ames. Kansas has not lost to a Big 12 North opponent at home in nearly 5 years. Iowa State suffered a heart breaking loss last week against Kansas State when its extra point on an apparent game tieing TD was blocked with 32 seconds remaining. Iowa State has dropped 34 consecutive regular-season road games against Top 25 opponents since a 33-31 win over Oklahoma on Oct. 20, 1990. The Cyclones have lost four straight to the Jayhawks and eight of nine in Lawrence.


(3-1) Baylor @ (2-2) #19 OklahomaThe Sooners have suffered two defeats to ranked opponents by 1 point each. QB Sam Bradford still may not take another snap this season. In fact, Bradford may need to have shoulder surgery before next year’s NFL draft to clean out loose cartilage. The Sooners do not need him this week against the Robert Griffin-less Bears, but would like to get Bradford in game action if he is going to start next week against Texas.

(3-2) Kansas State @ (3-2) Texas TechTech is likely to be without QB Taylor Potts who suffered a concussion in last week’s win over New Mexico. Backup Steven Sheffield, playing in only his second game, threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns off the bench for Tech and will start on Saturday.


(1-3) Colorado @ (4-0) #2 Texas The disastrous season for Colorado is likely to continue against a Longhorn defense which has annihilated its competition. Colorado Head Coach Dan Hawkins introduced a team motto this season, “10 wins, no excuses”. The Buffs will have to win out at this point to get to 10 wins. Colorado’s turnover numbers have been awful as well, with starting QB Cody Hawkins responsible for 7 INT’s and 3 fumbles. On paper this should be about a 35 point win for the Longhorns. Only looking ahead to Oklahoma keeps the Buffs in this game for more than a quarter. Look for Colt McCoy to pass the Horns to an early lead and give Offensive Coordinator Greg Davis ample time to look for the right RB to lead the Horns’ ground game the rest of the season.

Navy This Week


(3-2) Navy @ (0-5) RiceThe Owls offense has been non-existent this season ranking 108th in the nation in yardage and 110th in scoring. The Owls will once again be without projected starting QB Nick Fanuzzi. Meanwhile defensively, the Owls have only 6 days to switch from the spread, passing attack of Tulsa, to the triple option of the Naval Academy.

This Weekend's Games: Saturday October 3rd

Big 12 This Week

Saturday October 3rd

(2-2) Kansas State @ (3-1) Iowa StateThis game is expected to be played in lots of rain, which should favor the better running team, Iowa State. Both teams open Big 12 play with realistic bowl chances. Cyclones RB Alexander Robinson is off to a surprising start averaging almost six yards per carry. QB Austin Arnaud is a dual threat QB who gets lost in the shuffle of all the great Big 12 signal callers.

(0-4) New Mexico @ (2-2) Texas Tech

Which team has had a harder week? Is it New Mexico who’s head coach slugged one of his assistants in a team meeting? http://wordcab.blogspot.com/2009/09/unm-head-football-coach-accused-of.htmlOr is it Texas Tech who is trying to break a two game losing streak while maintaining control of team chemistry?http://www.redraiders.com/2009/09/27/techs-carter-announces-suspension-via-twitter/Expect Taylor Potts to take out his frustrations on one of the worst defenses in Division 1 football.

(2-2) Kent State @ (2-1) Baylor

The Bears suffered a massive blow to their Bowl chances when QB Robert Griffin suffered a torn ACL in a win last week against Northwestern State. Blake Szymanski takes over at QB.

(1-2) Arkansas @ (3-0) Texas A&M

This is the 1st in a 10 year series of games between these two teams that will be played at the brand new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. The Aggies have faced the much easier competition. Arkansas should find A&M’s defense more forgiving than #3 Alabama last week. Aggies’ QB Jerod Johnson is #2 in the country in most passing statistics behind only UH’s Case Keenum. Arkansas’ Ryan Mallet is no slouch in the pocket either. He is on pace to throw for over 3,500 yards. Aggies’ DT Von Miller is having his best season and appears to be in much better shape this year.

(2-1) #8 Oklahoma @ (2-1) #17 Miami

The Sooners will be without QB Sam Bradford again as Landry Jones gets the nod for the injured Heisman Trophy winner. The Sooners OL will be tested by a Hurricane DL that rotates 8 different players. Miami is playing its 4th consecutive ranked opponent. They should face fewer blitzes this week than last week against Virginia Tech. The winner of this game remains in the National Championship race.

Navy This Week

(3-1) Air Force @ (2-2) Navy

The 1st tier of the Commander in Chief contests begins with both teams probably feeling like a win here gives them the inside track on the trophy. Air Force is #1 in the nation in rushing offense averaging 319 yards per game. Navy is #6 churning out 244 yards per contest. The forecast calls for lots of rain in Annapolis which likely means the turnover battle will determine this contest.