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Navy owns 7-game winning streak over Air Force

Oct 1, 2010 - 6:40 PM Navy (2-1) at Air Force (3-1), 2:30 p.m. EDT

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) -- For two service academies so evenly matched with similar option offenses and feisty defenses, Navy sure has dominated its series with Air Force.

The Midshipmen (2-1) bring a seven-game winning streak over the Falcons (3-1) into their showdown Saturday at Falcon Stadium that features option quarterbacks Ricky Dobbs of Navy and Tim Jefferson of Air Force.

Those wins have come by an average of 5.7 points and only one was by more than a touchdown.

Navy has won a combined 15 straight over the other service academies in claiming the coveted Commander-in-Chief's trophy, and the trip to the White House that comes with it, every year since 2003.

Falcons free safety Jon Davis said the cadets are feeling the heat to snap their skid against Navy.

"We hear from the alumni and everyone. This game means everything to the Air Force. It's not the football team. It's the Air Force in general. No one here wants to lose this game," Davis said.

The Falcons have beaten three bowl teams already and their only loss was a 27-24 heartbreaker at Oklahoma State. They also haven't allowed a point in the fourth quarter, outscoring opponents 47-0 in the final frame.

None of that means anything come kickoff, Falcons wide receiver Jonathan Warzeka suggested.

"It doesn't matter what your record is before the game. It doesn't matter who we've played. It comes down to blocking and tackling. We are going to be playing similar sizes to Navy. The rest of this year we are going to be playing against people that outsize us and are stronger and faster. This game comes down to fundamentals," he said.

That's why both sides always feel it the day after.

"No doubt. They run a similar style offense, run a similar style defense. Our offense sees their defense on a daily basis. Our run defense sees their offense on a daily basis. It does get pretty physical," Warzeka said.

The Falcons felt they should have won their annual duel with Navy in Annapolis, Md., last year, but they lost 16-13 in overtime when Erik Soderberg was wide left from 31 yards after Joe Buckley's 38-yard field goal for the Midshipmen.

The kick helped Navy hoist the Comander-In-Chief's Trophy, awarded annually to the service academy with the best record in games among Air Force, Navy and Army, for the seventh straight season.

Special teams play is all the more important in close games, and it cost Air Force in last year's loss.

"It is gigantic, especially after what happened last year," Warzeka said. "We missed a field goal, had a botched snap and had a PAT blocked. When you play Navy, you must be perfect. We can't have mess-ups like we had last year. Coaches have harped on us keeping everything crisp."

And they're not the only ones who have been in the Falcons' ears.

"We hear a lot about it from the Cadet Wing: 'Hey, why don't you win this year?"' Warzeka said. "They've been knocking us a little bit. There have been a lot of frustration built up over the years. A lot of emotions. The ball bounces in a lot of funny ways with the football. In the last couple of years it's bounced their way."

The Falcons figure if they play better they won't have any regrets this time.

"They have definitely been frustrating because we've been so close," Davis said. "It is always something that we do was wrong. It wasn't something that they did right."