Dame Game

Joe Paterno had to chuckle at the suggestion. His Penn State team is playing Notre Dame before 96,500 tailgaters and half the nation's TV football fans Saturday and someone wanted to know if the fact the Irish got upset last week by Tennessee took some of the luster off the game."

Navy's game against Notre Dame on Nov. 1 2014 will be played at FedEx Field in Landover, the school announced today. The Midshipmen and Fighting Irish last met at Fed Ex Field in 1998. Navy's last game at the Washington Redskins' stadium was the 2011 Army-Navy game - a 27-21 victory for the Mids. “FedEx Field did a fine job of hosting the Army-Navy game and we are looking forward to another sold out event in 2014,” Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said in a news release.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- As a former captain of the Navy football team, Rear Adm. Thomas C. Lynch, now superintendent at the Naval Academy, looked forward to each year's game against Notre Dame."

COLLEGE PARK -- Basketball practice for the Maryland Terrapins on Monday - one day after Notre Dame ended their eight-game winning streak - was, according to coach Gary Williams, "interesting." In other words, he got a little loud. Was it his most vocal practice ever? "Oh, no," he said, a smile cracking his usually stoic face. "There's been others. ... When I feel we could've won the game just doing a few things differently, then the next practice is probably going to be pretty tough."

Navy's homecoming game isn't scheduled for another week, but tomorrow's is the one that takes back Gene Reese. A football and track all-state selection at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., Reese will be feeling very comfortable and eager to perform well when the 0-5 Midshipmen strive to end an NCAA record 36-game losing streak against 20th-ranked Notre Dame at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla. "I've got about 30 people coming to the game, so...

If Navy athletic director Jack Lengyel is successful in his negotiations, the Midshipmen could play their two biggest football games -- against Army and Notre Dame -- in the Baltimore-Washington area in the 1998 season.Lengyel already has initiated talks with Maryland Stadium Authority chairman John Moag about the possibility of playing Notre Dame at the new football stadium to be constructed at Camden Yards.Yesterday, Lengyel confirmed a report by the Washington Post that he met with Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke two weeks ago about playing the Army-Navy game in 1998 at the 78,600-seat stadium to be built near Landover.

The state Department of Business and Economic Development has pledged $250,000 to the Maryland Stadium Authority to defray the costs of holding the Navy-Notre Dame game at Ravens Stadium on Nov. 9. The city of Baltimore has indicated it will contribute $100,000, said stadium authority executive director Richard W. Slosson. "We want the people who get the economic benefit to put up some of the money," he said. High-profile college football games usually require ticket guarantees and other incentives from venues interested in the events.

The Maryland Stadium Authority has begun negotiations with the Naval Academy in an effort to hold the 1998 Navy-Notre Dame game at the football stadium to be constructed at Camden Yards.John Moag, chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority, met last week with Navy athletic director Jack Lengyel to outline the city's proposal."[Moag] made a nice presentation, but we didn't discuss all the details," Lengyel said yesterday."We always have a few cities interested when we're scheduled to be the home team against Notre Dame.

The scowl on Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan's face told the story. So did his tone and the words that accompanied it."We played horribly," Corrigan said, embarrassed as well as angry. "We didn't play that way all season."How did Corrigan account for such a wretched performance in Notre Dame's biggest game of the season, in the first round of the NCAA tournament?"If I knew that," Corrigan growled, "it wouldn't have happened."Thrashed by Loyola in every phase of the game, Notre Dame bowed out of the tournament with a 21-5 loss yesterday at Towson State.

There is no one willing to argue with the cold, hard facts of this week's Navy-Notre Dame game. The Fighting Irish have beaten the Mids 38 straight times, an NCAA record for consecutive victories over an opponent. And more than a few of those games have been blowouts in favor of Notre Dame. But it's also true that a couple of times in the past few years, the Midshipmen have put a heck of a scare into the Irish. In 1997, Navy lost just 21-17, and in 1999, Notre Dame needed a last-minute, fourth-down conversion to keep an eventual game-winning drive alive in a 28-24 victory.

For Navy football coach Paul Johnson, details matter. So it wasn't surprising this week to see him stop in mid-sentence and correct himself when asked what makes the annual Navy-Notre Dame game special. "It's a great rivalry," Johnson started to say, only to hesitate for a moment before backing up. "Or, I mean, it's a great series. I think both schools stand for something, and that's what's neat about college football." Though the change was a subtle one, it was an indicator that Johnson understands reality.

There is no one willing to argue with the cold, hard facts of this week's Navy-Notre Dame game. The Fighting Irish have beaten the Mids 38 straight times, an NCAA record for consecutive victories over an opponent. And more than a few of those games have been blowouts in favor of Notre Dame. But it's also true that a couple of times in the past few years, the Midshipmen have put a heck of a scare into the Irish. In 1997, Navy lost just 21-17, and in 1999, Notre Dame needed a last-minute, fourth-down conversion to keep an eventual game-winning drive alive in a 28-24 victory.

The state Department of Business and Economic Development has pledged $250,000 to the Maryland Stadium Authority to defray the costs of holding the Navy-Notre Dame game at Ravens Stadium on Nov. 9. The city of Baltimore has indicated it will contribute $100,000, said stadium authority executive director Richard W. Slosson. "We want the people who get the economic benefit to put up some of the money," he said. High-profile college football games usually require ticket guarantees and other incentives from venues interested in the events.

The Naval Academy has selected PSINet Stadium as the site for its 2002 game against Notre Dame, athletic director Chet Gladchuk announced yesterday. The longest continuous intersectional college football rivalry will return to the city where it began in 1927 at old Municipal Stadium on 33rd Street, when Notre Dame won, 19-6. It will mark the 20th time Navy and Notre Dame have played in Baltimore, but the first time since 1988 and the first at PSINet, which held the 2000 Army-Navy game won by the Midshipmen, 30-28.

Navy's homecoming game isn't scheduled for another week, but tomorrow's is the one that takes back Gene Reese. A football and track all-state selection at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., Reese will be feeling very comfortable and eager to perform well when the 0-5 Midshipmen strive to end an NCAA record 36-game losing streak against 20th-ranked Notre Dame at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla. "I've got about 30 people coming to the game, so...

There will be no time for testing the waters.Sophomore quarterback Brian Madden will have to dive in without much rehearsal Saturday when he starts his first varsity football game for Navy at Notre Dame -- with its 80,000 rabid backers, storied tradition and Touchdown Jesus peering over the field from beyond the end zone."

There will be no time for testing the waters.Sophomore quarterback Brian Madden will have to dive in without much rehearsal Saturday when he starts his first varsity football game for Navy at Notre Dame -- with its 80,000 rabid backers, storied tradition and Touchdown Jesus peering over the field from beyond the end zone."

After being routed by Notre Dame, 30-0, and dropping to 3-6, Navy is left with trying to salvage its season with games against less-threatening SMU on Saturday and Army on Dec. 5.This is not what coach Charlie Weatherbie expected after consecutive winning seasons."

After being routed by Notre Dame, 30-0, and dropping to 3-6, Navy is left with trying to salvage its season with games against less-threatening SMU on Saturday and Army on Dec. 5.This is not what coach Charlie Weatherbie expected after consecutive winning seasons."

The scowl on Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan's face told the story. So did his tone and the words that accompanied it."We played horribly," Corrigan said, embarrassed as well as angry. "We didn't play that way all season."How did Corrigan account for such a wretched performance in Notre Dame's biggest game of the season, in the first round of the NCAA tournament?"If I knew that," Corrigan growled, "it wouldn't have happened."Thrashed by Loyola in every phase of the game, Notre Dame bowed out of the tournament with a 21-5 loss yesterday at Towson State.