Eaglebank Bowl

Ken Niumatalolo has had several memorable moments with a remarkably resilient group of Midshipmen in his first season as Navy head coach. Unbelievably, yesterday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium turned into the most memorable of all. Playing without senior quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, who was knocked out of the game in the third quarter after reinjuring his hamstring, Navy came from 20 points down against Temple in the fourth quarter and...

Navy fullback Eric Kettani has had the feeling before during his four seasons in Annapolis. As Kettani approached his final college game this week, the difference between the Midshipmen and nearly every other Football Bowl Subdivision team became obvious to the senior. It happened after he finished studying for one of his final exams. "I'm in my room, studying thermodynamics until 4 a.m. - it was the hardest class I've taken in my entire life - and I'm thinking, 'No other college football player is taking this class,' " Kettani recalled with a smile a couple of days later.

It began as a "cool idea" three years ago in the backyard of a friend's house in tiny Shelby, Ohio, after Devin Barclay found in a closet an old football that needed to be pumped up. The Annapolis native, now 26, who played soccer at McDonogh before moving on to Major League Soccer in 2001, had never kicked a football before that night. On New Year's Day, he will be kicking for Ohio State before 90,000-plus fans in Pasadena, Calif., and millions watching on television, as the Buckeyes take on Oregon in the 96th Rose Bowl.

For two seasons, Navy quarterback Kriss Proctor was a more-than-capable replacement when starter Ricky Dobbs went down with an injury. He stepped in to lead the Midshipmen to a pair of wins in three career starts, and when Dobbs returned to full health, stepped back to the sidelines just as quickly. Now, with Dobbs' illustrious college career completed, Proctor enters his senior season listed as QB1 on coach Ken Niumatalolo's depth chart, taking the keys to Navy's triple-option offense and trying to continue the success he saw in his previous role.

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Intense investigative work isn't usually required: College bowl officials, it turns out, are pretty easy to spot. They're usually wearing a grateful grin and a colorful jacket, something you would imagine Craig Sager donated to charity. Eight of them were in the press box at Lane Stadium last night, witnessing firsthand the mystery of the Maryland Terrapins, a group that fears no ranked team yet stumbles against lesser foes. "We have to decide what we want to be," coach Ralph Friedgen said after the game.

Vasquez entering NBA draft sans agent col. hoops Maryland junior guard Greivis Vasquez has officially declared for the NBA draft, the school announced Thursday. Vasquez doesn't plan to hire an agent, which gives him the option of returning to the Terps for his senior season. "It's a good opportunity for Greivis to test his marketability," coach Gary Williams said in a statement. Vasquez averaged 17.5 points, 5.0 assists and 5.4 rebounds this past season and was named second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference.

COLLEGE PARK - Maryland and West Virginia, regional rivals not scheduled to meet until the 2010 regular season, could play next month in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C. That's one of numerous bowl scenarios that Maryland fans and athletic officials contemplated yesterday as the Terrapins prepared for their final regular-season game Saturday at No. 20 Boston College. It's too soon to know to which bowl game the Terps will be invited, but it's not premature to speculate or to create wish lists.

PHILADELPHIA - - On Broad Street, the main thoroughfare leading to Lincoln Financial Field, scalpers were holding up fistfuls of tickets to the Army-Navy game an hour before kickoff. Business appeared to be slow. Maybe people sensed what was coming. What finally happened after nearly 3 1/2 hours on a chilly Saturday was an ugly - there's no way to sugarcoat it - 17-3 Navy win, its eighth straight over Army in this storied rivalry. At least Army put up a fight in this one, something it hasn't done much in the recent past and something the Navy players - and maybe CBS, the poor network televising this game - appreciated.

Like a band on its farewell tour, the 2010 Maryland Terrapins gathered a final time Wednesday and recorded one more win before sending a tearful coach Ralph Friedgen off with hugs, a Gatorade shower and 10 years of memories. If nothing else, Maryland's 51-20 victory over East Carolina in the Military Bowl provided solace for Friedgen, who had likened his final days at his alma mater to a "slow death. " When it was over, Friedgen smiled as he hoisted the gleaming Military Bowl trophy.