Eckel

TULSA, Okla. - Kyle Eckel's power and Aaron Polanco's finesse, not to mention Navy's defense, were too much for Tulsa last night. Eckel and Polanco put in workmanlike performances, and the defense posted its first shutout since 1994, as the Midshipmen rolled to a 29-0 victory. Navy improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1979. Tulsa, a surprising 8-5 a year ago, dropped to 0-3 with its third straight poor offensive showing. The Golden Hurricane gained 320 yards and were shut out for the first time since a 37-0 loss to Oklahoma opening the 2002 season.

Navy's 2004 football team stumbled out of the starting blocks last night, turning the ball over three times in the first half and salvaging a halftime tie with Duke only because its defense refused to break down. But once the Midshipmen got rolling behind quarterback Aaron Polanco, there was no stopping a second-half revival, and they scored their first victory over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent since 1996 by beating the Blue Devils, 27-12, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

HOUSTON - The nation's top rushing offense virtually held up its end yesterday in the Houston Bowl, but Navy's 38-14 defeat by Texas Tech pointed up the need to develop greater passing capability if the team is to climb another notch on college football's ladder. With a bowl-record 289 net yards on the ground, the Midshipmen approached their season average of 326.1. The futility in the air was another matter. Although they uncharacteristically threw on first down three times and even tried to surprise Texas Tech with a bomb on occasion, almost all of the air damage belonged to Texas Tech.

HOUSTON - Navy's battering ram is ready to rumble. Sore shoulder notwithstanding, fullback Kyle Eckel is looking forward to the challenge of meeting Big 12 Conference member Texas Tech in Tuesday's Houston Bowl. "This is a great opportunity because we haven't been here [in a bowl game] for a long time," Eckel said. "I don't think a lot of people are giving us a chance, but that's OK. We've been underdogs almost all the time. We're used to that role." The Red Raiders are 12 1/2 -point favorites in a game that pits Navy's No. 1 rushing offense against Texas Tech's No. 1 passing attack.

PHILADELPHIA - At Friday night's team dinner, Navy's football team got a reminder of what its annual tussle with Army means in a broader spectrum. It arrived in the form of a United States flag. "We had a flag sent to our football team that flew over the airport in Baghdad," coach Paul Johnson said last night. "They thought enough of the Army-Navy game to pull that flag down and send it." Navy returned the favor with a methodical 34-6 victory over Army at Lincoln Financial Field in yesterday's 104th edition of the rivalry.

PHILADELPHIA - It was homecoming for Navy's Kyle Eckel. He grew up in Haverford, Pa., and calls south Philadelphia his home. He swears there is no better food on earth than a Philly cheese steak, and about 30 friends and family members attended last night's game to cheer him on. And Eckel didn't let anybody down. On a night when the U.S. military academies took center stage on the college football field, Eckel grabbed much of the spotlight in Navy's 34-6 win over Army before an announced crowd of 70,844 at Lincoln Financial Field.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Navy junior safety Josh Smith had spent three hours confronting Notre Dame weapons, especially senior running back Julius Jones. Then, Smith had perhaps the most painful view of another brutal loss to the Fighting Irish. While lying on the ground after leaping and partially blocking the game-winning, 40-yard field-goal attempt by Notre Dame kicker D.J. Fitzpatrick, Smith watched the ball float strangely through the uprights as time expired last night. With that, pandemonium broke out in the stands and on the field, as Notre Dame celebrated a come-from-behind, 27-24 victory.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Navy football team didn't have many options to go to late in yesterday's game against Vanderbilt. Fortunately for the Midshipmen, they did have the option. Navy defeated the Commodores, 37-27, using its unique triple option to take control not only offensively, but also keeping the Vanderbilt offense on the sideline and averting any chance for a late comeback. Navy improved to 4-2, its best start since 1996, when it went 9-3 and defeated California in the Aloha Bowl.

LANDOVER - Navy coach Paul Johnson has talked so much about dragging this football program out of its doldrums and taking a huge leap forward. Yesterday, after he watched the Midshipmen drop heavily favored rival Air Force at FedEx Field with a grinding performance, after he watched junior fullback Kyle Eckel bowl over the Falcons with the game of his life, after he watched his team make so many crucial plays, Johnson stuck out his chest while he talked...

For as long as he can remember, Kyle Eckel could run fast for a big guy and could run over most defenders while carrying a football. As the junior who is gaining a grip on the competitive fullback position in Navy's triple-option offense, Eckel remains quick for his size and quick to lower one of his broad shoulders to punish a tackler. But the economics major from South Philadelphia continues to refine his game. Eckel no longer looks to bulldoze people automatically. He is learning to use his blockers and rely on his cutting ability.