Belichick, Corso put heads together for pick
The traveling spectacle of ESPN’s “College GameDay” — complete with its slightly inappropriate signs, rabid fans, and mascot heads — made its way to Gillette Stadium on Saturday, and Bill Belichick came prepared.
The Patriots head coach was the celebrity “guest picker” for the pregame show and found a way to make it special — even though his choice wasn’t a surprise.
Belichick took a page out of longtime panelist Lee Corso’s
book and reached under the desk to retrieve a gold Navy football helmet from 1962. With a jolly roger on the front and “Beat
Army” in Chinese on the sides — a reference to former Army coach Paul Deitzel’s Chinese Bandits, according to Belichick — he let out a rousing “Go Navy! Beat Army!” to finish out his pick.
Then, it was Corso’s turn. Army was the favorite entering the game, and Corso made note of that before stammering, stuttering, and taking the Navy mascot head out from under the desk.
“Go Navy, Beat Army!” he exclaimed as he put on Bill the
Goat’s head. It was only fitting, even if Army earned the 17-11 victory.
“Billy!” fans yelled as Belichick left. “We love you, buddy!”
Thinking on the fly
Army quarterback Bryson Daily
had a solid effort on the ground and through the air, rushing for 84 yards on 27 carries, and completing seven of 14 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. He connected with Tyson Riley for the 4-yard score when Navy left the tight end unaccounted for.
“That was not the play at all,” said Daily. “I was about to motion him in so he could kick out their linebacker, and no one lined up over there. They were still getting their call.
“Tyson did a good job of not drawing too much attention to himself. He did say, ‘Throw it, throw it, throw it.’ I was trying to get our guys lined up so I could snap the ball and get it to him. I was able to get our guys set and give him the ball before their safety came over.”
Comeback effort
After starting quarterback
Xavier Arline went 0 for 2 with an interception and gained just 6 yards on five carries, Tai Lavatai came on in relief for Navy in the second quarter. He nearly brought the Midshipmen back from a 17-3 deficit in the fourth, completing 16 of 26 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. He also had 19 carries for 74 yards.
“We knew we could move the ball if we stopped shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Lavatai.
Quite the performance
The halftime show was a combined ensemble of the United States Naval Academy Drum and Bugle Corps and the Naval Academy Band. They performed “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” and “Blinding Lights,” followed by “America the Beautiful” with soloists from the USNA Glee Club. The set concluded with “Anchors Aweigh” and “Marines’ Hymn.”