Rivalry features new twist
A general’s pep talk about actual life-and-death battles emerged as a driving force this season for the Army football team.
In the Army, the general said, you win or you die.
Far more consequential than bragging rights on the football field, but useful for a team that no longer ends its season against Navy.
“It is dramatic,” team captain Cole Christiansen said. “But I think it’s helped us a lot.”
Christiansen has been part of Army’s turnaround from perennial losing program to its lofty status today: ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since1996, on a seven-game winning streak, headed to a bowl game and a 7-point favorite in Saturday’s 119th meeting against Navy in Philadelphia.
Temple coach to Tech: Georgia Tech hired Temple coach Geoff Collins, choosing a Georgia native with a background in defense to replace Paul Johnson as the Yellow Jackets coach.
Collins, 47, is a former Florida and Mississippi State defensive coordinator and Georgia Tech assistant who was 15-10 in two seasons at Temple.
Heupel rewarded: Many figured UCF football coach Josh Heupel had one of the toughest assignments in the country this season. The first-year coach was tasked with building on the Knights’ historic 13-0 run in 2017 led by previous coach Scott Frost. Frost took the entire UCF staff with him to Nebraska and key playmakers, including emotional leader Shaquem Griffin, moved on to the NFL.
Heupel went 12-0 and earned a contract extension.