Army Navy PS2 Simulation

With the game only 4 days away now, I decided to give everyone a preview (15 minute quarters on Heisman) of what Adam Ballard and the Navy Midshipmen will look like this weekend against Army. Army got on the board first with a field goal but that was as close as they would come as Navy rattles of 31 unanswered points. Navy kept control of the ball for most of the game and let the clock run out in the fourth quarter to secure a 72-24 victory. Ballard and the Navy offense gained a total of 765 yards, 640 of those on the ground while Navy's D had 22 sacks. For the second straight year, Ballard does as he pleases with Army's D. After last years 192 yards on 18 carries, Ballard decided to give the fans even more. Ballard touched the ball a total of 55 times for 613 all purpose yards. Ballard and the Navy offense gained a total of 765 yards, 640 of those on the ground. Ballard rushed 49 times for 535 yards and 6 rushing touchdowns and also had 6 receptions for 78 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns (Heisman statistics if you ask me). Once again, Navy went home with the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy and Ballard had another Heisman-like game.
BEAT ARMY!

5 days and counting

5 days until the greatest rivalry in all of sports...The Army Navy football game. This week thousands and thousands of "Beat Army" drinks will be slurped and maybe even thrown back up. The Mids enter the game with a record of 8-3 while Army enters at3-8. This is the 107th meeting between the two Academies with Navy leading the series 50-49. The win will give Navy their fourth straight Commander-In-Chief's Trophy and a chance for the senior class to become the first Navy class to go 8-0 vs. both Army and Air Force.
Here is a look at how Adam Ballard has done when facing the other military academies.
In Ballards three games against the other academies, Ballard has rushed for 337 yards on 48 carries and 2 touchdowns. That is an average of 112.3 yards per game and an outstanding 7 yards per carry average.
Ballard, with two games remaining, only needs 218 more yards to surpass 1,000 yards on the year.
BEAT ARMY!

Temple = Terrible...Focus turns to Army

Temple sucked. The Mids quickly got out ahead of the Owls and made it not much of a contest. Because it was such a blowout, Ballards day was cut short. Ballard only carried the ball 9 times for 28 yards. Ballard also had a reception for 18 yards. Ballards 28 yards on 9 carries gives him 782 yards on 152 carries for a 5.1 ypc average. His 782 yards are good enough for 51st in the country. His 782 yards also means he is only 218 yards from surpassing the 1,000 yard mark on the season with 2 games remaining. His 5.1 ypc average is good enough for 61st in the country. Ballards 81 yard run is still good enough to land him the 10 spot in longest runs. At one point in the Temple game, Ballard and the Mids were out rushing Temple 199-1.

Ballard and the Mids now turn their attention to rivals Army on December 2 in Philadelphia. Last year Ballard had an outstanding game against Army. Ballard rushed for 192 yards on 18 carries and 2 touchdowns. The Mids also took control of the all time victories in the rivalry by going ahead 50-49. The Mids also look to capture their 4th straight Commander in Chief's Trophy with a win against Army.

VOTE Army/Navy/Air Force as Best Tradition

Vote for the Army/Navy/Air Force games as the best tradition in college football!

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Ballard vs. Leonard

I am going to do a weekly comparison of Ballard and another player/person. The first comparison will be between Adam Ballard and Rutgers FB Brian Leonard. Leonard opted to come back for his senior instead of trying his hand at the NFL. Many "college football experts" project Leonard as the top FB in the country. Me, I beg to differ and here are the profiles and stats to back my Heisman hopeful Adam Ballard.



Name: Adam Ballard ----------------------Name: Brian Leonard
Hometown: Lewisville, TX ----------------Hometown: Gouverneur, NY
School: United States Naval Academy ------------ School: Rutgers
Year: Junior --------------------------------Year: Senior
Age: 22 --------------------------------------Age: 22
Height: 6'1" ---------------------------------Height: 6'2"
Weight: 223 --------------------------------Weight: 235
2006 Stats: ---------------------------------2006 Stats:
Rush Attempts: 143 ----------------------Rush Attempts: 57
Rush Yards : 754 yards ------------------Rush Yards: 262
Average: 5.3 YPC -------------------------Average: 4.6 YPC
Touchdowns: 3 ---------------------------Touchdowns: 2
Long Rush: 81 yards -------------------- Long Rush: 23
Receptions: 1 ----------------------------- Receptions: 27
Reception Yards: 9 yards -------------- Reception Yards: 245 yards
Years serving the US Military: 4 ----- Years serving the US Military: ZERO

There they are. More rush attempts, more rushing yards, better yards per carry, more touchdowns, and longer rush. Yeah, Leonard has more receptions and more reception yards, but last time I checked, receiving fullbacks aren't in very high demand in the NFL.

Navy Pounds Eastern Michigan -Ballard Injured

The Eagles of Eastern Michigan resorted to dirty tactics to slow down Ballard this weekend. Because he had to leave the game early due to a sprained left ankle, his yearly stats were dented slightly. Ballards 21 yards on 2 carries gives him 754 yards on 143 carries on the year for a 5.3 yards per carry average. His his 21 yards this weekend has caused him to slip 10 spots to 48th in the country while his average of 5.3 ypc is good for 54th in the country, up from last weeks 61st ranking. His 81 yard rumble is still ranked 7th for the year.

It was a blow out, and had Ballard not been injured, he was on pace to get his 562 yards and 8 touchdowns like I projected in my video game simulation. The Eagles realized the task of stopping Ballard was unreasonable, so their coach instructed his players to shoot for Ballard’s ankles. Ballard could have returned, but since it was such an ass kicking, there was no need to have Ballard in the game. Behind Ballard, the Mids still lead the nation in rushing averaging 324.5 yards per game.

Keep eamiling ESPN telling them to get Gameday to Army/Navy! Lee Corso has been sent a Ballard for Heisman T-shirt!

Navy/Eastern Michigan Simulation

I decided to simulate this weekends game against Eastern Michigan and to no surprise, Ballard was an animal. The Mids took on the Eagles at Ford Field in a full regulation game. (Yes, I did play a full 15 minute quarter video game and I did play it on the Heisman level) The Mids, lead by Ballard, posted a 97-44 win against Eastern Michigan. Taking the lead on the ground was none other than Adam Ballard. Behind Ballard and the outstanding Navy O line, the Mids showed once again why they lead the country in rushing as they posted 789 yards on the ground. Ballard led the attack with an NCAA record breaking 562 yards on 63 carries and 8 rushing touchdowns (touchdown #3 pictured to the right). Ballard showed off his route running skills and good hands as he also had 3 receptions for 29 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns. The Mids D was also impressive racking up 26 sacks. But Ballard stole the show with his outstanding game and was named the Old Spice Player of the Game. So judging from this extremely realistic simulation, expect Ballard to have another oustanding game and the Mids capture win #7.

Duke Recap

Ballard showed, once again, why he deserves consideration for the Heisman Trophey after a dominating effort against Duke. Ballards 103 yards on 27 carries gives him 733 yards on 141 carries on the year for a 5.2 yards per carry average. His 733 yards are good for 38th, up from last weeks 45th, in the country while his average of 5.2 ypc is good for 61st in the country. His 81 yard scamper is now ranked 7th for the year.

The Mids regained the top rushing spot in the nation as a team this week by bulldozing the Blue Devils for 435 yards on the ground. Ballard showed off his skills once again by rushing for 103 yards on 27 carries and 2 TD's. The Blue Devils had no answer for the Mids rushing attack and especially no answer for the bruising fullback Ballard. Ballard wore down Duke's run D and showed his power by pounding the ball up the middle. Ballard rushed for 2 touchdowns, his first TD's since the season opener against East Carolina. When asked about trying to stop Ballard, Duke D lineman Okpokowuruk (#91 laying on ground in above picture) said, "Playing against Ballard was like playing against an 18 wheel Mac truck. I didn't stand a chance tackling him, so half the time I didn't even try getting off the blockers. I made it look like I couldn't get away so I didn't have to try and stop him." Ballard was heard telling Okpolowuruk to "hit the weights" as he ran him into the ground on the above play.

College GameDay at Army Navy

Email ESPN and help us get College Gameday to the Army Navy game where it belongs!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?page=contact/espntv

Lee Corso when talking about the best traditions in college football on College Gameday. "If you're a college football fan, do yourself a favor before you die. Go to the Army Navy game! Army Navy is the best tradition in college football! I get chills just talking about it!"

Duke preview

The Mids enter this game 5-3 while Duke is still winless in the '06 season. The Mids enter this game on a two game slide having lost to two top 25 ranked teams in Rutgers and Notre Dame. Duke enters this game having lost to, well everyone they have played. Their most recent lost was to Vandy. Duke has lost some close games to some quality programs this year showing improvement with their young squad. They lost to a depleted Miami squad in the closing seconds, and lost to Wake Forest on a missed field goal at the end of the game.
Ballard should have a strong game against Duke's smaller linebackers. The Mids bring Ballard and the number two rushing attack in the country to Durham while Duke last week gave up 235 yards rushing to a subpar Vanderbilt team. Look for the Mids to get the game going on the ground and using Ballard to pound the ball up the middle, and don't be surprised to see him break some Duke tackles and break another long run against the smaller Duke LB's.
BEAT DUKE!