Wake Forest vs. Navy

                                                                                         

Demon Deacons -3 vs. Midshipmen

Believe it or not, bowl season is upon us and the official kickoff of this season is with the inaugural EagleBank Bowl in Washington. The game is slated to kickoff at 11am Eastern time Saturday morning and it will also kickoff a day of early college bowl games.

This bowl game will feature a rare rematch from the regular season as Navy (9-4) looks to defeat Wake Forest (7-5) again. On September 27, the Midshipmen walked into Winston-Salem and claimed a grueling 24-17 victory. This win was noteworthy for Navy because not only did they give Wake Forest its first loss of the season (3-0 at the time), it also marked the first time since Navy has beaten a ranked team since 1985.

The Navy loss was a crushing defeat for Wake Forest which never looked the same after. The game prior, the Demon Deacons displayed outstanding defense as they shut down Florida State in Tallahassee 12-3. With the Navy loss, Wake Forest sputtered to a 4-5 finish, but was able to win their final game, 23-10, over Vanderbilt.

As harsh as the loss for the Demon Deacons was, the win had as great of an impact on the Midshipmen's season. Navy had come into that game after allowing 76 points in losses to Duke and Ball State, but was able to dominate defensively against Wake Forest. With that victory, Navy was able to win five of its final seven games, including crushing defeats of Northern Illinois and arch-rival Army by a combined 50-0.

In addition to their strong defense down the stretch, Navy boasted the top rushing attack in the nation with 298.3 yards behind the phenomenal duo of Shun White and Eric Kettani. White finished with 1021 yards and eight scores while Kettani contributed 932 yards and four touchdowns on just 176 carries. Kettani's best game was against Wake Forest when he dashed for a career-high 175 yards.

Despite the loss earlier this season, the Demon Deacons hold a 6-3 lead in the series against the Midshipmen. Wake Forest had their four-game winning streak in the series snapped with Navy's win earlier this season.

This will be Wake Forest's ninth bowl game, having gone 5-3 in the previous eight, including last season's 24-10 win over Connecticut in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Navy is 6-7-1 in their previous 14 bowl games. This bowl will be Navy's sixth straight bowl game, their longest stretch ever. They lost last season's Poinsettia Bowl 35-32 to Utah.

InSpin.com

About the author:
http://www.inspin.com

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com