Navy 21 Mississippi 0

Whether Weaver or Gattuso was the greater in this game, I would hate to say, but enough of these backs. I'm an old guard and line coach and I saw a couple of unsung guards today put on just about the best display of guard play that I saw all season. Leonard Benzi at 180 pounds and Alexander Aronis at 183 were masters of all they surveyed. Their blocking was devastating and their defensive display was a joy to behold. But it would be unfair to single out just these two for praise.

This Navy line just might be the secret of its success. Patrick McCool filled in well for the injured Jim Royer at right tackle and John Hopkins has certainly come a long way this season. Wilson Whitmire at center was everywhere on the defense. And of course Ron Beagle and Bill Smith at ends, who, incidentally, are from Kentucky and Alabama respectively, did not treat their Mississippi neighbors like kissing cousins. They harried the Rebel passers all afternoon and blocked opposing tackles as if they owned them.

This may sound like a one-sided story but that's the way the game was. It was fitting that a team called desire showed them in New Orleans what desire really meant.