College football quick hits

Oakland Tribune, Dec 6, 2008 by Anonymous

No bailout for Army

Army's cool new dress code resulted in the same old loss against Navy.

With President George W. Bush in attendance, Shun White ran for 148 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead bowl-bound Navy over Army 34-0 on Saturday in Philadelphia for its seventh straight win in the storied rivalry between service academies.

Army (3-9) debuted camouflage helmets, pants and uniform numbers, and the backs of their jerseys had the words "Duty. Honor. Country."

The Black Knights' makeover was sharper than their play. Navy (8- 4) got a 65-yard TD run from White on the third play of the game and improved to 53-49-7 overall against Army for its biggest lead in a series that began in 1890.

Navy has won 13 straight times against Air Force and Army since 2002, outscoring the programs 441-205 during the streak. The Commander-in-Chief's Trophy remains docked with Navy.

Eric Kettani rushed for 131 yards and a TD for Navy and linebacker Ram Vela returned an interception 68 yards for a touchdown with 31 seconds left.

The Mids have already accepted a bid to play in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl on Dec. 20 in Washington, their sixth straight bowl game.

Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo didn't skip a beat in his first year leading the Mids since Paul Johnson left for Georgia Tech. Niumatalolo became the second service academy coach to win the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy in his first year, joining Navy's George Welsh in 1973.

Official: Sarkisian to UW

USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will become the 23rd football coach in Washington's history, the school announced. "I'm excited. It's been a great program in the past and they're obviously down now. But I'm going to get them back to fighting for a championship," Sarkisian said. Sarkisian will be formally introduced at a news conference on Monday morning. "I'm thrilled to have Steve heading up our football program," Washington president Mark A. Emmert said in a release from the school. "He's a very talented, energetic coach with a great work ethic and values that match the UW."

-- Associated Press