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Philadelphia • Navy had boarded the bus and headed for the exit of the Philadelphia Eagles practice facility when coach Ken Niumatalolo ordered it to stop.
Niumatalolo handed bottled waters reserved for players and staff to security guards at the gate to help them cool off on a warm day.
That's not a surprise to the Midshipmen.
He's the kind of coach that grabs bags after charter flights home, no task too menial, not even for the head of a program that hooked an anchor in the AP Top 25 and kept the Midshipmen at the top of the most patriotic rivalry in sports.
"All the players see it," Navy QB Keenan Reynolds said.
Niumatalolo has put all of college football on notice with the job he's done at Navy.
Billed as "America's Game," Navy (9-2) has defeated Army (2-9) a series-best 13 straight times and 15 of the last 16 games.
Already at 7-0 against Army, Niumatalolo could walk away from the series with a perfect record. Niumatalolo is set to meet Monday with officials at Brigham Young University to talk about its coaching vacancy.
The series stuffed with pageantry, ceremonies and tradition — and Navy's "May The 14th Be With You" Star Wars parody video — will now have an unnecessary distraction for Navy.
Niumatalolo could tie former Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik (8-8-2) for most wins in the series. Navy leads the series 59-49-7.
"I can't tell everybody our secrets," Niumatalolo said. "Army might be listening."
This game usually ends the season for Army. Navy has one more game left against Pittsburgh (8-4) in the Dec. 28 Military Bowl at Annapolis, Maryland.
Navy's streak against Army is the second longest of any uninterrupted FBS series, according to STATS. —
Army at Navy
P Saturday, 1 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
TV • Ch. 2