Random football thought of the day: service academies

[Luftgekuehlt67]

I was watching some college football highlights earlier and, by chance, a few involving service academies popped up. Once again, I found myself shocked by how physically _small_ those programs are. Even matched up against FCS schools, they looked noticeably smaller to me. From an eyeball test perspective, they look more like an FCS non-scholarship program in terms of physical stature.

Yet, here they are, competing in FBS.

Of course, I don't think anyone is holding their breath waiting for one of these programs to make the CFP, but I don't think anyone can say these programs aren't consistently finding a way to compete credibly at the FBS level.

So here is my discussion topic: are these service academies, pound for pound, the best football programs in the world? Where else do we see programs competing as successfully with self-imposed restrictions that are as strict and limiting as what you see in the service academies?

In case it doesn't go without saying, I don't have any specific agenda here. I was just watching some college football highlights while I enjoyed some delicious Taco Bell and some thoughts started popping into my head!

 

[okeefe4prez]

The service academies are really good. I remember when Northwestern played Army, I heard a rumor that Fitz was going to rip someone's head off if they got a personal foul against Army. I think that is the case with a lot of coaches. I don't think anyone wants to dig deep in the playbook or get to esoteric in those games and it is a good showing of sportsmanship. Running those options helps the academies as well because most teams just aren't ready for it.

 

[AFAcademyHawk]

Running the triple option helps, and the service academies tend to recruit a lot of kids who played high school QB and were maybe a bit undersized for their "natural position" in college but are smart as hell and super athletic.

One dirty little secret: The academies all bring in about 60-70 kids per freshman class because they aren't held to the same scholarship limits since everyone goes to school for "free." Each academy has a prep school where they can warehouse kids for a year (basically a redshirt year where they get to play a bunch of jucos) to get their test scores up to where they can earn an appointment to the 4-year school. About 2/3rds of these cadets are cut from the football team after year 1.

Academy athletes are a special bunch. Probably half the fighter pilots and special operators I know were NCAA athletes at USAFA.