Early one morning last week, shortly after leaving his dorm, Air Force guard Nick Charles was approached by a female cadet.

"Are we going to get after Navy?" she asked.

"I thought it was kind of funny," Charles said. "It was the first thing I heard all day."

And the game, at that point, was 11 days away.

Now it's here. And the anticipation for the game has only grown.

At 2 p.m. today, Air Force will play host to Navy at Falcon Stadium and try to end the Midshipmen's five-game winning streak in the series. It would be the first step toward regaining the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, which goes to the winner of the service academies' round-robin and has been residing in Annapolis for five years.

"Everyone always is excited that you're winning games, and everyone's excited about last year, but the first thing everyone asks is, ‘When are you going to beat Navy?'" senior defensive end Ryan Kemp said. "I think so many people are looking at that. And for the alumni and for the fans, it's definitely important. And it's important for us too."

Several players this week recalled preseason gatherings with former players - a tradition started by coach Troy Calhoun last year - at which the Falcons' football alumni can speak and share their thoughts with the current team. Beating Navy was a common theme.

"They were saying the one thing we need to get back to is getting that Commander-in-Chief's Trophy," junior receiver Sean Quintana said.

"Just regain the title," sophomore outside linebacker Andre Morris Jr. said. "That's all they preach."

But while fans and alumni put a premium on the game - "All the teachers, all the officers, that's all they care about, beat Navy and beat Army," junior guard Peter Lusk said - coaches and some players have attempted to temper the hype and hope surrounding the clash.

"You don't want to put so much emphasis on it that guys are tight and can't just cut loose and play," said tight ends coach Ben Miller, who was undefeated against Navy as a player.

Beau Morgan, a former Air Force quarterback and now an television analyst for The mtn., said he thinks Navy has been better than the Falcons in recent years - especially in the trenches. But he also gave credence to the tightness to which Miller referred.

"I've been down on the field once or twice (in recent seasons) and they're a little more businesslike," Morgan said of the Midshipmen. "Where Air Force, maybe because they've gotten behind in the series, maybe there's more a sense of pressure. And when you're under stress, you're much more prone to making that one mistake that can cost a ballgame."

Navy QB's status up in air

Standout Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, who aggravated a hamstring injury in last week's game against Wake Forest, made the trip to Colorado Springs with the Midshipmen, according to Navy sports information director Scott Strasemeier. Whether Kaheaku-Enhada will play is a "game-time decision."

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Contact the Writer: 636-0365 or jake.schaller@gazette.com