BALTIMORE — In wins this season against San Jose State and Georgia Southern, Navy scored 93 points. But its most striking statistic was one in which less is more: zero penalties in both games.

"We need a few more games like that. Hopefully our next game will be like that, too," Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said ahead of the Dec. 13 game here with Army.

In the Football Bowl Subdivision, Navy is No. 1 in fewest penalties a game (2.27). Over the past six seasons, Navy has finished No.1 in that category three times and No. 2 three times.

This season, Air Force is No. 4 in fewest penalties a game (3.58). Army is No. 12 (4.27).

That's not so surprising considering they are military institutions where the football players march in unison, dress to regulation and get demerits if they don't go by the book.

"I think that has a lot to do with it. They're disciplined kids. They're used to structure," Niumatalolo said. "They're used to doing things right. ... They're pretty regimented."

But there's another element: To compete on the football field against teams populated by bigger, faster players, the military academies need to make the most of every advantage they can find.

"Being a smaller team, we pride ourselves in our toughness and our tenacity and just being smart," Navy safety Parrish Gaines said. "Those are all things we can control. We might not be able to control that they're bigger and faster. ... We can always control not jumping offsides, not holding, no face masks, nothing like that. I think that's a tribute to our discipline ... just being mentally tough not to mess up for the person next to you."

The academies also run the triple option, which doesn't entail as much pass blocking as other offenses. Maybe doing so reduces the chances for infractions such as false starts and holding.

The ideal situation for an option team is to stay on schedule. That means picking up enough yards on first and second downs so it's not a third-and-long passing situation and they can run the option on third.

"We make mistakes in practice. But during the game we've got to make sure that we can't get those penalties, because that gets off schedule," Navy fullback Noah Copeland said. "That gets us not being able to do what Navy football does."

In a victory against New Mexico in the 2004 Emerald Bowl, Navy had a field goal drive that spanned 26 plays and 94 yards and used up 14 minutes, 26 seconds on the clock (an NCAA record for plays and time of possession). Navy was penalized once on the drive for a false start.

Niumatalolo says the triple option has its own kind of penalty hazards.

"They'll call our wide receivers for holding because they're not used to wide receivers blocking," he said.

Army coach Jeff Monken looks beyond the penalty numbers.

"I don't pay attention to penalties as much as I do foolish penalties, penalties that are avoidable, jumping offsides ... hitting a guy late out of bounds when it's absolutely avoidable," he said.

The NFL's Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl last season despite compiling the most total penalties in the league and playing an aggressive style of defense.

"Aggressive teams, I think, have a better chance to win," Monken said. "And sometimes those aggressive penalties, where you're going after a ball in the air and you get called for pass interference ... we'd love to not have those because they're costly. But a lot of times that's indicative of teams that are playing very aggressive.

Still, Monken thinks the academy lifestyle correlates with football.

"Discipline in general carries over," he said. "Disciplined people will be disciplined in everything that they do in their life. ... We have a standard for discipline within the corps of cadets. Our guys and our entire corps do a great job of abiding by the rules. ... There's a need for an extra level of discipline when you play a sport, certainly when you play football."

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