Dec. 30
Meineke Car Care Bowl
Boston College 25 ... Navy 24
With the game seemingly in hand, Navy tried to run out the
clock, but lost a Reggie Campbell fumble on an option pitch to give
Boston College new life. The Eagles went 20 yards to get into field goal
range, and Steve Aponavicius came through hitting a 37-yard shot as time
ran out to redeem himself after missing an extra point on the first
score of the game. The Eagles started off the scoring with a two-yard
Matt Ryan touchdown run, but had to chase the missed conversion missing
on a two-point conversion midway through the fourth quarter that
would've tied the score after a 25-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Purvis.
Navy's running game worked well, but threw to get two of its touchdowns
with Tyree Barnes making a 31-yard grab in the first quarter and Jason
Tomlinson making a 24-yard grab in the second. The Midshipmen ran for
322 yards including a five-yard Zerbin Singleton touchdown run in the
second quarter. BC was held to just 73 rushing yards.
Player
of the game ... Boston College QB Matt Ryan completed 20 of 29 passes for
242 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions and ran for a score
Stat Leaders: Navy - Passing: Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada,
4-6, 77 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Shun White, 7-116 Receiving: Jason Tomlinson, 2-36,
1 TD
Boston College - Passing: Matt Ryan, 20-29, 242 yds, 1 TD,
2 INT
Rushing: Andre Callender, 19-66 Receiving: Tony Gonzalez, 4-50
Notes & Thoughts ... Navy deserved better. The
Midshipmen defense played its heart out stopping the Boston College
running game all game long and matching the disparity in speed and
athleticism with great blocking, excellent decision making on the
option, and tough run after tough run. The BC back seven didn't tackle
well, and Navy took advantage. However, as fantastic a job as head coach
Paul Johnson did, he didn't go by the old adage that you never pitch the
ball on the option when you're trying to run out the clock. To be fair,
Navy wasn't going to run the ball up the gut on the BC tackles, but the
game-turning play wasn't going anywhere before the ill-advised, fumbled
pitch. ... What was BC doing punting the ball to Navy in the first
place? The Eagles should've gone for it on fourth down rather than rely
on the defense to come up with a stop. BC didn't necessarily get lucky,
but it did get a monster break. Give credit to Navy for playing a good
game, but BC didn't look like BC for about 58 minutes. Maybe the
coaching distractions had something to do with it, or maybe the team
just figured it could show up and beat Navy, but the tackling was poor,
there was no running game, a few key dropped passes, and lack of energy
compared to Navy.
|
2006
Schedule
2006 Record: 9-4 |
| 9/2 |
East Carolina W 28-23 |
| 9/9 |
Massachusetts W 21-20 |
| 9/16 |
at Stanford W 37-9 |
| 9/23 |
Tulsa L 24-23 |
|
9/30 |
at Connecticut W 41-17 |
| 10/7 |
at Air Force W 24-17 |
| 10/14 |
Rutgers L 34-0 |
| 10/28 |
Notre Dame L 38-14 |
| 11/4 |
at Duke W 38-13 |
| 11/11 |
at Eastern Mich W 49-21 |
| 11/18 |
Temple W 42-6 |
| 12/2 |
vs. Army W 26-14 |
|
|
2005
Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
5-6
2005 Record: 8-4
Preview
2005 predicted wins
|
| 9/3 |
Maryland L 23-20 |
| 9/10 |
Stanford L 41-38 |
| 10/1 |
at Duke W 28-21 |
| 10/8 |
Air Force W 27-24 |
| 10/15 |
Kent State
W 34-31 |
|
10/22 |
at Rice
W 41-9 |
| 10/29 |
at Rutgers L 31-21 |
| 11/5 |
Tulane
W 49-21 |
| 11/12 |
at Notre Dame L 42-21 |
| 11/19 |
Temple
W 38-17 |
| 12/3 |
Army
W 42-23 |
| 12/22 |
Poinsettia Bowl
Colorado St W 51-30 |
|
Dec. 2
Navy 26 ... Army 14
It wasn't like the recent Navy blowouts of Army, but it was a solid
performance by the Midshipmen rolling up 264 yards of rushing offense
getting a nine-yard touchdown run from Reggie Campbell and a 33-yard
Jason Tomlinson scoring dash as part of a 26-point run to put the game
away. Army scored first on a 41-yard Jeremy Trimble run for a score in
the first quarter, but couldn't get back on the board until there were
two seconds left with a 12-yard catch from Tim Dunn. The Midshipmen
defense scored twice in the fourth on a safety from Tyler Tidwell and a
40-yard interception return for a score from Keenan Little.
Player of the game ...
Navy S Keenan Little
mad seven tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown
Stat Leaders: Army - Passing: Carson Williams,
16-23, 151 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Mike Viti, 15-57 Receiving: Jeremy Trimble,
5-48
Navy - Passing: Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, 1-6, 11
yds
Rushing: Eric Kettani, 15-67 Receiving:
Jason Tomlinson, 1-11
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Navy
didn't come up with a vintage performance against Army only rushing for
264 yards and getting one completed pass, but it shows how far the
program has come that it could win with ease even when things weren't
going well. While the Midshipmen won the battle, it lost a key player
with fullback Adam Ballard getting knocked out with a broken leg.
Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada has to do more with the passing game in the
Meineke Car Care Bowl to do something to loosen up the middle without
his trusty battering ram to rely on.
Nov. 18
Navy 42 ... Temple 6
Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada ran for two first quarter touchdowns on the way
to a 35-0 Navy halftime lead. The Midshipmen outgained Navy 420 yards to
13 with the defense only allowing a 12-yard Josh Bundy touchdown catch
early in the fourth quarter. The Navy offense answered witha 50-yard
Shun White scoring run on the ensuing drive. While also ran for an
11-yard score in the second quarter.
Player of the game ...
Navy QB Kaipo-Noa
Kaheaku-Enhada was 3-of-7 through the air for 35 yards and 1 INT, while
leading the team with 140 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
Stat Leaders: Temple - Passing: Adam Dimichele,
9-18, 74 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Tim Brown, 12-24 Receiving: Tim Brown, 6-63
Navy - Passing: Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, 3-7, 35
yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, 19-140, 2 TDs Receiving:
Adam Ballard, 1-18
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... There's a
ceiling on how high most teams can go with the option, but for Navy,
it's attack will flatten most bad teams. Temple's defensive front didn't
have a prayer lacking the quickness and the skill to sniff out anything
the Midshipmen wanted to do.
Kaipo-Noa
Kaheaku-Enhada now appears to be fully comfortable running the offense
making all the right decisions against the Owls. On the other side of
the ball, the defense has come up with three straight great games mostly
from the run defense. The linebackers are playing extremely well.
Nov. 11
Navy 49 ... Eastern Michigan 21
Kaipo-Noa
Kaheaku-Enhada ran for four touchdowns and threw for two more as Navy
blew out Eastern Michigan.
Kaheaku-Enhada led the way to a 28-0 first half lead highlighted by a
29-yard pass play to Tyree Barnes and scoring runs from one and nine
yards out before EMU finally got on the board with six seconds left on a
two-yard Andy Schmitt run. Tyler Jones ran for two short second half
scores for the Eagles, but they weren't nearly enough. Eric Kettani
added a seven-yard score and ran 91 yards for a Midshipman as part of a
rushing offense that ran for 323 yards.
Player of the game ... Navy QB Kaipo-Noa
Kaheaku-Enhada completed 7 of 9 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns
and ran tem times for 28 yards and four scores
Stat Leaders: Navy - Passing: Kaipo-Noa
Kaheaku-Enhada, 7-9, 151 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Eric Kettani, 14-91, 1 TD. Receiving:
Reggie Campbell, 3-92
Eastern Michigan - Passing: Andy Schmitt,
24-37, 220 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Andy Schmitt, 24-37, 220 yds, 2 INT. Receiving:
DeAnthony White, 7-76
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... With a
bid to the Meineke
Car Care Bowl in hand, Navy was able to experiment a little bit using
some more passing with Kaipo-Noa
Kaheaku-Enhada coming up with a fantastic, efficient day. That's not to
say the running game isn't still working with 12 different players
getting carries, while the defense, led by a great day from Rob
Caldwell, never had any problem with the Eagle offense. With Temple up
next, there's room for even more work for the passing game to stretch
its legs a bit before the Army game.
Nov. 4
Navy 38 ... Duke 13
Navy ran for 435 yards with Adam Ballard powering his way
to103 yards and two short scores and Kaipo-Noa
Kaheaku-Enhada running for a one-yard score and throwing a 19-yard
touchdown pass to Reggie Campbell. Duke started off the scoring with a
Requan Boyette one-yard run, but the extra point failed and Navy went on
a 38-point run. The Blue Devils closed out the scoring with a 13-yard
Jomar Wright touchdown catch.
Player of the game ... Navy QB Kaipo-Noa
Kaheaku-Enhada completed two of four passes for 32 yards and a touchdown
and ran 14 times for 119 yards and a score.
Stat Leaders: Navy - Passing: Kaipo-Noa
Kaheaku-Enhada, 2-4, 32 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Kaipo-Noa
Kaheaku-Enhada, 14-119, 1 TD. Receiving:
Reggie Campbell, 1-19, 1 TD
Duke - Passing: Thaddeus Lewis, 15-22,
181 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Justin Boyle, 15-76. Receiving: Eron
Riley, 4-88
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Meineke
Car Care Bowl, here we come. Navy got over the Rutgers and Notre Dame
losses by doing what it does best: running. Kaipo-Noa
Kaheaku-Enhada engineered the ground game like a Navy quarterback is
supposed to, while Adam Ballard pounded the ball, pounded the ball, and
pounded it some more. The defense got into the act making several big
plays in the backfield and keeping the Blue Devil offense from getting
on track. A ten-win season is possible with Temple and Army up next
before the bowl game.
Oct. 28
Notre Dame 38 ... Navy 14
Notre Dame rolled for a season-high 471 yards and got a Brady
Quinn touchdown run, along with three scoring passes, in the 43rd win in
a row over the Midshipmen. The Irish got out to a 10-0 lead helped by a
36-yard pass to David Grimes, but Navy held tough with two Kaipo-Noa
Kaheaku-Enhada touchdown runs to get within 17-14 lat in the first half.
The Irish scored the final 21 points of the game and held Navy's rushing
offense to just 60 second half yards
Player of the game ... Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn
completed 18 of 25 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns and ran
four times for 29 yards and a touchdown.
Stat Leaders: Navy - Passing: Kaipo-Noa
Kaheaku-Enhada, 2-5, 24 yds
Rushing: Reggie Campbell, 14-80. Receiving:
Jason Tomlinson, 1-18
Notre Dame - Passing: Brady Quinn, 18-25,
295 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Darius Walker, 20-103. Receiving: Rhema
McKnight, 6-92, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It
would've been interesting to have seen what Navy could've done against
Notre Dame if Brian Hampton was healthy and able to play. The running
game worked well in the first half, but the attack was hardly precise in
the second half with everything on the outside bottled up and not even a
threat of a passing game to loosen things up. The line didn't get to
Brady Quinn, and it was over. This should be the last loss of the year
with Duke, Eastern Michigan, Temple and Army coming up.
Oct. 14
Rutgers 34 ... Navy 0
Rutgers held Navy to 161 yards of total offense and 113 yards
on the ground, while the passing game got working with three Mike Teel
touchdown passes including two to Tiquan Underwood. Jeremy Ito hit two
field goals and Kordell Young ran for a three-yard score, but the real
story was the Rutgers D, and the loss of Navy QB Brian Hampton to a knee
injury. Navy converted just four of 19 third down chances and completed
four of 16 passes in comeback mode.
Player of the
game ...
Rutgers DT Ramel
Meekins made 12 tackles, two sacks, and forced three fumbles.
Stat Leaders: Navy - Passing:
Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, 2-6, 28 yds
Rushing: Reggie Campbell, 9-44 Receiving: Jason
Tomlinson, 2-28
Rutgers - Passing: Mike Teel, 15-26, 215 yds, 3
TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Ray Rice, 21-93 Receiving: Clark Harris,
5-63
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Now we
get to see how mentally tough Navy can be. Nothing happened on offense
against Rutgers after QB Brian Hampton was knocked out with a knee
injury, and the passing game wasn't going anywhere with Jarod Bryant and
Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, and neither one was close to operating
the ground game like Hampton was able to. Unfortunately, Notre Dame comes
up in two weeks, so it's going to take everything the coaching staff has
to get the offense going. Giving up big plays against the Rutgers
passing game wasn't a good sign.
Oct. 7
Navy 24 ... Air Force 17
Navy got inside running from FB Adam Ballard and outside
running from QB Brian Madden on the way to 317 yards on the ground with
two scores from Hampton. Keenan Little returned a fumble for a score to
give the Midshipmen a 7-0 lead. Air Force got an early eight-yard
touchdown run from Chad Hall, but didn't get back on the board until
midway through the fourth on a 30-yard Zach Sasser field goal and a
five-yard Travis Dekker catch, but the Navy D sealed the win when
Rashawn King broke up a Shaun Carney fourth down pass on the Navy 47.
Air Force LB Drew Fowler finished with 18 tackles.
Player of the
game ...
Navy RB Adam Ballard
ran 27 times for 134 yards.
Stat Leaders: Navy - Passing: Brian Hampton,
1-5, 8 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Adam Ballard, 27-134 Receiving: Reggie
Campbell, 1-8
Air Force: Shaun Carney, 9-19, 119 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Chad Hall, 12-59, 1 TD Receiving: Victor
Thompson, 2-29
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Navy's running game got its best mix of
inside and outside running all year long controlling the clock for
almost 35 minutes and keeping Air Force from finding any consistency.
Brian Hampton couldn't throw, but he read the Falcon defense to near
perfection for the first three quarters. The Midshipmen defense did a
great job of keeping Shaun Carney and the Air Force ground game from
getting going, but it did get beaten for some big plays. With Rutgers
coming up next week, controlling the ball and keeping the Scarlet Knight
running game off the field will be more important than ever.
Sept. 30
Navy 41 ... Connecticut 17
Brian Hampton ran over UConn for three touchdowns and bombed
away for a 77-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Campbell leading Navy to
605 yards of total offense on the way to an easy win. Hampton ran
for a score from 24 yards out in the first quarter, and put the game
well out of reach with touchdown dashes from 52 and four yards out
in the fourth. Campbell added to the big plays with a 68-yard
scoring dash on Navy's first play from scrimmage in the second half.
UConn only managed a 14-yard touchdown catch from Terry Caulley and
a four-yard scoring grab from Deon Anderson, but three fumbles and
the inability to get the Navy offense off the field proved costly.
Player of the game ... Navy QB Brian Hampton completed
five of 11 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown and ran 27 times for
182 yards and three scores.
Stat Leaders: Connecticut - Passing: Matt
Bonislawski, 15-37, 176 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Terry Caulley, 14-87. Receiving:
Larry Taylor, 5-46
Navy - Passing: Brian Hampton, 5-11, 141
yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Brian Hampton, 27-182, 3 TD. Receiving:
Reggie Campbell, 1-77, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Everything clicked to near perfection for Navy against UConn showing
it could quickly bounce back from the heartbreaking loss to Tulsa.
The running game was unstoppable blowing past the Huskies for 454
yards, while Brian Hampton came up with the one big pass play early
to keep the secondary thinking about the deep ball. Holding on to
the ball for over 35 minutes kept the defense fresh. The one area to
work on will by penalties committing 12 for 110 yards.
Sept. 23
Tulsa 24 ... Navy 23 OT
Tulsa scored on its first overtime possession on a six-yard
touchdown catch from Donnie Johnson, but Navy answered in one play on a
25-yard touchdown catch from O.J. Washington. Nick Graham broke through
the line and blocked the extra point to give Tulsa the win. In the
see-saw game, neither team led by more than a score at any time after
Navy started off the scoring in the second quarter on a 26-yard Shun
White touchdown run. Paul Smith finished with three touchdown passes for
the Golden Hurricane highlighted by a 34-yard scoring play to Ryan Bugg
to answer White's score.
Player of the game ... Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 24
of 36 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns and ran four times for
19 yards
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul
Smith, 24-36, 285 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Brandon Diles, 15-90. Receiving:
Brandon Diles, 6-29
Navy - Passing: Brian Hampton, 6-11, 73
yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brian Hampton, 30-118, 1 TD. Receiving:
Reggie Campbell, 4-33
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Even in a
loss to Tulsa, this was an important, positive game for Navy. The
running game didn't explode gaining 283 yards, but the team was still in
the game with a few timely passes and enough defense to force overtime.
Brian Hampton had a fantastic game, but not enough of the speed backs
got involved with next to nothing happening on the outside. Tulsa forced
everything possible up the middle with Adam Ballard pounding his way for
87 yards.
Sept. 23
Tulsa 24 ... Navy 23 OT
Tulsa scored on its first overtime possession on a six-yard
touchdown catch from Donnie Johnson, but Navy answered in one play
on a 25-yard touchdown catch from O.J. Washington. Nick Graham broke
through the line and blocked the extra point to give Tulsa the win.
In the see-saw game, neither team led by more than a score at any
time after Navy started off the scoring in the second quarter on a
26-yard Shun White touchdown run. Paul Smith finished with three
touchdown passes for the Golden Hurricane highlighted by a 34-yard
scoring play to Ryan Bugg to answer White's score.
Player of the game ... Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 24
of 36 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns and ran four times
for 19 yards
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul
Smith, 24-36, 285 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Brandon Diles, 15-90. Receiving:
Brandon Diles, 6-29
Navy - Passing: Brian Hampton, 6-11, 73
yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brian Hampton, 30-118, 1 TD. Receiving:
Reggie Campbell, 4-33
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Even in a
loss to Tulsa, this was an important, positive game for Navy. The
running game didn't explode gaining 283 yards, but the team was
still in the game with a few timely passes and enough defense to
force overtime. Brian Hampton had a fantastic game, but not enough
of the speed backs got involved with next to nothing happening on
the outside. Tulsa forced everything possible up the middle with
Adam Ballard pounding his way for 87 yards.
Sept. 16
Navy 37 ... Stanford 9
Navy was the Navy offense rolling for 368 rushing yards and
running for four scores to spoil the opening of Stanford's new stadium.
The Midshipmen broke the game open in the second quarter with Reggie
Campbell first of two touchdown runs to go along with the second of two
Brian Hampton scoring dashes. Stanford's offense turned it over three
times and only managed a 22-yard Aaron Zagory field goal and a two-yard
Anthony Kimble touchdown run.
Player of the game ... Navy RB Reggie Campbell ran 13
times for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
Stat Leaders: Stanford - Passing: Trent
Edwards, 23-35, 226 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Toby Gerhart, 9-40. Receiving:
Kelton Lynn, 6-72
Navy - Passing: Brian Hampton, 8-11, 74
yds
Rushing: Adam Ballard, 26-120. Receiving: Tyree
Barnes, 3-35
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Somewhat
quietly, and without the offense humming at peak efficiency, Navy has
gotten off to a solid 3-0 start after its best performance of the year
in the win over Stanford. For the first time in three games, FB Adam
Ballard was a major factor pounding it on the hapless Cardinal defense.
That opened everything up on the outside. Navy went on big drive after
big drive controlling the clock for over 36 minutes, and for the first
time all year, it showed a little bit of a passing game. If the offense
can play like this over the next few weeks, it should be able to win at
least two out of three against Tulsa, at UConn, and at Air Force.
Sept. 9
Navy 21 ... Massachusetts 20
In an ugly game with the two teams combining for seven
turnovers, Navy outlasted UMass with Brian Hampton rushing for a
four-yard score, Matt Hall tearing off a 53-yard dash, and KaipoNoa
Kaheaku-Enhada running for a 19-yard run. The Minutemen stayed alive
with two first quarter touchdowns and two Chris Koepplin field goals in
the second half, but failed to get over the hump losing a late
fumble and failing to move the ball on two final drives.
Player of the game ... Navy DL John Chan made nine
tackles and one sack.
Stat Leaders: Massachusetts - Passing:
Liam Coen, 17-29, 187 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Steve Baylark, 21-84. Receiving:
J.J. Moore, 5-62, 1 TD
Navy - Passing: KaipoNoa Kaheaku-Enhada,
1-4, 21 yds
Rushing: Matt Hall, 4-66, 1 TD. Receiving: Jason
Tomlinson, 1-21
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... So is
there any sort of quarterback controversy? Yup. The offense was so ugly
at times against Massachusetts, KaipoNoa Kaheaku-Enhada has to get more
work just in case Brian Hampton keeps struggling. The Midshipmen can't
beat the better teams if they're not perfect, and they certainly can't
beat teams down the road like Connecticut, Tulsa, Rutgers or Notre Dame
with five turnovers and absolutely no passing game. The running game
wasn't nearly as effective as it needed to be; FB Matt Hall needs the
ball more than four times.
Sept. 2
Navy 28 ... East Carolina 23
Navy rolled up 403 rushing yards and only six passing as with
Shun White, Brian Hampton, Adam Ballard and Reggie Campbell scoring
short touchdowns with one coming in each quarter. East Carolina's
passing game kept the game dead even until the fourth quarter one two
scoring passes from James Pinkney with a ten-yard scoring strike to
Phillip Henry cutting the lead to five with under five minutes to play,
but Navy recovered the onside kick.
Player of the game ... Navy QB Brian Hampton ran 34
times for 149 yards and a touchdown. He completed two of six passes for
six yards.
Stat Leaders: East Carolina - Passing:
James Pinkney, 24-35, 283 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Domonique Lindsay, 3-38. Receiving:
Aundrae Allison, 6-86
Navy - Passing: Brian Hampton, 2-6, 6 yds
Rushing: Brian Hampton, 34-149, 1 TD. Receiving:
Reggie Campbell, 1-8
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The plus
was that Navy's offense appears to be as potent as ever gaining 403
rushing yards on East Carolina, but the negative was that the game
wasn't decided until late. If Navy is going to continue to be this one
dimensional, it has to put average teams away earlier. Brian Hampton ran
as effectively as any recent Midshipman quarterback and will force
everyone to try to stop him first. That'll open everything up for Adam
Ballard running on the inside and Reggie Campbell getting to the
outside. The pass defense has to be better to beat teams like Stanford
and Tulsa later this month.
2006 Navy Preview
Navy Preview
|
Offense
|
Defense |
Depth Chart |
Further Analysis
Navy has been a cute story over the last four years under head coach
Paul Johnson winning two straight bowl games, owning Army, and
creating a juggernaut of a running game. Now, after winning 26 games
over the last three years, everything should come together in what
could be among the best Navy teams since the 1963 squad that went to the
Cotton Bowl.
18 starters return including four on an offensive line that should
be strong, three in a hard-nosed linebacking
corps, four in the secondary, and three in a backfield that
should form a breathtaking combination of speed and power. There are
a few concerns like replacing quarterback Lamar Owens and getting
more production from the defense, but experience and good coaching
should overcome most of the problems.
So just how good is this team? Few if any of the returning
starters would find a spot in the mix on most top 25 to 50 teams, the
lines are woefully undersized, as expected considering the
recruiting restrictions, and then there's the biggest question; has
this team actually beaten anyone under Johnson's reign?
Wins are wins are wins, and
there certainly can't be any complaints considering the program won a
total of three games, with two coming against Army, from 2000 to 2002,
but the best win under Johnson has been against New Mexico in the 2004
Emerald Bowl. Of the 28 wins over the last four years, only that win
over the Lobos came against a team that finished with a winning record.
You can only beat who's on your schedule, and Navy hasn't doe too much
to show what it can do against the better teams only winning two of its last 11 games
against teams that finished with winning records.
For example, last year, Navy lost to four of the decent teams it faced
(Maryland, Stanford, Rutgers and Notre Dame), so it's hard to expect
everyone to jump up and down over Navy as a growing national power. With
that said, there will be chances this year to turn the corner with
interesting games against Tulsa, Connecticut, Rutgers and Notre Dame,
and the possibility exists for a ten-win season. This team is good
enough to expect big things from, and Johnson has shown that he can
outcoach anyone. Get ready for a fun season.
The
Schedule:
Compared to most
teams going to bowls this year, it's a flat-out joke with only three
games against teams that went to bowl games last year and only one game
against a team, Notre Dame, that can dare to dream of the BCS. A team as
experienced as Navy is has to beat East Carolina, UMass, at Duke, at
Eastern Michigan, Temple and Army without blinking, and is good enough
to win at
least two of the five games against at Stanford, Tulsa, at Connecticut,
at Air Force and Rutgers. Notre Dame is the big game coming late in
October, and Navy gets two weeks off to prepare for the showdown.
Best
Offensive Player:
Junior FB Adam Ballard. Was he really that good or was he just able to
be really, really good against three run defenses (Temple, Army and
Colorado State) that would get blown over by a light breeze? Navy fans
are hoping he's the second coming of former Midshipmen star Kyle Eckel,
but it would be good enough if he provides a steady punch up the gut to
open things up on the outside.
Best
Defensive Player: Senior LB Tyler Tidwell. Rob Caldwell came up with a
whopping 140 tackles last year finishing second in the nation in tackles
per game, but Tidwell is the best player on the defense with speed on
the outside and tremendous pass rushing skills.
Key player
to a successful season: Senior QB Brian Hampton. Nine starters
return on a defense that wasn't horrible last year, and eight starters
return to the tremendous rushing offense. All the big dreams and all the
hopes for a huge season will quickly go down the drain if Hampton can't
be an effective ringleader.
The season
will be a success if ... Navy wins ten games. The Notre Dame game is the only one the
Midshipmen can't win, so there's no reason not to think ten wins can't
be attainable if everything breaks right. The bar is set higher for
this year than it has been in over forty years.
Key game:
Oct. 14 vs. Rutgers. Of course the Notre Dame game is big, but the
date with the Scarlet Knights coming up the game before, and right after
a two-game road stretch against UConn and Air Force, is important for
the team's confidence. Beating Rutgers would show that Navy might be for
real.
2005 Fun
Stats:
- Rushing touchdowns: Navy 45 - Opponents 19
- Punt return average: Navy 8.9 yards per return - Opponents 4.9 yards
per return
- Third down conversion percentage: Navy 70 of 157 (45%) - Opponents 76
of 170 (45%)
The Last Time Navy …
…played in a bowl game…2005 (Poinsettia Bowl v. Colorado State)
…missed a bowl game…2002
…pitched a shutout…2004 (Tulsa)
…was shutout…2002 (UConn)
…scored 50 points…2005 (Colorado State)
…went undefeated…1926
…won a conference title…Never
…had a 3,000-yard passer…Never
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2004 (Kyle Eckel)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…Never
…had a first-round draft choice…Never
