Ind & ND Inglourious Blog - Week 1 Recap

Matt Smith's blog on the Independents and what happened this weekend.

By Matt Smith

1. Even Navy is susceptible to silly mistakes

The revitalization of Midshipmen football over the past decade first by Paul Johnson and now under Ken Niumatalolo was keyed by sound fundamentals, clutch performances, and few mistakes. The Mids dominated in yards and time of possession, but it was Maryland who rose up and stuffed Ricky Dobbs at the goal line on 4th down to seal the game, Navy’s third failure at the goal line after two earlier Dobbs fumbles. In most situations, it’s completely logical for a service academy to play for the win in regulation against a BCS-conference team, but Navy was controlling the game and certainly would have had the edge going into overtime had it opted for a game-tying field goal on 4th and goal at the one-yard line. This was supposed to be the year Navy was supposed to win 10 regular season games. Why? Their coach and their quarterback were consistent, tough, and smart. While Monday’s performance was an outlier and Navy will have a fine season, Dobbs and Niumatalolo turned in arguably their worst games on the same day. 12-0 is out the door, but the season is far from lost. Win their 8th straight Commander-in-Chief’s trophy, and win a “home” game against Notre Dame for the first time in 50 years, and Monday’s debacle will be long forgotten.

2. Army’s bowl drought will continue.

Give Army credit. After dumping a 24-14 lead in the second half to Eastern Michigan, Trent Steelman took the Black Knights 72 yards in two and a half minutes for the game-winning touchdown. That said, Eastern Michigan is awful. Giving up 285 yards, over 100 yards more than the Eagles’ highest total in 2009, does not bode well. There is still no passing threat whatsoever, and while there won’t be eye-popping numbers in the triple option offense, Army doesn’t have the talent level to consistently run the ball play after play against any team with a pulse like their arch nemesis in Annapolis does. Duke, Temple, Rutgers, Air Force, Notre Dame, and Navy are almost certain losses. That leaves no margin for error in the other five games to get to a bowl. Hawaii comes to West Point this weekend, and facing a team traveling 5000 miles with a battered quarterback makes this a winnable game for Army, and one they absolutely have to have. The Black Knights don’t need to apologize. They won the game, and that’s what matters most. However, the defense must make major strides for Army to top last year’s five wins.

3. Brian Kelly knows what he’s doing.

Even the best of the best can’t turn a program around overnight. Urban Meyer was embarrassed by Mike Shula in his first year at Florida. Nick Saban infamously lost to Louisiana-Monroe in year one at Alabama, and to UAB in year one at LSU. Jim Tressel and Bob Stoops lost five games in their first seasons. All won national titles within four years. Wins and losses in year one of a coaching change are somewhat overrated. Notre Dame’s performance against Purdue did very little to show how many wins the Irish are capable of this season; however, it showed without a doubt Notre Dame made the right hire for the first time since Holtz. They tackled well, they ran the ball effectively, their defense held up for 60 minutes. Futility in those areas took two teams with nine-win talent to 6-6 seasons. There is still a gap athletically between Notre Dame and the nation’s elite programs, and there will be plenty of growing pains this season, but as Kelly says, it’s just part of the process. The culture has changed. Next up: the win totals.