Navy Thrashed By Rutgers: A Good Sign for CFN...

After losing to Rutgers on Friday night, the Midshipmen vaulted twelve spots to 80th in the country in the completely ridiculous and unnecessary CFN rankings. Just thought you may be interested....ETA on those position rankings should be about 1500 this afternoon.

Week 2 Position Grades

Quarterback: D

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Even though other factors went into his three interceptions (ie. Meek blew a block on the first) it was still Kaipo-Noa who threw all three of them. I can understand the speed of Rutgers' defense probably made him feel like he had to get the ball out faster, but he needs to show better recognition in the passing game. He also made some poor reads on a few plays, and was inconsistent with his decision making in terms of when to keep. Despite the fumble, I thought Jarod made the most of his possession, but let's get one thing straight. Kaipo is still the number one guy, and unless he plays poorly over the next two or three games, we shouldn't even get into this nonsense about replacing him. Hampton bounced back in the third game against Stanford last year, and I expect Kaipo to do the same against Ball State.

Slotbacks: C+

Reggie, Zerb, and Shun combined for just under 100 yards, but didn't provide the big play that Navy could of really used in this game. Reggie was fairly active in the pass game, and did a good job bringing down the first quarter touchdown pass. Just as a wishful fan, I'd like to see Reggie get his hands on the ball more, but the ability of he and the other slotbacks making big plays is dependent on the perimeter blocking and the reads of the quarterback, which both need to get better.

Fullbacks: B

Considering Navy couldn't establish the fullback at all last year, I thought Adam and Eric did a good job teaming up for nearly a hundred yards. It's obvious at this point that Eric hits the hole faster than Adam and runs more like a "true" running back. Adam is probably tougher to bring down and a better blocker, and did a decent job grinding out some tough yards against a very stout middle of the Rutgers defense. I think we're going to see The Kettani-Ballard combination continue, and I think we're going to grow to like it.

Wide Receivers: C

Perimeter blocking was no good. Greg Sudderth has ability at wideout if we can get him the ball, but otherwise a quiet day as far catching the ball goes.

Offensive Line: C

It's the same story for the rest of the team, this unit just needs to find a way to get better. To be fair, it's very difficult to block Rutgers' athletic defensive line, which obviously led to numerous problems getting the option establish established Friday night. They weren't horrible in pass coverage (allowing one sack) but the unit didn't do anything great either. This probably would of been an acceptable performance against any other team on the schedule, but Rutgers' defense is another story.

Defensive Line: D

We don't ask a ton of penetration from our defensive line, but the coaching staff does expect gap responsibility and control, something that the line did none of on Friday night. Nate Frazier did basically nothing, while outside of Bookout's big hit I can't remember anyone getting their named called. Thank God the rest of the schedule doesn't have an offensive line like Rutgers.

Linebackers: D+

Things went from bad to worse with the loss of Clint Sovie, and you could tell that this unit just never recovered. Matt Humiston, who I've been high on all offseason, had trouble tackling Rice in the open field, while Irv Spencer was out of position on occasion. More than anything else, these guys were just getting blocked and weren't putting themselves in good position to make tackles.

Secondary: C-

Outmatched from the beginning. Tackling was not very good, and the lack of pressure on Teel really left this unit out to dry. With no pressure on Teel the zones expanded as the receivers got downfield, and Navy's defenders just aren't athletic enough to run with these guys all game. There is no reason Greg Thrasher should ever be matched up on man coverage with anyone on a fly pattern.

I Refuse to Implode Over This

Friday night sucked. We can all agree on this. If you were smart, like me, you probably found something fun to do while taping the game at home. This would have saved you a considerable amount of frustration and probably staved off the deducting of several months from your life expectancy. But, more than anything else, it would have given you the opportunity to see this game in perspective, which I think is the most important thing we can take out of Friday night.

Navy did not play well against Rutgers, that is unless you define "playing well" as turning the ball over three times on interceptions, giving up 476 yards of defense, and losing by seventeen points. Other than that, things were peachy. The o-line looked out of sync, tackling was conspicuously absent at times, and Kaipo was less than impressive throwing the football to the guys in the white jerseys. Not only that, our head coach, who many have long viewed as completely infallible, has gone on record of saying that he made a poor play call on a pass that was intercepted in the end zone. I also realize that the Mids lost two of their top defenders on defense early in the game, and turned the ball over in key circumstances. Kaipo-Noa's two interceptions in the endzone may not have cost the game for Navy, but they certainly made the game look a lot more ugly than it would have otherwise been. That's at least six points for Navy had those interception not occurred, and that's not even factoring in the the pick Kaipo threw deep m in his own territory. But as upset I am over Navy's performance Friday night and as disappointed I am for the players and the coaching staff, I realize that Navy lost this game to a legitimate Top 15 team.

There is no denying this. I've gone on record numerous times saying that Rutgers is overrated, a point which I am now retracting. Don't get me wrong, I still absolutely cannot stand their players, coaches, or fans, but I'm no longer letting my emotions cloud my perception of the team's standing in the college football rankings. The simple fact is that Navy fell to a much better team the other night, and had the Midshipmen played as well as they were capable of playing on offense (ie no turnovers) then we would all be gushing over the great effort of the team and how close we are to whatever indefinable quality we subject our expectations to.

I refuse to implode over this loss, and refuse to call the entire outlook of the season into question. We are still only two games in, and after a less than impressive beginning to the season we're about to learn a whole lot about this team. After playing away on Friday nights the past two weeks, the Midshipmen will finally return home for the next three weeks to face Ball State, Duke, and Air Force. While none of these games are" gimmes" they are nevertheless winnable, and will likely determine the course of the rest of the season.

Schiano and the Late Touchdown

I'm sorta torn on how I feel about Schiano going for the late touchdown with about two minutes left. Rutgers was up 34-17 at the time, and any objective individual would have deemed the extra points unnecessary, even with a late Navy touchdown engineered by Jarod Bryant. I don't like Shciano, but my reasons for this are complicated and often politically incorrect, so I won't get into them here. But even considering my intense dislike for the man and his program, I recognize that this is college football, and although it may be classy to take a knee and center the ball, it's not always expected. I think Craig James and Chris Spielman were trying to allude to this in the broadcast, and also mentioned that Schiano was trying to reward Rice. This is the part I have some trouble buying, as Rice was a little hobbled at this point and sticking him in there was just a cheap move to pad his numbers for the Heisman race. If Schiano was so insistent on getting a touchdown, he should of given it to his third string fullback or some such and let a kid who works his ass off in practice get a freaking chance.

Injuries

From what I understand Jeff Deliz and Clint Sovie are both doubtfull for next week. This is going to hit us hard, especially considering how well Jeff was playing against Rutgers before he went down the other night. I like the freshman Wyatt Middleton at safety a lot, but I'm not so sure that Pospisil and Haberer can fill in opposite Irv Spencer. Speaking of Irv, this now becomes his defense with the loss of Deliz and Sovie. Irv is an emotional guy with a lot of ability, and it now falls on his shoulders to make sure the defense can bounce back on the field next week.

Bad Cal

I didn't see this whole game due to some taping difficulties, but the penalty on Reggie Campbell for illegal motion or whatever was one of the dumbest calls I've ever seen. As coach Johnson later said, the referee who made the call had no idea what he was doing, and just panicked because he didn't recognize the formation. It was complete and utter nonsense.

I'll have more up later this evening.

Preview: Navy at Rutgers

Navy at Rutgers. It's the game all of us have been waiting for, the game many of us loyal fans "circled" on our wall posters months ago, swearing that this year things would be different, that Navy would avenge last year's 34-0 loss in front of a pact crowd in Annapolis. Yet this isn't just grudge match though, at least not anymore. With Rutgers' ascension to college football prominence (or at least the perception of such a rise) this game becomes what could be a crucial measuring stick for the 2007 season, and a game that will tell us not only of the ability of this year's Navy team, but also of it's character.

Let's start with what everyone knows. Rutgers comes into this game ranked 15th in the country after soundly defeating the Buffalo Bulls 38-3 last Thursday night, while the Navy Midshipmen come in 1-0 after what many have described as a rocky performance against the Temple Owls last Friday night. So often in the leadup to a game stats from that team's last performance are brought up, but to be completely honest I don't know how much you can really gauge from opening week. Not only do team's need some time to shake the rust off, but the strength of the first week's opponent is not yet known. Thus, for all those Rutgers fans saying that Navy won't be good this year because they barely got past Temple (and I've heard this argument a lot over the past week) I would ask you how you know that Buffalo is really that much better than Temple?

But enough about week one, let's now take a moment to focus in on tonight's game. Navy's biggest strength going into this game may be emotion, which in and of it self needs to be harnessed properly to even be a good thing. It's no secret that the Mids would love to avenge last year's loss, and it's been well documented by almost every single member of the New York area media that Rutgers should pound Navy, which has unfortunately been lumped in with the likes of Norfolk State and Buffalo by an ignorant host of columnists, pundits, bloggers. So, we can say with certainty then, that the emotional edge in this game goes to Navy. Rutgers does maintain home-field advantage, but so often in this case the team with something to prove is more than likely to come out with more intensity and (hopefully) focus than the team which is supposed to win by a comfortable margin.


Now that we've established that, let's turn our attention to the offense. A lot has been made about different formations the Mids may come out of on offense and different looks they may give the defense. While I agree Paul Johnson will likely try to extend his playbook beyond the the more basic looks we saw last week, the name of the game will continue to be execution. Rutger's did not "solve" the triple option as so many ignorant columnists like to point out, but rather they contained it through executing their defensive assignments when Navy's offense did not. Mark my words, if the offense executes, and does so effectively, Navy will score points on Rutgers. If things aren't clicking however, then I think we see the genius of Paul Johnson start to pull out the stops. As Phelix mentioned in his preview, Rutgers is all about quickness and precision on defense, that is to say that their team speed and explosiveness off the ball help them to shed blocks and disrupt the option before it really even gets started. After a fairly "vanilla" game plan last week that was based mostly around variations of what we've come to consider regular option looks, I think the offense will try to incorporate more misdirections, traps, and screens in the game plan to try to throw Rutgers for a loop. Remember, Rutgers was firing the corners last year and did not do a great job of covering the slot backs out of the backfield. If Kaipo can get protection the big play in the slot will be there, so look for Navy to possibly come out throwing on a more frequent than usual basis. While we're probably not going to see an offensive explosion, I think it's safe to say the Midshipmen will compile yards and will not be shut-out as we were last year.


On defense however, Navy may be facing more of an uphill battle. While the Midshipmen defense played a respectable and arguably valiant first half against Rutgers last season, I have my doubts about the defenses' ability going into tonight's game. It's not that Navy showed complete ineptitude on defense last Friday night, but it's the little things that concern me. While you can get away with taking poor angles and sloppy tackling against a team like Temple, there is no way Navy will get out of Pascataway with a degree of respectability if they cannot do those two things on defense. In addition, Navy's linebackers and defensive backs are going to have to find a way to shed the blocks of Rutgers' much more imposing offensive line, which is arguably one of the most underrated in the entire country. Lastly, they have to stop a Heisman trophy candidate in Ray Rice while not allowing the big play to develop when Rutgers does put the ball in the air. This is much easier said than done, and will put a lot of pressure on not only the linebackers but on Jeff Deliz and Jesse Iwuji, who are going to have to play alert and disciplined against both the run and the pass. More than anything else however, Navy NEEDS to force turnovers. Last year's defense was not any better talent wise than this year's defense, but what it did very well was force turnovers. I want to see our guys go after the ball tonight and take some chances in pass coverage.

The last aspect of the game worth addressing is special teams, if for no other reason than it's what killed us last season. Focus is the name of the game here, which means following through on your blocks while staying in your lanes on returns. Navy must win the field position game if they are going to come out with the "W" tonight. The Scarlet Knights lived in Navy territory last year, and if the game develops a similar tone it will only be a matter of time until Rutgers takes a commanding lead.

My heart wants to go with the Midshipmen tonight but my head tells me Rutgers is just too strong. I think we will see a much more competitive game (in terms of the final score) than last year's 34-0 loss, but I'm skeptical of Navy being able to come in and win considering how much time and energy Schiano and his team have put into defending the option. Navy will not have the luxury of playing a team which has never faced the triple option, and will instead have to work for it's yards offensively and execute a game plan that exploits Rutgers' speed and pursuit.
While I'm confident Navy will score points on Rutgers, I have, like many fans, some serious reservations about the defense and it's ability to stop Rutgers' athletic wide receivers (not to mention an All American like Rice.) If Teel has time (which he probably will) to sit in the pocket there is no way Navy's zones will be able to contain Tiquan Underword and company, who have the ability to to make plays not just downfield, but in the open field. It's an important distinction to make, because as Navy's defensive zones stretch downfield, there are fewer defenders underneath in position to make a play on the ball or the receiver. As I've said before, Navy's defenders are going to need to play smart. This means being aware of their zones and taking better angles in reaction to the ball carrier. To win this game, the Mids need not only win the turnover battle, but they need to win the field position battle. This is a younger Rutgers team which has not faced some of the adversity of past teams, so if Navy can take a lead or steal some momentum, I think this game has a chance of developing into a tight battle going into the second half. This is the scenario we want, but the one I'm not certain we will get. To be frank, I don't have a good prediction for this game, and after predicting Navy would win last year I'm not even sure I want to make one. Nevertheless, I think Rutgers wins by a "comfortable" 10(ish) points. Call it 34-24, Rutgers.

Also: Phelix's thoughts.

Preview Delayed

I know, I should be writing hours worth of material in the lead-up to the Rutgers game, but the truth is I just don't have the time this week. Thus, the Rutgers preview with be consolidated into a single post appearing tomorrow by midday. As I stated before, I don't plan on live blogging this game, but will have analysis and commentary beginning on Saturday and finally concluding on Monday.

That is all.

CFN Hates Us

Navy "ranked" 92nd in CFN's full rankings of all 119 full FBS members.

Coach Speak

I've got a little bit of break in my day here so I'll pass along some tidbits I've seen around the Internet.

To start off, check out Coach Schiano's press conference. Once you get passed some of the opening questions you can watch Schiano "enlighten" some of the local reporters on just how good he thinks Navy is. Now whether he actually thinks that or is just busting out the usual "coach speak" I don't know, but I've got to think OJ Washington is grinning after hearing Schaino call him a "big play guy." Reggie Campbell receives some props, as does the O-line and Nate Frazier, who is called a "dominant player."

After your done watching that clip (it's about 17 minutes) head over to Navysports.com and check out Paul Johnson's latest presser. Aside from the usual "we'll see" and "we better be ready" type quotes, he spends a significant time addressing Appalachian State's upset of Michigan and the performance of FCS (I-AA) teams against FBS (I-A) in general.

I think at the very top, at the elite I-A schools, there is a pretty good gap. I think the Top 10-15 I-AA schools would be comparable to the mid-level I-A schools. Not if they had to play those teams every week, because then depth would come into play because of the scholarship limitations, but on a given day they are comparable. I mean Appalachian State has beaten Wake Forest several times.

When you've finished reading that, take some time to peruse some of the newspaper articles coming out of both camps. First, check out Christian Swezey's article on Navy kicker Matt Harmon. Christian also reminds us that Navy cornerback Greg Thrasher will be eligible to play Friday after serving a suspension for breaking an unspecified team rule last week. Next, head over to the Capital and take a look at Bill Wagner's latest on how Navy will try to contain Rutgers' offense. Lastly, there is a good article by Kieth Sargeant of the Courier News on the outlook of both coaches towards this game.

As an unrelated update, I've decided to NOT do a live blog for Friday night's game. In fact, I'm not even going to watch it live. In an apparent move hypocrisy, I'm going to head over to my alma mater and watch Mount Saint Joseph (MD) take on Archbishop Spalding (MD.) I'll still have the full compliment of reviews, but depending on how the game goes we may be pushing a day behind in the analysis.

The Final Word: Position Rankings

This will be our final look at the Temple game from last Friday. After today we focus exclusively on previewing Rutgers.



Quarterback: B

Aside from making some pitches a little bit behind slotbacks and making some poor reads, Kaipo Noa played a very solid game. He is clearly a much better passer than a year ago and shows a lot more poise and ability within the pocket, not to mention more aggressiveness when he decides to keep the ball and run on the option. I expect him to shake off some of the rust of week one and continue to improve as the season rolls on.

Slotbacks: B

Shun White had a huge day (122 yards on eight carries) and Reggie Campbell also ran the ball hard, but like most of the team their is still improvement to be made. There were some missed blocks and blown assignments (Reggie uncharacteristically fanned the guy running the ally on Zerb's fumble) but these are things that happen in the first game. Hopefully the speed of the Temple linebackers will help these guys get ready for Temple.

Fullback: B-

Adam didn't really have that bad of a day, even with the fumble. Remember, Temple was taking the fullback away, and I don't care how strong you are, if a team is going to take the fullback away they're probably gonna do it. He didn't break many huge runs, but he was able to grind it out for some tough yards. Eric Kettani also looked good on two carries.

Offensive Line: B

Appeared to be much improved in pass protection, but also inconsistent at times in carrying out their blocks. I seriously need to spend more time watching this unit.

Wide Receivers: B-

This is a tough call to make because had a few penalties gone the other way OJ Washington would have had a touchdown catch and Tyree Barnes would have had a brilliant sideline catch. Greg Sudderth did a fine job blocking but overall this unit was up and down throughout the game and needs to show more consistency at sealing off the perimeter. Don't get me wrong, there were some huge lanes throughout the game (Kaipo's touchdown run) but their were also too many corners and safeties coming through unchecked.

Defensive Line: B

All things considered the line played reasonably well. Nate Frazier was able to move some bodies up front and the two ends were fairly active. Tackling and finishing plays was something of an issue however, and they're going to need to find ways to exploit the penetration they do get.

Linebackers: C+

I had high hopes for this unit, but outside of a few big hits and some nice individual plays, the unit struggled to keep tabs on Temple QB Adam DiMichele. To be fair, DiMichele played arguably the game of his life, while Temple's offensive linemen got, shall we say, some jersey throughout the game. I liked the physicality and emotion I saw in Irv Spencer, and I thought Matt Wimsatt played a solid game, but for this unit to be productive Clint Sovie and Matt Humiston are going to need to be more involved. Tackling NEEDS to get better.

Secondary: B-

As usual, this unit bent a few times but did what it was supposed to do in not giving up the big play. That being said this unit needs to be more physical against the run. Jeff Deliz finished with nine tackles but also took some poor angles, while the rest of the secondary relied more on scheme than ability to get the job done (dropping nine certainly helped with Ketric's interception.) Rashawn King is a guy who can play man coverage do it well, as he showed against Temple.

Special Teams: A-

Matt Harmon did a solid job in the field goal department and also kept Temple in check on kickoffs. The kickoff coverage team did a good job bringing Temple's speedy returners down.

That's all for tonight. BEAT RUTGERS.
(Picture from the Washington Post)

Today

Hey everyone, I'm giving Eric a hand today over at Saturday Sound Offs, so you an head over their to catch my post entitled "In Case You Missed It" detailing my thoughts on the first weekend of the college football season. As far as where we're going this week, we'll have one more segment on Temple (position ratings) sometime tonight/tomorrow before we hit the ground running with our Rutgers preview and thoughts on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I'm debating on whether or not to do a live blog for the game on Friday night, so if you have an feedback (positive or negative) on last week's live blog it's the time to speak now or forever hold you peace.

Also, I went 5-1 in my first week of picks over at Inthebleachers.net, tying my for first with ESPN.com's Bruce Feldman, Mountain Lair's John Radcliff, and John Gindin of Football Frontier. It's a race, not a sprint.

Also, here's my rough draft of my week two ballot. Let me know what you think...

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	--
2	LSU	1
3	West Virginia	1
4	Wisconsin	--
5	Louisville	4
6	Florida	1
7	California	8
8	Hawaii	6
9	Oklahoma	4
10	Texas A&M	--
11	TCU	5
12	Virginia Tech	1
13	Boston College	13
14	Clemson	12
15	Nebraska	2
16	Georgia	10
17	Georgia Tech	9
18	Michigan	13
19	Ohio State	3
20	Penn State	12
21	Arizona State	5
22	UCLA	10
23	Rutgers	2
24	Texas	18
25	Brigham Young	1

Dropped Out: Missouri (#18), Oregon (#19), Arkansas (#20), Wake Forest (#21), Boise State (#23), South Florida (#24).

Rutgers Favored by 15

We will discuss this more later this week (Wednesday probably) but the early line out of Vegas puts Rutgers as a fifteen point favorite over the Midshipmen. Sounds fair enough, considering how both teams performed last week. As far as who you want to bet on, well, you're asking the wrong dude.

(HT: GoMids.com)

Also, if anyone has video or photo of the pregame ceremonies from the Temple-Navy game (or knows where to fine them) please email me (guyontheright - at- gmail.com). Thanks!

Blog Poll Roundtable 2.0

Hey Jenny Slater has the dubious distinction of hosting this week's roundtable, a job which inevitably comes with task of trying to make sense of the biggest upset in college football history. While he acknowledges the importance of the upset, he warns us bloggers not to get caught up in answers of the "OMG MOUNTAINEERZ!!1!1!!" variety. I'll do my best, but I'm not making any promises. Giddyup.

By the end of the season, some previously unheralded teams' bandwagons will be so full they'll be having to bump passengers and offer them free vouchers and first-class upgrades; others will have emptied out in a big way. On whose bandwagon are you already scrambling to save a seat? Conversely, which team's bandwagon is being driven by Toonces the Driving Cat, prompting you to leap off now before it careens over a cliff to its fiery death below?

Because I realize teams like Boston College and Nebraska will probably be covered numerous times by other blogger's, I'm going to go with a team that flew under the radar even with a very impressive week one "upset." I am, of course, talking about Wyoming Cowboys, a team which I readily admit I've more or less "adopted" as a blogger. Not only did Wyoming pound what was supposed to be a much improved Virginia team 23-3 in Laramie on Saturday, but they flat out dominated in every aspect of the game. Just consider for a moment that the Pokes out gained the Wahoos by a ridiculous 474-108 yard margin, in the process holding Virginia's running game to a putrid six yards (.4 per carry.) Obviously some of this can be attributed to the altitude, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who actually saw this game (myself included) who would label this as a fluke. Wyoming has always had the defense under Joe Glenn, and now with Karstan Sween under center and Devon Moore in the backfield, it looks like they've found the offense. Considering all the injury problems suffered by Utah in the opener, I look for Wyoming to come in a surprising second or third within the conference.

On the flip side, I'm jumping off the Notre Dame bandwagon for obvious reasons. While it's no secret that I hold a high ( some would argue awkwardly misplaced) degree of respect for the University and it's football program, the beating put on by the Irish by Georgia Tech was complete, to say the least. I'll continue to pull for the Irish against everyone not named Navy or Army, but at this rate the Irish are going to have problems with the likes of Purdue, Navy, and even Air Farce.

Also, I think I should mention that I'm already off the Central Michigan bandwagon. I know Kansas played some good football last year and was in some close games, but a lot of people (including myself) thought the Chippewas were going to at least be competitive in a game they ended up losing 52-7. That's called getting shellacked my friends, and going by that game alone it's going to take a Herculean effort for the Chippewas to get their act together and win the MAC as I predicted before the season.

What do you think was opening weekend's biggest mirage -- either a "big win" over a team that isn't really as good as everyone thinks, or an embarrassing loss (or embarrassingly close win) that won't seem quite as embarrassing by season's end?
Don't get me wrong, I still think Louisville is a top 10 team, but let's not proclaim them National champs just yet because they put up a gazillion point on a really, really bad FCS team. The rest of the schedule isn't going to roll over so easily, and let's be honest, once you get a fifty point lead nobody cares how many points you score.

Compared to how you felt Friday night, how do you feel now about your team's chances this season? I'm not just talking about your impressions of your own team -- also take into account their prospects relative to this year's opponents, whom you've also gotten a little more acquainted with after this past weekend's action.

I'm not freaking out to the extent some other Navy fans seem to be. I recognize that Temple is a much improved team and that anything (obviously, anything) can happen in week one, so I expect improvement in the coming weeks. My opinions on the schedule have stayed relatively the same, and to be fair it's still hard to tell how good teams are after week one. I will however say that with the loss of QB Stull at Pittsburgh for the season I'm feeling much better about our chances against Pitt (I don't mean for that to sound cold) and that I'm not as concerned with Ball State after seeing them lose to Miami of Ohio. I'm also feeling better about Navy's potential chances against Notre Dame (OMG I'm looking past Rutgers!) but feeling a little concerned after watching Delaware score 50+ on William and Mary. I'm still sticking to my prediction of 8-4 or 9-3 though.

Looking at how those future opponents performed this past weekend, which developments are you most excited about? Which of your opponents' performances have you a little worried?

I basically just answered this, but here's a quick recap for those of you with ADD. Stull is gone. This leaves Pat Bostick as basically the only viable option at quarterback for Pitt, which has seemingly lost half of it's teams to various injuries and suspensions. If Navy's Wednesday night match up with Pittsburgh later in the season didn't already look like a "circle" upset game (you know, because you circle it,) it sure does now.

Rutgers worries me, but they would have worried me even i they layed an egg against Buffalo. I'm going to need to see Wake Forest a few more times before I get a sense of where they are. They lost to Boston College but two of those Wake touchdowns were scored by the defense. Wake looks a lot like last year's Wake, if you hang onto the ball you're going to have a chance, if you don't, well, then you lose.

There are now 32 bowls in D-IA football, meaning 64 bowl teams, meaning any given team now stands a better-then-50-percent chance of going to a bowl. To get that number under 50 percent, we'd have to eliminate three bowls. Which ones would you get rid of?

The New Orleans Bowl. I know we're not supposed to say bad things about the city because of Katrina, but c'mon, who wants to watch the "prestigious" Sun Belt champ take on the sixth best team in Conference-USA in the Superdome? Not me.

Motor City Bowl. Detroit, in the winter, on boxing day. Enough said. Although Boxing Day doesn't really have anything to do with it.

International Bowl. Football is an American sport, dammit. Unless it's played in Canada, in which case you get twelve men on the field and and a barbaric three downs. This was basically just an excuse for John Saunders to gush over his alma mater last year.

And finally, in 50 words or less, how happy are you that it's finally football season again?

It's equatable to your first Christmas, except it's that way every year. Except instead of getting like eleven presents (seven of which are clothes) you're getting about thirty toys a week. Once again I say to you, guddyup.

Paul Johnson named new Michigan Head Coach!

Courtesy of Bill Wagner at the Capital...

Wagner: Well, it looks like those Paul Johnson to Michigan rumors are going to start up again.

Johnson: Yep. They called me last night. It's a done deal after they saw our performance against Temple.

Wagner: After losing to Appalachian State I wouldn't be surprised if he (Lloyd Carr) was fired on Monday.

Johnson: I have proven in the past that I can beat Appalachian State. That is true.

Sunday Debrief

The Sunday Debrief is our weekly recap of the week that was in Navy football, as well as a look at what I found particularly interesting from a host of national games.

We Can Pass Protect (at least for now)

While the downfield blocking may have been suspect at times during Friday's game, did anyone else notice that the pass protection was, for the most part, very good? I know we weren't going against Georgia Tech's front seven, but hats off to the offensive line for giving Kaipo the time he needed. I thought the O-line did a decent job overall Friday night, although the perimeter blocking was wildly inconsistent and in need of serious improvement. On the bright side Greg Sudderth did a great job blocking downfield, and should be a real asset at wideout this year.

Shun Continues to Shine

Shun White picked up where he left off at the end of last season, running the ball eight times for 122 yards (15.2 ypc.) Shun, like Reggie, is so dangerous on the option because he has the speed to blow up the angle of the first defender, and the shiftiness to pick up extra yardage at the end of plays. Reggie had a somewhat quiet game, but I'm sure he'll be utilized more extensively next Friday.

Penalties and Bad Calls

Can I just start by saying that our linebacker were getting mauled all night in what we in the industry typically like to refer to as "holding." As Paul Johnson indicated in his most recent press transcript, some of the no-calls were complete BS, and indicated that he may even need to get Clint Sovie a "new jersey" because of how torn up it was from being held. I'm not saying Temple didn't get their fair share of bad calls, but the refs seemed to zero in and really break up some good Navy drives with questionable calls. All you ask is for consistency, and to call back an OJ Washington touchdown because of a border-line holding call while calling nothing on Temple's offensive line is asinine. That being said there were some clearly dumb penalties committed by the Midshipmen, including a needless clip by Ketric Buffin on a punt return. We may be able to get away with those kinds of mistakes against the Temple's of the world, but against the Rutgers' and Wake Forests' of the world it's just not gonna cut it.

Big Nate and the Boys

There weren't a ton of great plays made by the defensive line, but overall this unit got good penetration and fought hard even in the face of being held much of the night. Nate Frazier managed to get penetration on numerous instances, and even showed some great athleticism dropping back into coverage. Chris Kahur-Pitters had a fine game as well. Speaking of dropping back, Navy utilized a max protect zone a few times, rushing the ends while dropping everyone back. Aside from lulling the offensive line asleep and giving a delayed blitz a chance to work, these kinds of looks also play havoc with the quarterback, whose throwing lanes are cut off. It worked against DiMichele, as he was forced into a horrible pass that was picked up by Ketric Buffin in the third quarter.

Special Teams Shine

It isn't Beamer Ball yet, but I thought the special teams units played consistently and with purpose the other night. The new kickoff rules didn't equate to much, as the kick coverage team kept Travis Shelton and his alleged "4.2 speed" from getting past the thirty. Matt Harmon continued to impress, going 3-3 including a 43-yarder that gave the Midshipmen some extra breathing room. Plebe Wyatt Middleton is going to be an awesome special teams ace for us this season.

It's Fixable

You can't fix just sucking, but you can fix miscues, turnovers, and missed blocks. We all know the Midshipmen did not perform as well as they could against Temple, but to be fair this was the first team of the season, and unless your a team like Louisville playing a team like Murray State, chances are your not going to be lights out. I have confidence in coach Johnson, his staff, and the players to take the appropriate steps to rectify some of the mistakes we saw Friday night, and to put a better team on the field next Friday night. If we don't, well, we're going to be in some serious trouble for not just next week, but maybe the rest of the season.

And now for some national notes...

This is not that Surprising (ok, it is)

No, I didn't predict that Appalachian State would upset Michigan, but like many other fans of the FCS I did expect a closer games than the Bruce Feldmen's and Mark May's of the world. The reality is that Appalachian State is the USC of the FCS, and if they played in say, Conference USA or the MAC, they'd be going bowling on a yearly basis. I really hope people recognize this game for what it is, and come to learn that their are not only solid FCS teams out there, but very good programs in the mid-major ranks. As the popularity of college football expands we're going to start to see more parody in the game, and while an upset of this magnitude may never happen again in the foreseeable future, this won't be the last time a "name" team will lose to an FCS team.

Don't Sleep on the Pokes

While most of the country was plugged in (not figuratively of course, that would require you actually had the Big 10 Network) to the Appalachian Stat upset, I was watching a very good Wyoming squad pound Virginia in the death zone of Laramie. Ok, so it may not be Camp 4 on Everest, but east coast teams literally fade by the second quarter up there. But it's not just the altitude, and despite whatever your local Wahoo fans tell you about Jameel Sewell (who by the way is not the answer down there,) you've got to give the Pokes some credit. Readers may remember that I predicted this "upset" months ago, and pegged Wyoming as my surprise team in the Mountain West Conference. With Utah experiencing a plethora of injury concerns, look for the Pokes to contend with Colorado State for the third spot in the conference, and possibly even challenge BYU for second.

The Other FCS Upset

You probably missed it, but Rice dropped their opener to Nicholls State 16-14 in the wee hours of Saturday night. If your keeping count at home, that means FCS teams have taken a grand total of two games from FBS teams.

It's Not As Bad as you Think

If your the kind of person who is steaming because we "only" beat Temple by eleven, just consider the fact that fourth ranked Texas "only" beat Arkansas State by eight. As long as we can get better and not kill ourselves with dumb mistakes, who cares if we "only" beat a much improved Temple team by eleven.

Tommarow: Position Grades

Saturday Night Media Coverage

Quote of the Day

"Some guys did great things and some didn't do so well. I was one who didn't do so well. We've got to get better by next week. Rutgers is 100 times better than the team we played tonight."

-Navy MLB Clint Sovie

Newspaper Clippings

Ballard Leads Navy past Temple (Dan Gelston, AP)

Navy Holds off Temple for Johnson's 100th (Sandra McKee, Baltimore Sun)

For openers, Mids down Temple (Bill Wagner, Annapolis Capital)

Navy Opens With Sloppy Victory (Patrick Stevens, Washington Times)

If You Want a Good Laugh

Pregame Live Blog

First Half Live Blog

Second Half Live Blog

Navy Downs Temple 30-19

The headline on ESPN.com says "Navy tramples Temple," but for Navy fans in attendance or watching on television, last night's 30-19 win didn't seem so simple. In fact, Paul Johnson's historic night was overshadowed by a feisty Temple offense that just wouldn't quit, even after burying itself in a 14-0 hole during the first half.

Just a nine months removed from a a 42-6 drudging at the hands of Navy last season in Annapolis, Temple Head Coach Al Golden sure showed his worth last night, calling a game that was a lot closer to defeating the Navy defense than even the final score indicates. There will be a lot written about this game, both on this website and others, but while we continue to let it soak in and digest what we saw last night, I think it's important to give Temple credit. There may be those in the national media (in particular those covering a certain team in New Jersey) who will point to this game and say "how can Navy be any good this year, they barely got past Temple?" While there may be credence in this argument in regards to a highly ranked team like the Scarlet Knight, recent history has taught us not to push the panic button in these situations. After barely getting past UMass by a single point last season, how many of us indicated that the season may be in jeopardy? The answer, of course, is many of us, but then again UMass went on to win the rest of their games before losing the National Championship to Appalachian State. Looking back on that game, many Navy fans pointed to it as a tangible reminder to just how far this program has come. After all, if Navy could still win a game while failing to execute the offense and bending on every conceivable situation of defense, then the team had to better if for no other reason than you don't play your worst game of the season on a week-in, week-out basis.

I'm not necessarily saying this Temple game will equate to the 2006 UMass game, but I'm trying to echo what both Clint Sovie and Kaipo-Noa said in their post game interviews. They know the team played poorly, they know they can improve, and they know they have to improve. But I think they also realize that we were not playing the 2006 Temple Owls, and for all those who asked "what has changed," I think the simplest answer would be to say "everything." You could just feel a renewed energy in Temple, a certain swagger I guess you could say. Adam DiMichele, who seemed to be sacked every other play last season, showed incredible elusiveness in the pocket and single-handily kept several drives going with his ability to elude the rush. His offensive line, so entrenched in criticism last year, literally played it's best game ever, and manhandled Navy's linebackers on every screen pass. And then their was Golden, who anticipated the weaknesses of Navy's defense, and called a game to exploit them. The use of frequent screen passes and off tackle runs took advantage of Navy's penetration up front, while his energy and enthusiasm gave his team life when it looked like they may quit, as they had done so many times before.

In short, this was the first game of the season. We will analyze it, probably over analyze it, but it's important to keep it in perspective. I think we can expect more than one win out of Temple this season, and I think it goes without saying that Navy's offense will improve. The question know moves to the Navy defense, and whether or not Temple's offense was really that good, or if we should be concerned about Coach Buddy Green's unit. There were some bright spots last night, which we will get to, but I think it goes without saying that David Mahoney is irreplaceable, and that we're going to miss the tenacity and ability at which he played.

But, as they say, we'll take it. A win is a win and now the most important game becomes next Friday's matchup with Rutgers. I would, however, be remiss if I did not mention and congratulate Coach Paul Johnson, who quietly received his 100th career victory last night. Phelix has an excellent movie over at the Bird Dog chronicling Johnson's days at Hawaii, Georgia Southern, and both stints at the Naval Academy. Here's to another hundred wins for Coach, hopefully all of them coming at Navy.

Second Half Live Blog

Welcome back to our coverage of Navy-Temple. We'll get rolling just as soon as the action picks up.

9:26- Navy will get the ball first half, that is if Golden doesn't try for the onsides (which he might.)

9:28- Promising drive killed by a Ballard fumble (fighting for extra yards.) All I can say is that our O owns these guys, but we've got to hold onto the ball.

9:30- [comment redacted]

9:32- You want to know the two biggest difference between last year's defense and this year's? A) Coming off of blocks (We don't in 2007.) B) Stripping the football (we don't in 2007). 24-13 Mids.

9:39- Our home slice Eric Kettani gets a carry. I'm sure he enjoys me calling him that.

9:40- Why am I watching mascots fight and not temple's defense getting destroyed? Coverage please ESPNU!

9:41- They are killing us when we run the freeze option. It's just setting up slow.

9:45 Tyree Barnes just made a sick catch that was called back for interference. Dumb call, but we owe them a few I guess.

9:47- The Refs are officially screwing us this quarter.

9:49- All due apologies to our older fans, but if I see another commercial for the "help I've fallen and I can't get up button" I'm gonna scream.

9:53- We're getting killed by the run.

9:55- Oh, so that's why you only rush two. Ketric Buffin with an interception! HOOZAH!

10:01- Id' like to take this time to officially redact my comment about hating football. I was just kidding. I told you this would be an awkward and erratic live blog.

10:08- The option is starting to ware Temple down. The cramp monster is out on the field.

10:10- There have been about two plays run within the last 15 minutes. I've been reduced to throwing a racket ball against my wall.

10:13- Wow, we've just moved back twenty yards in like three seconds.

10:15- Why on God's good earth would you review a play when their is a holding penalty?

10:17- Is Golden trying to ice Harmon? Phelix was right, this guy is weird.

10:23- Wyatt Middleton just straight up trucked a dude. That's the second time tonight Temple has tried to throw try some trickeration on a kickoff.

10:25- Do we have other linebackers besides Irv in this game. All the damn screen passes are driving me crazy.

10:27- Give Golden and DiMichele credit. One's calling a good game and the other is executing it.
10:29- Incidental face masks should die.

10:32- I redact my comment about redacting my comment that I hate football.

10:34- I :heart: special teams.

10:38- Time for a New Mexico.

10:44- This is it. 4th and inches...

10:45- I'm sending Matt Harmon a steak for Christmas.

10: 50- Well, we win, and I have to drive an hour back from D.C. tonight, so I'll have a a review tomorrow.

Oh yea, 100!

First Half Live Blog

7:30- FUHBALL!!!

7:32- Beth Mowins and Dave Diez-Infante are calling the game. I've seriously never heard of either, although Infante seems to know what he's talking about.

7:35- Looks like a decent sized crowd, although a lot of empty seats in the upper reserve sections. Good to see Staubach and Bellino do the coin toss.

7:40-Navy "D" holds for a three and out, but a booming punt and a Buffin clip are going to start us back in our own end.

7:42- I called the first play, but the pass was batted down at the line.

7:44- On a crucial third and ten Kaipo his Shun White for a big gain down the field. Temple's secondary was in another state.

7:51- TOUCHDOWN NAVY! Ballard and the offense make it look easy.

7:51- Let's see how Temple responds. They had a three and out to start the game and just got walked all over on defense. If the offense can't get anything going here it could be a long night for Golden's ball club.

8:01- That was an interesting series. Temple has some talented players on offense and their O-line seems to be improved from last season, but they keep self-destructing with penalties. Golden was likely going to go for it on 4th and inches until a false start forced him to punt.

8:05- Kaipo is freaking awesome. After hitting reggie for a nice twenty yard completion, he takes a 44 yard run to the house. Greg Sudderth has an good block, and Kaipo shows a little high stepping at the end. Coach Johnson gave him a grin and then hit him on the head.

8:15- Temple is making some offensive progress. As I said before they have the ability to move the football, which coupled with Golden's win-or-die personality give Navy some problems. Temple is doing a good job taking what Navy gives them, which is what you have to do against a Coach Buddy Green defense.

8:25- Temple does get three points off of the aforementioned drive. DiMichele is really impressing me, but had to sit out two plays (one of them was a sack) because of an injury. Navy needs to come out firing here to kill any momentum.

8:33- Johnson goes for it on 4th and 2 and Adam Ballard just gets the first down. Holy Cow that was close. Not sure on the spot, we caught a break there.

8:35- Damn. Turnover. Missed block. Big hit. damn.

8:37- The announcers our huge Temple homers. And our defense is slow. 14-10.

8:42- Alright, no screwing around. Coach Johnson is going to let Shun and Reggie sonic the hedgehog it up. Adam needs to get north-south.

8:47- Adam Ballard is so cool. Touchdown Mids. 21-10. Now let's play some defense, dammit.

8:50- There should honestly be a five-yard late hit variety. Unless your trying to kill someone, these are the dumbest penalties.

8:54- Big Nate is getting some great penetration but has been held a couple of times. I like.

8:53- Adam DiMichele should play for Navy. Kid has some serious athletic ability.

8:58- Shun White explodes peoples' helmets.

9:05- Halftime, baby, halftime. Mids up 24-10.

Some halftime thoughts:

Temple looks better than last year, as expected. Golden's guys (in particular DiMichele) showed a lot of resilience to bounce back after going down 14-0. Temple's offensive line looks head and shoulders above where it was last year, but Navy's offense looks well advanced for the first game and should be able to continue after the half. Aside from the missed blocks that lead to the Zerbin Singleton fumble, the offense has executed for the most part. DiMichele is an ATHLETE, the guy has already eluded what looked like two or three sure sacks and has made some plays in the open field. Navy's defenders need to stay disciplined and take better angles. Temple has had some bad luck this game but I don't think it would make up for the fourteen points Navy leads by. Kaipo is getting some great pass protection and is throwing the ball well for the most part. The new kickoff rule has had absolutely no effect, although hats off to Navy's special teams, which have done a fine job.

TONIGHT!

This is the official game-day open thread/live blogging thread. I'm not planning on making this an over-the-top live blog that's updated every twenty seconds, but I still like the idea of getting thoughts in during commercials and other breaks. If nothing else, the transcripts are usually pretty funny to read afterwards. So, if you have any thoughts, comments, or concerns, this is the place to leave them. I'll check in later this afternoon and leave some notes.

Pregame:


12:35- In case anyone is interested in my week one picks, you can head over to Saturday Sounds Offs and check out the Big Board. So far I'm 2-0, correctly picking Tulsa and Oregon State last night. Tonight I'm projecting Ty and his Huskies to beat Syracuse.


12:46- I still don't have definite plans for where I' watching this game tonight, but I'll figure something out. Right now I have to get my lovely mug shot for ROTC, so I won't be back until 3:30ish.


1:50- Only member of the platoon with a navy shirt on in his picture. Yes, I planned it that way. I just decided not to head up to the game (can't get out early enough), so I'll be watching it on ESPN U.


3:47- We're now inside four hours until game time. If you anxiously waiting without anything to do until kickoff, be sure to check out Inthebleachers.net. The fine folks over there have put together a pick 'em pitting Bruce Feldmen against a collection of bloggers and average Joe's. You can check out my picks hyah.


6:25- Well, we're approaching an hour left to go. If your heading up to Philly you should of left three hours ago. If not, well, kick back and relax and enjoy the action.

7:00- We're a half hour away and it's time for the prediction of Navy's first offensive play. For those of you who watched the UConn game last year, let's just say that if the execution is there, expect a similar result. Temple, on the other hand, will run a reverse on the first kickoff they receive. No really, they will.


7:15- Who the hell is Beth Mullins?


The people at ESPN can't say Kaipo's name. How sad is that? I mean it's not like he's some kid they pulled off the jv, he did start six games last season...


7:26- The people at ESPNU obviously have no perspective outside of the SEC.

7:30- We're about to get started, moving over the the 1st Half Thread...

CFN Predicts Navy Victory

Collegefootballnews.com has finally said goodbye to the pointless offseason rankings and got some serious and meaningful contact cranked up, including their weekly "Fearless predictions" for all FBS teams.

CFN predicts a 34-17 Navy victory in tomorrow night's opener, a prediction which corresponds to what many navy fans are projecting.

Take a wild guess what Navy will do? With a nice mix of inside and outside runs, the Midshipmen will hold on to the ball for close to 40 minutes and will never let Temple get any sort of rhythm. Temple won't be embarrassed and will show potential in the loss.

I'll keep you updated on any other previews and projections I see throughout the day. If you've seen any I've yet to cover, feel free to drop us a line.

EDIT: CSTV.com blogger Greg Amsinger picks the Midshipmen to handily defeat Temple 42-13. He also likes Army over Akron by a touchdown.

My Question on College Football Live

Go there now.

EDIT: Ok, so here's the story. I've been a bum all day and have been watching this 25 hour pregame show ESPN has been running. Just before 1600 hours I was dozing off while reading an email from my MS professor when all of a sudden I hear Rece Davis say something along the lines of "is this the year Navy beats Notre Dame." Lou Holtz proceeded to say something dumb that I've since forgotten, but I'm pretty sure this was in reference to a question I sent in earlier today to the show. Not that it matters what Lou Holtz thinks, I just thought it was cool.