Author: Mike
This Week in Service Academy Football
Air Force (1-1) — Lost to Michigan, 31-25. Air Force played well in a game that mirrored Navy’s contest with South Carolina last year in many ways. Like Navy, the Air Force offense was able to move the ball pretty well, but just couldn’t put one last drive together to win it in the end. Also like Navy, there was one player on the other team that the defense just couldn’t stop. For the Mids it was running back Marcus Lattimore that ran wild for 246 yards and 3 TDs. Air Force was just as helpless against Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson, who had touchdown runs of 79 and 58 yards on the way to 218 rushing yards to go along with 208 passing yards and two more touchdowns. The biggest surprise in this game was how poorly Michigan defended the option. They spent most of the game in a 3-deep 4-4, with the safety assigned to the pitch man. Sound familiar? No wonder Air Force was able to move the ball. After playing both Navy and Air Force several times in his career, you’d think that Brady Hoke would have known better.
(Of note is that after this game, Troy Calhoun not only elected not to address the media, but prevented his players from doing so as well. Shutting out the media is par for the course for Calhoun, who spends as much time imitating the “old Soviet Presidium” as he does criticizing it. But his players have “Service” and “Freedom” on their jerseys so calling him out for acting ridiculous probably makes me unpatriotic.)
Army (0-1) — Hoke’s old defensive coordinator at San Diego State knew better, though, as Rocky Long’s Aztecs trounced Army, 42-7. The Black Knights were able to drive to just inside the SDSU 30 on their opening possession, but were stopped for a loss on 4th & 1 and never really recovered after that. Army would get no closer than the San Diego State 44 until late in the third quarter, when Long took his foot off the gas up 35-0. Army did end up with 282 rushing yards, but a rash of fumbles and interceptions kept them from doing any damage while the game was in doubt. Army also had a couple of statistical standouts in Raymond Maples and Terry Baggett. However, 78 of Maples’ 107 rushing yards came after Army was down 35-0. Baggett was a little more successful, accumulating 40 of his 100 yards from the same point.
Long uses a 3-3-5, but in this game it was more of a 3-3-2-3 the way they lined up. What Long likes to do is to use those “2” to put an extra DB on either side of the formation to be #3 in the count, then have the free safety follow the pitch. This way, the offense has to block #3, but doesn’t have anyone left to get to the safety (indeed, Aztec safety Nat Berhe led all tacklers with 14). You should be able to run inside fairly well against this defense, but Army wasn’t able to do so consistently. Neither did Navy when they played San Diego State in the Poinsettia Bowl, although they did have some success through the air. Trent Steelman has a lot of strengths, but Army can’t rely on his arm to jump-start the offense.
Defense and special teams didn’t look any better for Army, as the Aztecs were able to run for 228 yards and 4 TDs as well as tacking on a 96-yard kickoff return for another TD. It was a disappointing start for an experienced Army team that came into the season with high hopes. Next up for Army is an NIU squad that gave Iowa all they could handle to start the year.
Bonus! Our brothers-in-option at The Citadel upset fellow optioneers Georgia Southern, 23-21. Spike is all over that one over at The Sports Arsenal. Based on the photo gallery, it looks like everyone’s diggin’ the shotgun lately.
Postgame Haiku, Vol. 57
Slept in this morning?
Didn’t set your DVR?
Just watch last year’s game.
Blogger Outreach
I did a Q&A with the Notre Dame blog One Foot Down. You can read it here.
Game Week (Ireland Edition): Notre Dame
Yes, the hibernation has ended (for now).
I am the worst blogger ever. I’m not even a blogger, really. Instead of providing running commentary on the various happenings that involve my chosen subject, I emerge every once in a while to drop some way-too-wordy essay on here before fading away for another few months, or the next time my inspiration outweighs my laziness. Not gonna lie, that’s probably not going to change this year. Nevertheless, I feel guilty letting this dormant blog take up valuable space in the tubes while football season is about to start, so for now I’ll let guilt be that inspiration.
It seems like everyone is grateful that real football is about to start, since the offseason was so… eventful. Honestly, I’m not all that jazzed up about it (like I said, I’m the worst blogger ever). Nevertheless, time, tide, and football season aren’t going to wait for me to be ready. At least the Mids’ first game is interesting. That game, of course, is in Dublin against Notre Dame. The fact that it’s in Ireland just adds to the hoopla surrounding a game that is already a highlight of the Navy football season every year. There’s more to it than that, though. This year’s game against the Irish is of particular interest to this Navy team. Unlike last year’s rope-a-dopes against Delaware and Western Kentucky, we’ll know right away if Navy has made any improvement going into the 2012 campaign. It can be argued that the Notre Dame game was Navy’s worst performance on both sides of the ball in 2011.
WE CAN’T LET THEM GET ALL OPTIMISTIC ON US, NOW
I’ve been pretty bullish on the Big East’s prospects for getting a competitive television contract, and for a while there was a bit of momentum in the media to support my position.
The surprising reality with the Big East — if it stays together in its intended 13-team and 18-team formats — is that it could still be a lucrative league. Football drives the financial bus, and basketball provides boundless inventory. While there have been plenty of jokes about who would want to watch San Diego State and Connecticut play football, apparently someone is willing to pay to find out.
Neal Pilson, a media consultant and former president of CBS Sports, predicted that the Big East could surpass the deal it turned down last year, which was considered similar in value to the A.C.C.’s $155 million annual deal.
“I think if they stay together and negotiate as a single unit, I think they can come away with a reasonably favorable result,” Pilson said. “Even more than what ESPN offered a year and a half ago. I think the competition will drive it.”
That’s not the case anymore, as stories this week are all about how the Big East’s TV deal could fall way short of the conference’s expectations. It seems odd to me that these stories started coming out only three days after NBC and Fox Sports representatives made presentations at last week’s Big East meetings that suggested otherwise. Maybe “odd” isn’t the right word… “Convenient” might be more appropriate. It appears that we may be entering a period of public negotiation, with both sides taking their cases to the media. The outgoing Memphis athletic director isn’t exactly an unbiased source, and obviously the Big East wants to appear optimistic coming out of its own meetings. Pilson may or may not have an agenda (I have no idea), but at least he’s named so we can scrutinize his comments accordingly. On the flip side, “industry sources” could have just as much motivation to use public perception to drive down the Big East’s asking price. (In fairness to McMurphy, he points this out at the end of his article).
Continue reading “WE CAN’T LET THEM GET ALL OPTIMISTIC ON US, NOW”
Playoff Thoughts
I’m pretty sure I’m the only person left that doesn’t want a college football playoff, but it appears I’ll be out of luck once the current BCS contract ends and a four-team playoff is implemented. At this point it seems like the only thing left to decide is the format, a question that’s been creating all kinds of hate and discontent lately. Nick Saban accusing others of being self-serving while making his own self-serving argument? It must be Wednesday.
The two most popular ideas being tossed around are the “four best teams” plan favored by the SEC, and the “conference champion” plan that was offered by Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney. The way the latter would work is that the top four conference champions would be selected out of a pool of the top six teams. If there aren’t four conference champions within the top six, the remaining spots would be filled by at-large teams within that group. This is the plan supported by the Big East.
It seems like picking the four best teams is the obvious answer, but it really isn’t. Think about it for a second. The rallying cry of playoff supporters has always been that the national champion should be “determined on the field.” Relying on some BCS ranking system to pick who gets to participate wouldn’t serve that purpose any more with four teams than it does with two. Deciding the “best” is subjective. Deciding conference champions is not. There is going to be a subjective element in the selection process because of who gets ranked in the top six, but the best way to minimize it and have the national champion truly decided on the field is to give selection priority to conference champions.
LCDR WESLEY BROWN, ’49
This is a sports blog, not a “general Naval Academy happenings” blog. There are certain events, however, that transcend sports and deserve to be mentioned here. The passing of Wesley Brown is such an event.
On the strength of one link in the cable,
Dependeth the might of the chain.
Who knows when thou may’st be tested?
So live that thou bearest the strain!
The purpose of plebe summer is not simply an indoctrination to a military lifestyle. It also teaches incoming plebes the single most important lesson for military success: that the individual no longer matters. Once these new denizens of the dixie cup raise their right hands and take the oath, they become part of a team. Everything they will do after that point will be for the good of that team, and in turn they know that they can count on the team to get them through situations they didn’t think they could handle before. That mantra doesn’t end after Herndon; they will carry it with them through graduation and into their Naval careers.
Now imagine going through the rigors of this environment without a team, or even a roommate. No, simply not having a team would have been an improvement. Imagine going through USNA while those who were supposed to be your team were instead actively working against you. Inventing reasons to give you demerits and put you on restriction. Hazing you. Trying to get you to quit if they failed in their efforts to get you kicked out. How many of us could do it? How many would even want to try?
Take heed in your manner of speaking
That the language ye use may be sound,
In the list of the words of your choosing
“Impossible” may not be found.
Wesley Brown did. The history of racial integration at the Naval Academy is not a proud one, and as the first black midshipman to make it to graduation, he endured all that and more. That he was able to persevere is important, but just as important is how he did it. It would have been understandable, expected even, for LCDR Brown to want nothing to do with USNA, and to have been made bitter by his experience. Yet he wasn’t, at least not publicly. He never singled out a classmate for the way he was treated. He didn’t curse the Naval Academy, though he would have been justified in doing so. Instead, he embraced his alma mater, serving on the Alumni Association Board of Trustees and maintaining a visible presence on the yard. He continued to put ship and shipmate before self, and became the embodiment of that most fundamental of midshipman lessons. The grace with which Brown handled his burden prevented further divisiveness and accelerated the process through which the Academy corrected its wrongs and became the institution that it is today.
Doth the paintwork make war with the funnels
And the deck to the cannons complain?
Nay, they know that some soap and fresh water
Unites them as brothers again.
So ye, being heads of departments,
Do you growl with a smile on your lip,
Lest ye strive and in anger be parted,
And lessen the might of your ship.
It is appropriate, then, that there is a building bearing his name on the Yard. If it is a love of country that inspires us to serve, then how great must that love be for someone who answers the call even while being harassed by those who would have him fail? Officers capable of leadership in the face of adversity are exactly what the Naval Academy strives to produce. Future generations of midshipmen must remember the example that Brown set for them. The moment he decided to bearest the strain, our school and our country were changed for the better.
Say the wise: How may I know their purpose?
Then acts without wherefore or why.
Stays the fool but one moment to question,
And the chance of his life passes by.
May he be remembered with gratitude as he rests in eternal peace.
Links 5/23
— Inside Lacrosse is reporting that Richie Meade will be named as the first head coach of the new lacrosse program at Furman. It’ll be weird seeing him on another college sideline, but we all knew it would happen at some point. Good for him, and good for Furman.
— Navy won the Patriot League Presidents’ Cup for the 2011-2012 academic year. It’s the first time Navy has won. Bucknell had won the last six, with the Mids finishing second in five of those years. Navy doesn’t play Patriot League football, field hockey, or softball, and only recently added women’s lacrosse and women’s tennis. Both of those programs have become very successful very quickly, and their rise (along with the rise of women’s programs in general) helped to finally push Navy over the top. I’ve never worried much about the Presidents’ Cup, but it’s a nice to get a bit of affirmation for a great year by the athletic department.
— Speaking of the rise of women’s lacrosse, Cindy Timchal shall now be addressed as Hall of Famer Cindy Timchal.
— Not all the news is good. As the kids say, “smh.” Sperry had dropped on the depth chart this spring thanks to the rise of Jonathan Wev, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have fought back. At the very least he would’ve provided experienced depth for a defense that had none last year. I hate the offseason.
— On to the conference expansion mess… The headline here says “Texas AD not for expanding,” but that’s not really the impression I get from reading the article. The way I read it, DeLoss Dodds is just trying to remain noncommittal, either for the sake of not tipping his hand or just not wanting to set off a firestorm of rumors based on his comments. Like this. I do believe that Big 12 expansion is far from a given, though, especially after their recent monster television deal. Would Florida State and Clemson really add that much value? Would a championship game make enough money to offset splitting television revenue by two (or more) additional teams? Maybe, but I don’t know if that’s a certainty. Let’s hope not.
— The Big East’s league meetings are wrapping up today, but there is plenty to talk about already through days 1 & 2:
- The most interesting (and important) bit is that NBC and Fox both gave presentations on why the Big East is appealing to them. I don’t know what was contained in those presentations (or where that lovely $2 billion number came from), but I suspect that it pretty much sounded like the last few paragraphs of this. I’m telling you, this conference has the potential to make money if it can just stay together.
- Speaking of which, one report is saying that “multiple sources” expect Air Force or BYU to join along with Navy in 2015. Well, OK. I don’t know if anyone’s “expectations” are really worth mentioning, since these stories change by the day. I’m going to need to see a lot more smoke before I believe there’s a fire there. If we’re just going to speak hypothetically, then either one of them would be a good addition. Air Force would be better for Navy, although BYU would be better for the league. The best-case scenario would be to add both of them plus Army, but don’t hold your breath. Of the two, BYU might (somewhat surprisingly) be the most likely since they are facing most of the same challenges as an independent that Navy had. I was a big fan of BYU’s independence (still am, actually), but a lot has changed even in the short time that they made that decision. I’m sure that BYU is at least keeping their options open. As for Air Force, I get the feeling that they’re content with attempting to rule the tattered remnants of the Mountain West. A Gazette column calling them “cowardly” is surely on the way.
- Divisional alignment possibilities were also discussed, although no decision was made. I had always assumed that it would be an east-west split, given that Boise State and San Diego State were both adamant about having a western partner for the conference. I still think it makes the most sense, although I’m also sure that neither Louisville nor Cincinnati get giddy over the thought of joining a western division. All I want is for Navy to be in the same division as UCF so we can create a rivalry trophy out of George O’Leary’s severed head on a stick.
- The championship game for the conference will be played on-campus instead of at a neutral site. GOOD.
The Birddog 