Yet another fine day in San Diego. Started with practice in the morning, followed it up with lunch with my sister in Old Town and a spin around my old neighborhoods, and finished with Navy basketball vs. San Diego State.
Category: bowls
The Birddog Poinsettia Bowl Trip, Part 1
So I’m here on the first official Birddog road trip, in sunny (and sort of chilly) San Diego. My flight left Jacksonville at 6 on Saturday morning. A quick layover in Atlanta, and I was off. I’m staying with a friend (and fellow ’99er). I went out with a few of his friends last night. Today, it was the Chargers-Lions game followed up with dinner at my sister’s house. Pictures after the jump.
Wait, What?
There’s a game in a week?
Sure enough. Time, tide, formation, and bowl games wait for no one, and my $500 plane tickets aren’t refundable. It only felt like the world stopped turning when Paul Johnson left. In reality, we’re one week away from the end of another great Navy football season.
When most schools hire a new football coach, fans usually have to wait 9 months or so to get to see him in action. Navy fans don’t even have to wait two weeks. Well, sort of. He might be the new coach, but Ken Niumatalolo’s theme at practice this week has been not to fix what isn’t broken. And with a week left in the season, it would certainly seem like a bad time to reinvent the wheel. If Niumat has changes in mind about how he’s going to run things, it will likely be spring before we see them.
The team’s routine won’t change, but that doesn’t mean everything will be business as usual when Navy takes on Utah in the third Poinsettia Bowl. Ivin Jasper will be putting together his first gameplan as Navy’s offensive coordinator, and will be calling his first game. It’s a real “X” factor. I was talking to my father on the phone last night, and as upset as he was over Paul Johnson’s departure, he was just as upset that Johnson wouldn’t be coaching in San Diego. I’m sure he isn’t the only Navy fan to feel that way. It isn’t how I feel, though. I’m excited to see what Jasper puts together. I’m glad we have what might be a sneak preview of next year. When Ken Niumatalolo was named head coach, I was selfishly excited because I figured I could take a look at Navy games from ’97 and ’98 and compare those offenses to Johnson’s Navy offenses to see if there might be some subtle differences. That way I’d have all sorts of neat things to write about. But with Jasper at the controls, I don’t have anything with which to compare the last few years’ worth of offenses. (WANTED: Film of the 1998 Indiana State Sycamores football season. Seriously.) Coach Johnson used to say that bowl games should be fun. Some coaches treat them like a second spring practice, while PJ viewed them as rewards. You could tell in the way he coached those games that he liked to have a little bit of fun himself, putting plays in the game plan that looked straight out of the playground. There was Air McCoy in the Aloha Bowl, slotback passes in the Emerald Bowl, the Reggie Campbell show in the first Poinsettia Bowl, and Kaipo lining up at wide receiver in the stack formation in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Does Ivin Jasper have something similar up his sleeve? Or will he prefer to keep things simple? Against a defense that is in the top 10 nationally in stopping 3rd down conversions (28.8%), it might be wiser to come out of the gates a little bit like we did against Northern Illinois and concentrate on creating 3rd & short for our offense.
Whatever Jasper pulls out of his hat, Utah seems to think they’re ready for it. And why wouldn’t they? The Utes have a top 15 defense, are ranked 3rd in the nation in scoring defense (15.5 ppg), and have surrendered an average of only 7.5 points over their last 4 games. Utah’s defense had four defenders make All-Mountain West first or second team, with senior defensive end Martail Burnett leading the way. Burnett ranks in the top 5 in the Mountain West in both sacks (7) and tackles for loss (14). His partner at the other DE position, Paul Kruger, registered 53 tackles on his way to being named a second-team Freshman All-American by the Sporting News.
Yet despite the accolades and lofty rankings, Air Force still managed to run for 334 yards on Utah. And they did it by running the same offense that they ran last year– with a heavy dose of triple option. What gives? Maybe not as much as the statistics would suggest. Air Force only put together one really long scoring drive in that game. On their first touchdown, they started their drive at midfield. Their second touchdown was on a 3-play drive set up by a 53-yard Shaun Carney run. Perhaps the loss early in the game of DT Gabe Long, described in the team’s media notes as Utah’s “best run defender,” was too much to overcome. It’s hard to imagine one player making that much of a difference, but maybe he could have helped to prevent Carney’s long run. Either way, I don’t take much solace in Air Force’s performance against Utah. In case you’re wondering, Long is being called questionable for the Poinsettia Bowl after getting hurt again against BYU.
On the other side of the ball, it’s the story of two teams that have been born again hard. Navy’s defense, rocked by injuries, shook off a string of miserable games to put together their best performances of the year against Northern Illinois and Army. Similarly hurt by the injury bug, Utah has won 7 of their last 8 games thanks in large part to an offense that has found some consistency after being shut out at UNLV. The Ute offense struggled to find its identity after quarterback Brian Johnson went down in the season opener at Oregon State with a shoulder injury. Since he returned to the starting lineup, Utah is 7-1 with their lone loss coming in the regular season finale versus Brigham Young. The injury has limited Johnson’s big-play ability, as he doesn’t have nearly the same arm strength that he used to. To compensate, Utah has turned into an efficient, ball-control offense. Johnson has completed 65% of his passes for over 1,600 yards. In the last 8 games, Johnson has averaged 17-26 passing for 178 yards per game. Efficient, if unspectacular. With limited arm strength, Johnson threw for only 9 touchdowns over the same span, and hasn’t completed a pass for over 30 yards since the San Diego State game back on October 13. The wide receivers’ loss, though, has been the running back’s gain. San Diego’s own Darrell Mack (6-0, 219) has averaged 113 rushing yards per game since Johnson’s return. He had a run of 5 straight 100-yard games, and would have had 6 if he had more carries in Utah’s 50-0 atom bomb on Wyoming (Mack had 14 carries for 97 yards). He runs behind a very good offensive line, anchored by all-conference selections Robert Conley and Zane Beadles, plus talented center Kyle Gunther. Efficient quarterback + big, fast running back + big, talented offensive line… Sounds like the formula for a lot of bad games for the Navy defense this year. We’ll see just how much they’ve improved.
Navy has had quite a bit of success against the Mountain West conference lately. The Mids have defeated the MWC runners-up in 3 of the last 4 years (New Mexico 2004, Colorado State 2005, Air Force 2007). But this will be Navy’s first game in that stretch against one of the conference’s “big three” of BYU, TCU, and Utah. After a bad start, Utah is back on track and playing the way people thought they would at the beginning of the year. A win here, and Ken Niumatalolo’s debut would be as impressive as any game in the post-Weatherbie era of Navy football.
Poinsettia Bowl coverage: My flight leaves for San Diego tomorrow morning. Depending on my internet connection, I’ll be posting about the stuff I’m doing all week, including the basketball game and the pregame luncheon. I’ll be posting about all the fun I’m having to try to convince you people to go to the next bowl game. Remember, Navy is attractive to bowl games because we have sold a lot of tickets over the last 5 years. When that dries up, so will the bowl games!
One question answered: Ken Niumatalolo has made his first outside hire to his staff, naming Cal Poly offensive cordinator Joe DuPaix as the new slotbacks coach. DuPaix installed a Navy-ish type of spread option offense last year for the Mustangs that was the most prolific in I-AA, averaging 487 yards per game. DuPaix comes on the recommendation of Poly head coach Rich Ellerson, who knows Niumat from the time they both spent at Hawaii. Welcome aboard, coach. (WANTED: Film of the 2007 Cal Poly Mustangs football season.)
Next year: The Navy Times adds a little bit to Christian Swezey’s notes on the proposed Congressional Bowl.
Loose Change
Lots of chatter popping up in the last couple of days:
- In the “ignorance is bliss” category, we have PJ’s Monday presser. Talk about a list of things you wish you didn’t know… Kaipo’s in a neck brace, none of the punters are consistent, the secondary’s all hurt, and Greg Thrasher is in PJ’s doghouse. Yeesh. I guess there’s a silver lining in that Rashawn King is recovering well from his shoulder injury, but anyone who didn’t like PJ’s media day optimism can feel better knowing that it’s back to business as usual.
- Navy will once again be an NCAA lacrosse tournament quarterfinal host this year. The ability to host events like these were a big reason why Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium made the switch to FieldTurf, so it’s nice to see that move pay off. It’ll be nicer if it’s a Navy home game this year.
- The unending football conference affiliation talk resumed as Chet talked to Ron Snyder about the difficulties of finding bowl games as an independent. Conference membership means a lot more than bowl game access, though. I still don’t think that this will happen anytime soon, if at all.
- Navy’s been sold out of Army-Navy tickets for a while. Now Army is too. If you want tickets, looks like you’ll be headed to Stubhub or eBay.
- Scout.com’s Temple site previews Navy (subscription required). For those without a subscription, it’s very complimentary, saying that Navy “might be the second-toughest team on the schedule.” In case you’re wondering, Temple plays Penn State this year.
- Some Air Force Academy grad wants to play pro baseball. I don’t really care that much as long as this doesn’t become a habit; the Air Force will do what it thinks is best for itself. But will people PLEASE stop comparing every scrub that wants to turn pro to David Robinson? By the time Robinson played his first game in San Antonio, he had already been an Olympic medalist, a Naismith Award winner, a Wooden Award winner, on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and led Navy to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. That is a far, far cry from being one of thousands of players struggling to find a place in minor league baseball. Robinson is one of the best players in the history of his sport. Karl Bolt is not. It makes a difference when the Navy or Air Force is considering an athlete’s fate.
- Bill Wagner offers a look at college recruiting, including Billy Lange’s approach.
- ESPN.com talks Patriot League basketball as part of their “Shoot Around” series.
I’m Not Crazy
OK, maybe I really did hear Chet say something about playing Maryland again in 2010. The Examiner talks about that, plus Army-Navy and an update on a Baltimore bowl game, here. Clearly, Navy football is a centerpiece of Baltimore’s future plans.
I might be sane, but the same can’t be said for everyone on the internet. This is why drinking and blogging don’t mix, kids. Don’t let it happen to you. (The A-minus in academics is a nice touch.)
Poinsettia Bowl Locks In PAC-10
The Poinsettia Bowl and the Hawaii Bowl have both completed the deals that will bring PAC-10 teams, if eligible, to those games in 2008 and 2009. Read about it here.
This is good news for the long-term health of the Poinsettia Bowl, which gets PAC-10 #7 in 2008 and PAC-10 #6 in 2009. With their previously stated intention to invite Navy every 3 years, the San Diego Bowl Association will most likely have an at-large bid available again in 2010. The question now is what bowl arrangements Navy can make for 2008 and 2009, when the at-large safety net of the Poinsettia Bowl might not be available.
UPDATE: Some more details here.
Poinsettia Bowl Update
Some news today out of San Diego… The Poinsettia Bowl is looking to alter its format so that it no longer offers an at-large berth. According to the article in the U-T, game executives would like Navy to play there once every three years with the Pac-10 providing its #6 choice in the other two years. While in my heart I love having at-large berths in bowl games, in the current bowl climate this makes sense. After a healthy start in 2005 with Navy bringing 20,000 fans to its game against Colorado State, the Poinsettia Bowl struggled to attract fans for its TCU-Northern Illinois matchup last year. Bringing a Pac-10 team onboard to play someone from the Mountain West would provide two regional opponents whose fans wouldn’t have much difficulty travelling to a pre-Christmas bowl game. In the long run, anything this game can do to stay afloat is good for Navy. Having a spot guaranteed for us every three years is a tremendous help when you’re an independent with no other bowl tie-ins of your own.
The article mentions that the Hawaii Bowl is also interested in hooking up with the Pac-10’s 6th choice. If I’m Chet Gladchuk, I’m placing calls to Honolulu to see if those folks wouldn’t mind Navy once in a while, too.
It’s Good To Be Loved
Bowl game talk is in the news again. The Baltimore Business Journal is reporting that the Camden Yards Sports and Entertainment Commission is considering submitting a bid to bring a bowl game to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Like the proposed game in Washington, the Commission is interested in possibly establishing an affiliation with the Naval Academy. Unlike the Washington game, this would not be a new bowl game but rather a transplanted game that is struggling in its current host city. It’s still early in the process, and the game wouldn’t happen earlier than December 2008; but the more bowl talk that’s surrounding Navy, the better.
Hello, Cleveland
There aren’t too many examples in the sports world of the three service academies acting together as a single unit. Considering what it takes to make it happen, it’s usually a pretty big deal when it does. And nothing brings service academies together like… the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.
The commission has brought together the three service academies and the Mid-American Conference in a game to be played annually at Cleveland Browns Stadium, called the Patriot Bowl. Rumored for more than a year now, the inaugural First Merit Patriot Bowl will be played on September 1st at 6pm and will feature Army vs. Akron in the season opener for both schools.
First Merit signed a 3-year deal to be the title sponsor of the game, which is scheduled to take place over Labor Day weekend each year. Navy already has games scheduled on that weekend over the next two years (Towson in 2008 and Hawaii in 2009), so assuming that each service academy will rotate through once in the next three years, expect some schedule juggling (I’m looking at you, Towson). The MAC representative each year will be one of the confrence’s Ohio schools in an effort to maximize the game’s attendance. Attendance is a concern, too, since none of the MAC schools really set the world on fire in that category. But the commission hopes to draw 30,000 for the game by inviting teams with a national following (the service academies), and making the game the centerpiece of a weekend sports festival featuring “patriotic, civic events, including a tailgate, Cleveland Firefighters vs. Cleveland Police flag football pre-game match and spectacular halftime show.”
As far as Navy as concerned, it looks like a pretty good deal. We already play a couple of MAC teams every year anyway. If it’s only once every three years that one of those games is played in Cleveland, at a big venue, as part of a weekend festival, and with a trophy on the line (the “Cleary Trophy,” not to be confused with the ECAC hockey trophy of the same name), then it isn’t exactly a big hassle. Assuming, of course, that it’s the MAC team giving up a home date and not Navy. It almost certainly will be, since they’d want to count that attendance figure toward their averages.
No word yet on TV coverage.
Bowl Game in Washington?
The Washington Times broke the story last week that the District of Columbia Bowl Committee is almost ready to submit their application to the NCAA to put a bowl game in RFK Stadium as early as 2008. And to top it off, they want Navy in it every year.
If you think back to where the program was 5-6 years ago, the state of the program today is a small miracle. In 2002, Navy football was coming off of a 3-year record of 3-30. The last Commander in Chief’s Trophy win was in 1981. The stadium was slipping. People debated whether or not the program even belonged in I-A. Today, the team’s record over the last three years is 27-10, we’ve won 4 straight CIC Trophies, the stadium is gorgeous, one bowl game has already been specifically created with Navy in mind (Poinsettia), and now we’re on the verge of a second. Can you believe it? I know that there will be those who turn up their noses at this DC game, but I hope that they keep it all in perspective. This is a great thing for Navy football.
A lot of people think that RFK Stadium is a dump. I will reluctantly agree, although I still think it’s a great place to watch a football game. And while it might not be in the greatest neighborhood either, the long-term future of this game (should it happen) is probably at the Nationals’ new ballpark, part of a larger redevelopment plan in SE. I’d love to see the game played across the Anacostia River at DC United’s planned stadium at Poplar Point, but as of now that facility will only hold 27,000; not enough for NCAA certification.
In addition to Navy, there are several conferences who would probably love to be a part of this game. The first one that comes to mind is the ACC, which would almost certainly like to find a new game so that it can drop Boise. The ACC, Big East, MAC, and Big Ten all have schools within 200 miles of Washington.
If this game does happen, I doubt that Navy would commit to it every year. I imagine a rotation between this game, the Poinsettia Bowl, and then a third year where we see what kind of one-off arrangements can be made (like Charlotte). East coast, west coast, wild card. Pure speculation on my part, of course, but it’d be tough to beat that arrangement.
The Birddog 