I like old Navy sports footage. I’m always looking for it. Here’s a clip I found at a used book store that you might find interesting. This is some old newsreel footage of the beginning of Navy football practice in 1929.
Some cutting-edge training techniques there. I like the glimpse of the Yard from 80 years ago, too.
By the way, over on the message board we’re talking basketball, football superlatives, and moving the Hawaii game next year. Make sure you check it out!
We don’t know the terms of the original contract, and we don’t know the terms of the extension, so it’s hard to really know what to make of it. But at the very least, we know it’s a good thing.
Now that vacations are over and it’s back to the blogging grind, it’s time to get back to the polls, too. In today’s poll, we pay homage to the forward pass. Even though Navy has earned its reputation as the nation’s finest running team, this strange and wondrous contraption has also been known to create a big play from time to time. Navy’s slotbacks and wide receivers spend most of their time blocking or running the ball, but they tend to get a lot of bang for their buck when the ball is passed their way.
So today’s question is: who made the most of those opportunities? Since 2002, who do you think is Navy’s best receiver? Or maybe I should say “catcher of passes” instead of “receiver” so people don’t think I’m only referring to WRs. Whatever, you get the point.
I am a lazy person. Several different forces pull me in all kinds of directions, but laziness usually rules the day. Honestly, I don’t even like writing this blog. It’s a pain, although it’s worth it just to generate some discussion. Either way I’m definitely glad that the burden of meeting a weekly deadline is gone for a few months.
Don’t blame me; blame Newton. An object at rest tends to stay at rest, you know. That is until some external force acts upon the object; Newton’s first law applies to mediocre bloggers, too. I have sort of an internal scale. Doing nothing weighs the heaviest on the scale until enough crap piles up on the other side to make me feel guilty enough to say something about it. Now, with the EagleBank Bowl, Kaipo’s comments, Coach Jasper’s reaction, and Army’s new head coach, there’s just too much going on for me not to be writing. So no more excuses about Christmas (cook your turkey on the grill, it’s the best) or the awesome weather in Florida (top-down driving FTW!) or any other pursuits like “family” and “church” that keep me from posting here. Time to hop back into the saddle and get a-typin’.
We’ll start with the EagleBank Bowl, which we can break into two parts– the game itself, and all the bowl hoopla that surrounds it. First, the game. Unfortunately, being at the game, I did not record the game. I’ve watched the replay a couple of times on ESPN360, but there’s no video breakdown for you guys. (Sorry.) It also made it pretty much impossible for me to watch each play three or four times like I usually do, so this will admittedly be below the usual standard I set for myself for game recaps. But at a high level, it was clear that Wake Forest was determined to keep Eric Kettani from running wild on them the way he did in the first game. It was also clear that Coach Jasper expected this, which is presumably why he employed the heavy formation from the very beginning. With the problems the offense has had blocking on the perimeter this year, an extra lineman to block the likes of Aaron Curry is a wise strategy if you know you’re going to be running outside. It worked at times, but there were just too many missed blocks to move the ball consistently. That, and Wake’s defense is really, really good. Even considering all that, I felt that if the Mids would have scored at the end of the first half to go up 20-0, that probably would’ve broken Wake Forest’s back. Instead, they intercepted a hurried pass from Kaipo on the 2-yard line and started a 98-yard drive for a TD. A possible 20-0 halftime lead became 13-7, and the game’s momentum had turned.
Navy’s defense played well yet again, and helped give the Mids a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to a Rashawn King fumble return for a touchdown. (It felt really good seeing Rashawn run in for the score after the senior missed his last Army game following the loss of his father). The Deacs had a much better game plan this time around, though. Their running game was geared for more carries between the tackles than in the first contest. In the first game, I don’t think they expected Navy’s linebackers to be so fast. They had more success in the second game running straight at the Mids rather than trying to get around them. Riley Skinner played a much better game, too. The Mids weren’t able to pressure him the way they did back in September, and given enough time, his receivers were able to get wide open downfield. That led to the dreaded 3rd & long conversions we all hate. But the defense played well. It was a good game between evenly matched teams. If Wake was hoping to prove that the first game was a fluke, they didn’t.
I was a little bummed about the game for a while, but not too much. I guess I view bowl games a little differently than some of you. I want Navy to win, of course, but I’m much more concerned about getting there. I get way more wrapped up in regular season games. Bowl games, as far as I’m concerned, are a celebration of what the team’s already accomplished. Winning the game on top of that is just gravy.
Which brings me to part two of this little ramble-a-thon, the EagleBank Bowl experience. I can understand those of you who didn’t go to the game because of family obligations or a tight budget (especially this year), but screw the rest of you guys. I didn’t want to see a rematch any more than you did, but there’s no way that would keep me from going to the game. My celebration of Navy isn’t dependent on who they’re playing. I’m going to see Navy, not Team X. As for playing in Washington… How can you not have a good time in Washington DC? In the few days I was there I ate at a ton of good bars and restaurants, got out to Annapolis, saw tons of friends, and had the single most frightening cab ride of my life. All kinds of stories for the grandkids (except for the cab ride, the details of which shall never be repeated). For the more family-inclined, there’s a glut of monuments and museums, plus the Wizards and the Caps both played home games that week. Was it cold? Yes. But it isn’t like you’re going to the beach in San Diego in December, either. Washington is a fun city, especially when an 11:00 kickoff leads to a tailgate that starts at 9:30, starting what became 15 straight hours of drinking. OH THE HUMANITY. Well, 15 hours for some. Closer to 14 for me, because I spent the last hour nursing one beer and trying not to fall asleep while watching the Ravens-Cowboys game. I was one tired dude.
The bowl luncheon— which I did attend, despite my moaning and groaning about the price (viva la hookup)– was so-so. The food was good. I don’t know about $300 kind of good, but I don’t think any of the other bowl luncheons I’ve attended served filet mignon. John Feinstein was an entertaining speaker. Outside of that, it was the usual stuff; bands playing, cheerleaders cheering, team highlight reels, and coaches’ interviews. Wake’s team stood and applauded Navy’s seniors, which was a class move. The only real downside to the whole thing was the laundry list of preliminary speakers who rambled worse than I do. It was nice to see Napoleon McCallum, but other than that it was politician after corporate sponsor after politician. Politicians have a way of cramming a 30 second speech into 15 minutes, and it just kept dragging on. The best part for me was sitting at the same table as Dr. Fair, the head trainer for the team. His stories from his time at Oklahoma State were phenomenal.
Then, of course, there was RFK. I’ve read a few comments on the old lady that were less than complimentary. The only complaint I had was with the concessions; I got in line for a hot dog at halftime, and had moved a little less than half the distance to the counter by the time the third quarter kicked off. That was crummy. Other than that, I’m not sure what you guys look for in a stadium. I tried to give you all the good gouge about sitting in the upper deck. My seat was pretty much the Playstation angle, in the upper deck between the goalposts. It was a great view, which is all I really want. The field looked good and held up well, and bringing in the old PA announcer was a nice touch. Yeah, RFK is old and could use a bit of freshening up, but sitting in my seat and watching the game, I didn’t really notice. And yes, I’m biased, and I know that not everyone remembers RFK as fondly as I do. But still, I didn’t see much to complain about.
Speaking of complaining, I’m sure we were all a little disappointed to read about Kaipo’s postgame comments. Kaipo pretty much threw the rest of the offense under the bus. It’s easy to understand his frustration; a senior playing in his last game, hoping that if he doesn’t win, he at least goes down with his best effort. Apparently that isn’t what he thought he got from some of his teammates. That’s kind of what happens when you’re asked questions in the heat of the moment. Stuff like this can catch us, as fans, off guard sometimes. Fans– especially Navy fans– have a tendency to assume that the football locker room is this perfect little world where all is well and everyone gets along like family, united in purpose under hoo-yah Navy leadership. People forget that the team is made up of actual people. In the real world of actual people, with the foibles and frustrations of life, stuff like this happens. What was it that Paul Johnson used to say about working hard? About how the more time end energy you have invested invest in preparation for a game, the harder it is to accept anything other than success? None of this excuses what Kaipo said, but I’m not going to put him in the permanent doghouse for it either. They were heated comments after a frustrating, emotional loss. Coach Jasper’s response was fair, appropriate, and necessary, seeing as how he still has to coach the team that Kaipo is leaving behind. Frankly, I probably shouldn’t even be bringing it up this late after the fact. No need to harp on a dead issue.
A more pertinent topic is that of position changes. The shuffling of personnel is a theme of every offseason, and Bill Wagner is already reporting two potential moves that the coaching staff is considering: Clint Sovie to outside linebacker, and Jordan Eddington to fullback. Sovie’s potential move is not unexpected. He’s as fast as they come at the linebacker position, and with the emergence of Ross Pospisil and Tony Haberer inside, it makes it an easier move for Buddy Green to put Sovie’s speed outside to make up for the loss of Corey Johnson. The thought of Sovie, Pospisil, Haberer, and Ram Vela on the field at the same time is enough to make you want the 2009 season to start next week.
Eddington’s possible move from linebacker to fullback is a little more out of the blue. Physically, it’s a no-brainer; at 6-0, 230, Eddington fits the mold of fullbacks past. Plus, he’s fast. Not fast for a linebacker– just plain fast. A part-time running back in high school, Eddington was also a finalist for the state 100 meters crown on the track team. How often do you see that in a linebacker? About as often as you see a LB catch a kick returner from behind, which is exactly what Eddington did against Army. The building blocks are definitely there. The question is how long the coaches have to do the building; Eddington is a rising senior. How much can he pick up in one spring? Even if it doesn’t work out, though, at least it provides some competition for the spring and will make things even more interesting than they were already shaping up to be.
And finally, Army didn’t take long to find a replacement for Stan Brock, reaching out to the west coast to grab Cal Poly head coach Rich Ellerson. Upon the announcement of Ellerson’s hiring, you probably instantly recognized him as the coach who recommended Joe DuPaix to longtime friend Ken Niumatalolo. DuPaix was very successful as Ellerson’s offensive coordinator; would he leave Navy to rejoin his old mentor? Thankfully, no. DuPaix announced through Scott Strasemeier that he’s staying put. That’s good news; the last thing we need is for Army to grab one of the Navy assistants responsible for recruiting Texas. One minor crisis averted.
I’ll talk about the hire more when I do my annual “state of service academy football” pieces later this month. Right now I just want to hand out a few LOLs. Not over hiring Ellerson– he’s a good coach. No, at the moment I must laugh at the rampant inferiority complex that seems to exist at West Point vis-a-vis Navy. I’m sure describing it as such will get some people’s blood boiling, but I really don’t know what else to call it. There is an obsession up there about making sure they point out, unsolicited, how everything they do is better than Navy. An easy example of this would be John Mumford’s comments before the season about Collin Mooney’s superiority to Navy’s fullbacks. And now, we have this:
“They do things out of this triple option that I’ve never seen before,” said Cantelupe, a 1996 West Point graduate and 1995 co-captain. “What he runs I think is superior to what Navy runs. Throughout college football, if you look at who is running the most advanced triple-option football, it’s Ellerson if you see the things that he is doing.”
Now, there’s a few LOLable things here. First, why? Why even bother to make the comparison? It’s as if nothing is validated until it’s stuck in Navy’s eye first. Ellerson is a good coach, but apparently not good enough for some people to let his record speak for itself. Second, Cal Poly’s offenses are good, but what has Cantelupe not seen before? The forward pass? Strange, for a former defensive back. And third, all this talk about Ellerson running the “most advanced triple option…” blah blah. Ellerson is a defensive guy. Don’t get me wrong, he’s no idiot on the offensive side of the ball; he knows a good offense when he sees it, and he brings in coordinators who can run it. But it isn’t Ellerson’s offense. Hell, the architect of his 2007 offense that led all of I-AA is now the slotbacks coach at Navy. So if anyone here is worried that there’s some magical mystery offense that’s going to confound Ricketts Hall’s finest minds– which, by the way, led the nation in rushing for a fourth consecutive year– you’re being a bit ridiculous. At this level there’s rarely such thing as superiority of scheme; only of coaching within the scheme, and then executing it. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Cantelupe should probably wait for Army to stop Navy’s “inferior” scheme once before labeling it as such. Anyway, less chest-thumping, more LOLs. I just don’t understand.
So that should get me caught up for now. The season’s over, so maybe I’ll have some time to get caught up on some things I’ve been meaning to do around here. Season recaps & awards, some more offensive breakdowns, a book review, some Navy history, a look at Georgia Tech’s success and its effect on the future of service academy football, and hopefully another charity fundraiser, among other things… Not to mention basketball heading into Patriot League play, plus lacrosse season. The season might be over, but all is not lost at The Birddog. Even if you kind of wish it was.
My father is a USNA grad, class of ’74. He was a career Naval officer. Not surprisingly, part of that career was a tour spent in the Pentagon. Two tours, actually. The first came when I was in 4th & 5th grade, and the second when I was in high school. We lived in a cool little neighborhood in Arlington, in the same house both times. This was during the heyday of Joe Gibbs and the Redskins, with Art Monk, Gary Clark, the Hogs, Ernest Byner, and Super Bowls. The Skins were still playing in RFK Stadium back then. RFK was one of the smallest stadiums in the league at the time, and coupled with such a good team it made for one tough ticket. Those rare occasions where my father was able to snag some tickets– usually through a season ticket holder at work who couldn’t make the game that weekend– were a real treat. We’d park at the Virginia Square Metro station and hop on the Orange Line, joined by thousands of other fans packing the train. After a ride that felt a lot longer than it probably was, we’d get off the train, take the escalator up to the street, and start walking towards the Armory. Turn right once you got past the Armory, and there it was– RFK in all its glory. It probably isn’t the same sight that it used to be, much in the same way that old houses you lived in as a kid seem a lot smaller when you visit them as an adult. But as a kid at the time, everything about a trip to RFK said “big-time.”
The feeling didn’t end when you got inside, either. It only sat 55,000 or so, but it sounded a whole lot louder thanks to the overhang circling the stadium that reflected sound back onto the field. You could feel the seats move. Then you started pointing out all the things you’d notice when you watched a game on TV; the iconic end zone paint, the names on the Hall of Stars, the players warming up, the “BASEBALL IN D.C.” sign. Our seats were always in the corner of the end zone, but we didn’t care. Being there was enough, and the place was small enough that you never felt too far removed from the action anyway. It was paradise.
There probably won’t be quite the same atmosphere for the inaugural EagleBank Bowl on Saturday. The stadium won’t be as full, and the wide-eyed exuberance of childhood has left me… sort of. But man, I can’t wait to walk into RFK for a football game one more time. I’ve been back for baseball exhibition games and DC United, but football– Navy football– is just a whole different experience.
Anyway, if familiarity breeds contempt, then Navy and Wake Forest are going to pretty much hate each other by the end of the weekend. I have no idea what to say about Wake Forest that I haven’t said already. I did take another look at the last time we played Wake before I left, to see if they did anything different in the second half of last year’s game to shut down Navy’s offense. The answer is… not really. One thing that Wake does really well is vary how they line up. More than any other team on the schedule, Wake will show 4, 5, and sometimes 6-man fronts all within a few plays of each other. With Kaipo in the game, it was no big deal. With Jarod in the game, it was a little more significant. Actually, Jarod played OK for the majority of plays in the second half. But it only takes one mistake to put the offense in a 3rd & long. That, plus an incomplete pass and a well-timed corner blitz.
(Sorry for the lack of visual evidence to back this up. Maybe if I was typing this at home instead of at a Starbucks in Falls Church…)
Anyway, I’m optimistic about the game. I don’t want to say that Navy matches up well with an ACC team that features award-winning defensive talent… But beating Wake this season wasn’t a fluke. A lot has been made about Riley Skinner’s bad day the first time around, but Coach Green’s scheme had a lot to do with it.
Not much of a post, I know, but I’m hungry and off to grab some pizza at Joe’s on Lee Highway. Best pizza in Arlington, n00bs! After that, I’ll head out to Annapolis for the afternoon. Any of you Birddogs at the game can find me in the crusty Uzelac-era Starter jacket in section 522. Beat Wake.
236 people voted in last week’s poll that asked who was the Navy MVP for the first week of December. Of those 236, only 9 of you voted for a basketball player. Actually only 8 of you did, since one of those votes was mine. I expected football to dominate the voting, but holy guacamole, not this much. For shame, for shame. I suppose I have nobody to blame but myself, since 99% of what I talk about is football. But football season ends this week. You n00bs better start getting acquainted with your basketball team, because they’ve sipped from the fountain of awesome. Would you have voted for Kaleo Kina if you knew that he would get the nod for his third consecutive Patriot League Player of the Week award this week? Meh, probably not. But you’ll see. You’ll all see. Anyway, after running neck and neck with Kaipo and Nate Frazier for most of the week, Shun White and his beard pulled ahead in the final day of voting to get the win in the super-official Birddog poll. I approve, if for no other reason than to annoy the people who complain about the beard.
Moving right along… Bowl week is upon us, and I’m pretty giddy about the trip. I’m over the case of rematch rage I had when the Wake Forest matchup was officially announced. It’s been replaced with a feeling of optimism about the game, looking forward to the weekend, and seeing Annapolis again. Even with a rematch, you just can’t get around the fact that bowl game trips are fun. Some people might not have been too excited about a trip to Washington either, but given the economic nosedive of the last few months, this game has been a real case of serendipity for Annapolis-area Navy fans. All of a sudden a drive to Washington looks a lot more appealing than a flight to San Francisco for most people.
But is it more appealing to you? This week’s question is simple: are you going to the EagleBank Bowl?
Before the game on Saturday, John Feinstein told listeners on the Navy radio network that Army head coach Stan Brock’s job could depend on the outcome of that afternoon’s game. But unfortunately for Brock, it was over almost before it began.
Army fans and coaches believe that the talent level at West Point is about same as at Navy. At the very least, after hanging with Navy for a quarter or so in 2005 and keeping the Mids from pulling away in 2006, many people said that Army was at least “closing the gap.” Chip Bowden said that Army plays “lots of teams better than Navy.” Army AD Kevin Anderson must think that Army is talented enough, because he said in a press conference this week that he expects his new coach to win right away. But over the last few years of Navy’s unprecedented 7-game winning streak over Army, there are some plays that stand out as symbols for just how much Navy has separated itself talent-wise (or more specifically, speed-wise) relative to its fellow service academy. In 2005, there was Reggie Campbell turning on the jets and scoring on a 54-yard option pitch at the beginning of the second quarter. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Adam Ballard– a fullback–took a handoff from Lamar Owens on a trap play and outran Army’s defensive backs for a 67-yard touchdown. Last year, Zerbin Singleton took a toss from Kaipo and ran away from the Army defense much like Campbell did in ’05. Not to be outdone, Reggie returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the second quarter. Nobody on the field could catch Reggie… Except for Singleton, who was running beside him, escorting him to the end zone.
In Saturday’s 34-0 steamrolling of the Black Knights, it was more of the same. There was Shun White leaving everyone behind on Navy’s third play from scrimmage, streaking down the sideline for a touchdown. There was Army running back Wesley McMahand taking a pitch with literally nobody in front of him, only to have the Navy defense close in on him immediately. Army’s Patrick Mealy put together a great kickoff return… until he was caught from behind by Jordan Eddington. Think about that; Army’s kick returner being run down by one of Navy’s reserve linebackers. And when linebacker Ram Vela intercepted Chip Bowden’s pass with less than a minute left in the game, he pulled away from Army’s wide receivers as he streaked down the sideline. It’s amazing how a game traditionally renowned for being so evenly matched has become so one-sided. But there’s no arguing with the evidence. We like to focus on Xs & Os around here because coaching and effort are usually how Navy wins games. The Mids can’t just roll our helmets onto the field and expect to win, as PJ used to say. Don’t get me wrong, that’s still true with the Army game. But looking up and down Army’s starting lineup, it’s hard to imagine any more than one or two players that would crack Navy’s. The story of each game is becoming less and less about coaching and individual effort and more about sheer ability.
Not that coaching isn’t a factor too. Beyond the obvious reasons, I was interested in this game to see how Buddy Green would defend against an offense that is somewhat similar to Navy’s. Unfortunately for my curiosity, that isn’t really what I got. It was pretty evident that Coach Green didn’t have much respect for Army’s passing game or outside running– two things that defensive coordinators ignore at their own risk against the Mids. We’ll start with how Navy contained Army’s top (*cough*only*cough*) threat, fullback Collin Mooney. I mean other than just through sheer physical domination up front, since Nate, Matt, and Jabaree absolutely owned the line of scrimmage. Since so much of Army’s offense revolved around Mooney, Coach Green decided to sell out a bit to stop him. That selling out came in the form of safety Wyatt Middleton. Safeties are usually the last line of defense against option pitches, but Green sent Middleton charging to the line of scrimmage on most plays to spy on Mooney. If Wyatt saw that Mooney didn’t have the ball, he changed direction and went for the quarterback.
If someone tried this against Navy, they’d be burned like the tracks of a DeLorean with a flux capacitor. But Army couldn’t take advantage. To their credit, the Black Knights ran more option plays than I expected; certainly a lot more than they ran in other games. But on those few plays where Chip Bowden did read his way outside, Army’s running backs weren’t fast enough to outrun Navy’s defense. Army only got 10-12 yards on plays that Navy could have– and did– take all the way.
One other thing that the Navy defense did well was confuse the quarterback. I wrote about Army’s use of the mesh charge in last year’s game, with defensive linemen soft-playing the fullback before taking the quarterback. Last week, the Mids turned the tables:
I once asked a coach I respect how he would defend Navy’s offense. He told me that he’d focus less on scheme and more on confusing the quarterback. Give him several different reads to make, and if you find one he struggles with, run it at him until the offense adjusts. Buddy Green did a good job of doing just that. Stan Brock attempted that fake field goal because he knew that he couldn’t move the ball on Navy’s defense. He had to take advantage of the great field position given to him on the kickoff return because he didn’t know if he’d ever get that same opportunity the rest of the game. Sure enough, he never did.
Offensively, Ivin Jasper had prepared the Mids to face the same tactics that Army used last year. You’ll recall that the Black Knights pinched Navy’s tackles to prevent them from blocking the middle linebacker. To prevent that, he had his tackles release outside the defensive end:
Not the prettiest of plays, but the tackle forced the middle linebacker to alter his path enough for Shun to run by him.
The tackle released outside on Shun’s long touchdown run, too. But Army wasn’t trying to pinch the tackle on that play. The playside linebacker tried to play the pitch, but Shun ran through the arm tackle. Instead of running to cover the quarterback, the middle linebacker played the fullback. The tackle, who would usually block the middle linebacker, was then able to move on to the backside safety. That was the block that Shun needed, and off he ran to the end zone.
With that, it was “here we go again” for the Black Knights.
There were a couple of other interesting bits about Coach Jasper’s offense. Take a look at this picture:
This play came early in the first quarter. A lot of times you’ll see the coaches throw in a few different formations early in the game to see how the defense will react. This is a good example of that. Coach Jasper brought twin wide receivers to one side of the formation. When he did that, Army countered by bringing seven (!) guys to that side of the field. One DT lined up over the center, leaving only three defenders to cover the other side of the formation. That’s a lot of ground for three people to cover, and Jasper took advantage of it. Later in the quarter he called a fullback option, with the backside guard pulling. The defensive end (the pulling guard’s assignment)actually takes himself out of the play by running to the middle of the field on his own. Kaipo options off of the playside linebacker, which leaves only the safety, who is blocked by the A-back. Poor Anthony Gaskins is left running around just looking for someone to block. The result is a long run by Eric Kettani down the sideline. After that, running away from the twin receivers became a theme for the offense, especially when lined up on the hash marks. It left a lot of field for Navy’s slotbacks– and not just Shun White– to outrun Army defenders to the corner and get downfield.
One curious play that caught me a little off guard was the draw play run by Shun White in the third quarter. I’ve watched a lot of this offense, from Paul Johnson’s two stints at Georgia Southern, to Hawaii, to Navy. I don’t recall ever seeing this play… That is, I’ve never seen it run by PJ. We have seen it, though. A lot.
Indeed, that draw play was a staple of Air Force’s offenses under Fisher DeBerry. I’m not sure if it’s new to the Navy playbook or if it’s always been a part of Paul Johnson’s offense, but Coach Jasper deserves credit for showing us a little something different either way. It’s plays like this that give us a glimpse at how the offense will evolve under him in Annapolis.
So there you have it: the straw that broke Stan Brock’s back. Chip Bowden might think that he plays lots of teams better than Navy, but nobody handed Army a bigger defeat this season. Army is left going back to the drawing board, while the Mids are off to yet another bowl game. The blowouts may be bad for TV ratings, but they’re good for the soul. After years of heartbreaking losses, I will never, ever take these wins for granted.
Last week I asked if you cheered for the other service academies. If your answer was yes, I also asked what you thought of those that don’t. The results are in, and about 17% of you think I’m a classless jerk, mostly because I root only for Navy. Eight voters thought I was a classless jerk regardless of my rooting preference. That was the poll choice reserved for Army and Air Force fans, “navyblue12,” BLOOTERS, and people who think Riley Skinner is better than Nate Davis. Gotta make sure everyone’s voice is heard, you know. Anyway, it was pretty even between those who root for everyone and those who root only for Navy, and Army is clearly preferred over Air Force (roffles). What, you guys don’t like Fisher telling us our new way to count to 10?
Moving on to this week, I’d like to talk a little basketball. I haven’t written much about the basketball team yet this year, partly because football keeps me busy and partly because I’m not sure I have anything worth reading. That doesn’t mean I’m not totally pumped about this team, though. The Mids are sitting at 7-2 after a big week, defeating two teams they lost to last year (UTSA and Penn) while putting up a heck of a fight against Virginia Tech on Sunday. After an inexplicable stinker against Towson to open the season, Navy rolled to a 7-game win streak. The best part about that winning streak was how the Mids were winning. Navy used to be very formulaic; if they won, either the team shot lights-out or Greg Sprink carried them to victory. This year, though, Billy Lange’s squad is getting it done any number of ways. They’ve won when they shot well. They’ve won when they shot terribly. They’ve won as a team. They’ve won with a player carrying the team on his back. They’ve won pretty, won ugly, in regulation and in overtime. They’re winning games they would have lost last year, and they’re still getting better.
Which brings me to this week’s question. It was a heck of a week for both the Navy football and basketball teams, highlighted by some outstanding individual performances. Out of all of them, who was last week’s MVP? The candidates:
The list is long. The candidates are worthy. Go forth and vote.
It was going to take a miracle to avoid a reatch with Wake Forest in the EagleBank Bowl. Unfortunately, I think Navy football spent its miracle budget for the year on the Temple game. What we all hoped to avoid has become official: Navy will be taking on Wake Forest on December 20th at RFK Stadium. Yeah, it sucks, especially for the Mids. It’s lousy for Wake Forest too, but at least for them it’s a shot at redemption. Navy, on the other hand, is forced to prove themselves on a test they’ve already passed. College football just shouldn’t have rematches. Half the fun of bowl games is playing someone you otherwise wouldn’t see, something we’ve been fortunate enough to have the last 5 years.
Wait… 5 years? Man, that’s crazy, especially for those of you who have been Navy fans for a while. Six straight bowl games. When you were sitting & watching Georgia Tech hang 70 on us in 2001, could you have possibly imagined that such a string of success would be right around the corner? Hell no. Not at Navy, where hard luck was a way of life. But with the right coach and the right players, a phenomenon was born.
Actually, that’s only part of the story. Right coach and right players, but also the right fans. There’s a lot of message board bravado about what “we” need to focus on if “we” need to win, as if the poster was part of the team. It’s a little ridiculous… Except when it comes to bowl games. Bowl games are the one area where fans can have a very tangible impact on the fate of the football team. Chet promised the Houston Bowl that Navy fans would deliver when he campaigned for the Mids to get the game’s at-large berth in 2003. And we did, 20,000 strong. Each year, Chet makes the same assurances to bowl committees; and each year, Navy fans back up his words. When Chet goes to the bargaining table looking for a postseason home for the team, his best leverage is us. That’s why 6 wins gave Navy a spot in Washington this year, Houston next year, and San Diego the year after that.
Which brings me to my greatest concern about playing a rematch with Wake Forest. Hopefully, ticket sales won’t suffer for it. Chet set his target at 30K tickets, which is ambitious even for a game played in our own backyard. But why not set the bar that high? It’s basically a Navy home game, and we have no trouble bringing 30K to Annapolis, right? Well, we’ll see. Hopefully people will get past their disappointment with the rematch and realize that no matter who we’re playing, you’ll have one more tailgate, one more reunion with friends, and one more chance to see Navy football before the long, long offseason. For those of us that don’t live in the area anymore, this game is a chance to get back to Annapolis, too. For me, I’m excited to see Kaipo one last time after he missed so much of this year. I’m optimistic; I didn’t buy my tickets until yesterday, and my seats are terrible. So they must be selling pretty well, right??
Anyway, what’s done is done. I’m sure most of you are miffed at how we ended up with Wake Forest, but really, it was kind of inevitable. Not that you won’t look for someone to blame in all this:
The NCAA
It looked like N.C. State was a possibility at first. It would’ve been nice to get to play Tom O’Brien and the Wolfpack. But N.C. State only finished 6-6, while nine other ACC teams finished 7-5 or better. NCAA rules dictate that a conference must place winning teams in its affiliated bowl games before any 6-6 teams would be eligible. Ironically, that rule exists because of a stunt pulled by the ACC in 2002 to put 6-6 Wake Forest in the Seattle Bowl. It sucks now, but it’s designed to help teams like Navy by ensuring that at-large bids are available for us should the need arise.
The ACC
The ACC could have forced the Emerald Bowl or the Humanitarian Bowl to take Wake, right? I don’t know, maybe. But keeping your bowl partners from selecting the teams they want is a great way to end the business relationship between the conference and the bowl games.
Maryland
Maybe Maryland’s exam excuse was a sham, and they just didn’t want to play Navy. Or maybe it was legitimate. Either way, it doesn’t matter. They weren’t going to fall to the EagleBank Bowl in the first place if the Humanitarian Bowl wanted to pick them ahead of Wake Forest (which they did).
The EagleBank Bowl Committee
So why didn’t the bowl committee try to work an exchange with another bowl game and another conference? Well, who says they didn’t? But you have to find a partner willing to deal. Those other bowl games don’t want Wake Forest any more than the 8 ACC bowls that passed on selecting the Demon Deacons when they had the chance. Besides, in this economy, local bowl games are a plus. I doubt the Wake administration wants to go somewhere else, even if their message board fans would disagree.
Chet Gladchuk
LOL. Seriously?
Anyway, I’m going. I want to see one more game at RFK. I want to see some friends, hit up the tailgate, and generally have a good time. That stuff isn’t dependent on who we play. Hope to see you there.
Back-to-back shutouts!
Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy!
Life is good, Navy.
The Birddog 