Chet said that there will be changes to the 2009 schedule in order to lighten the load after adding Ohio State. It looks like we may have found one such change, as this article mentions Navy taking on Western Kentucky in Annapolis that year. Navy was already scheduled to play the Hilltoppers in 2013-2014. No word yet on whether this is in addition to that agreement or whether one of those games has been moved up. Nor do we know which game this would replace, assuming the report is accurate.
Category: navy football
Navy-Duke will be on TV
The ACC released its TV schedule for the first three weeks of the football season:
http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/060308aaa.html
| Saturday, September 13th | ||
| Navy at Duke | 12:00 Noon | ESPNU |
| NC State at Clemson | 12:00 Noon | RAYCOM |
| Cal at Maryland | 12:00 Noon | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech | 3:30 PM | ABC (and ESPN) |
| Chattanooga at FSU | 3:45 PM | ESPNU |
| Virginia at Connecticut | 7:30 PM | ESPNU |
Good news! One other bit:
After the first three weeks of the season (games of Sept. 13) game times and TV will be announced weekly with a ESPN/ABC and Raycom Sports making their choices with a 12-day advanced notice beginning on Monday, Sept. 8 (for games on Saturday, Sept. 20).
So it looks like we won’t hear about the Wake Forest game until a couple weeks into the season. But looking at the ACC schedule that weekend, it’ll be a close one:
Saturday, September 27
Rhode Island at Boston College
Maryland at Clemson
Virginia at Duke
Colorado vs. Florida State (Jacksonville)
North Carolina at Miami
South Florida at NC State
Virginia Tech at Nebraska
Navy at Wake Forest
Navy-Wake is probably the 6th best game TV-wise on that slate, ahead of only URI-BC and UVA-Duke. That’s assuming that David Cutcliffe hasn’t immediately turned Duke around, in which case their game might leapfrog Navy-Wake. Assuming that (as in previous weeks) there are 6 games televised by the ESPNs/Raycom/ABC (which might not be a good assumption at all for all I know), that puts us squarely on the bubble. VT-Nebraska is a Big 12 game, so if that one ends up on Fox Sports Net or TBS or something, that might help. But I would guess that it’s high-profile enough to be picked up by ESPN or ABC. We may be looking at ESPN360 for this one.
But at least you have an easy decision now if you were wondering which road game to attend!
While I was sleeping
A lot of stuff on the ol’ radar that I haven’t addressed:
Chet gets a new contract. Navy’s athletic director and 2005 Bobby Dodd AD of the Year was inked through 2015. The Birddog Expert Analysis: Woot! I assume that there’s no explanation necessary for why this is a good thing.
The latest in the Caleb Campbell mess includes a Boston Globe piece that doesn’t include anything you haven’t already heard, except for the latest in ridiculous Caleb Campbell quotes:
“We all fight for freedom in different ways. Each in our own way.”
Someone please put a muzzle on this guy.
We also have an Examiner piece that calls Campbell “the anti-Tillman.” I said at the beginning of all this that comparisons to Pat Tillman were inevitable, and Bob Frantz’s column was only the latest in a long line articles that did so. Despite the headline, the column is fairly middle-of-the-road. At least until you get to a subtle dig at the end:
The merits of those arguments can be debated in perpetuity, and I will not attempt to bolster nor condemn any of them here. Rather, I prefer to let this story serve as a reminder to us all, on this solemn Memorial Day, of the extraordinary sacrifices made by so many men who either delayed or interrupted their professional careers in service to the greatest nation on earth.
Apparently Frantz doesn’t buy the idea that “we all fight for freedom in different ways.”
In contrast, ESPN’s Ivan Maisel writes about how former Navy football players are applying the lessons they learned on the gridiron to situations they face in the fleet. It’s a great illustration of the value of intercollegiate athletics at service* academies. And while one Ivan Maisel column won’t bring the sheer exposure that a season in the NFL would, in this instance it certainly provides a hell of a lot more substance.
Millen, who answers to the nickname “Moon,” said he relishes working with other former Midshipmen players.
“Most of the players I’ve seen tend to get along with each other, not just football players, but with other folks,” Millen said. “They interact well with others and play well as a team. I know that when I work with those guys, they’ve been through the same training I have. They’re competent in what they do. It’s sort of a litmus test, I guess, certainly for those of us that played. I know if I pull Ensign Diggs out to help me with something, I know what comes with that. … As a fellow ballplayer, there’s certainly more to him, and he walks in with a certain resume.”
That, dear readers, is what they call it the Brotherhood.
UNC fired John Haus, their head men’s lacrosse coach. Naturally, initial speculation as to who will replace him has centered around those with North Carolina ties… And one of the most successful lacrosse coaches who fits the bill is UNC alum Richie Meade. Fortunately, he doesn’t appear to be interested in leaving Annapolis:
Meade said yesterday he has not been contacted by North Carolina about the vacancy and was content at Navy.
“I’m very happy to be the head coach at the Naval Academy and hope to remain so,” Meade said. “I have no idea what direction North Carolina is going to go. I’m sure they will get a quality head coach because it’s a great school and a great program.”
Good news, because I don’t think my stomach can take another coaching change this year.
The MAC might expand to 14 teams by adding Western Kentucky and Temple in all sports. OK.
Army and Notre Dame might start playing again, according to the Times Herald-Record. OK.
And finally, in the realm of the absurd, we have the news that the Toronto Argonauts have signed Ross Weaver. As in the 2006 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Ross Weaver. Weaver has spent the last two years playing arena ball with the Colorado Ice. Now with the Argos, Weaver is serving the Air Force by tapping into previously untouched recruiting territory: Canada! It’s amazing nobody’s thought of this before!
Two years of arena football, and now Canada. We all fight for freedom in different ways!
Sometimes I think I’m the only sane person left.
FEAR THE GOAT
Columns about Big East expansion are no rarity. Almost as common are mentions of Navy within those columns as a candidate. But saying that Navy is too good for the Big East?
The Navy possibility has always been intriguing. Annapolis, Md.? Sure. The football is pretty good. There is also the nationwide draw of the Army-Navy game, though its contract with CBS would be an issue.
But the biggest problem with Navy is that it might be a little too good. The Midshipmen, who averaged eight wins a year the past five seasons under former coach Paul Johnson (now at Georgia Tech), could easily hang in the Big East and be in the mix for one of the conference’s seven bowl bids.
Adding another team to a conference sounds good until it affects you directly. And Navy coming in would affect middle-of-the-pack teams even with the conference aligning itself with the new St. Petersburg Bowl pitting Big East and C-USA schools. With similar records, Navy could be more attractive than other Big East teams to bowl committees.
Now I’ve seen everything.
Loose Change, 5/1/08
We have a women’s basketball coach! Navy has hired Bowdoin head coach Stefanie Pemper to take charge of its struggling women’s basketball program. I’m not going to pretend to know a thing about Division III women’s basketball, but this:
Bowdoin has become the most consistent Division III power in the nation under Pemper’s direction, leading the program to six-consecutive NCAA Elite 8 appearances (2002-07) and seven-straight trips to the Sweet 16 (2001-07). In 2004, Pemper’s squad compiled a 30-1 mark and became the first team in any sport in school history to play for a National Championship. Pemper was honored after the 2004 season as the WBCA Division III National Coach of the Year.
Pemper’s clubs dominated the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), winning seven-consecutive league titles from 2001-07 and Bowdoin rarely, if ever, lost at home winning 76-consecutive games from 2001-07, the fourth-longest streak in Division III basketball history.
seems pretty impressive. That success came at a school that is very demanding academically, which I’m sure played a part in Pemper’s hiring. I look forward to seeing how she chooses to unleash the fury of Cassie Consedine upon the rest of the Patriot League.
The Congressional Bowl is a go. Almost exactly a year after we first heard about the possibility, Christian Swezey has the details about the new bowl game for Washington DC. The Congressional Bowl will be played December 20th between a bowl-eligible Navy team and ACC #9… meaning that it’ll probably be a bowl-eligible Navy team and someone outside the ACC. The MAC was the rumored backup candidate should the ACC not have 9 eligible teams, which it probably won’t. Still left to be decided is whether the game will be played at the new Nationals Park or at trusty ol’ RFK. The Nats’ new home is certainly the shinier and more glamorous of the two, but with most Navy fans probably driving to the game, everyone’s going to end up parking at RFK anyway. Might as well play the game there. (Disclaimer: Football games at RFK are some of my most treasured childhood memories, and I am extremely biased. )
Bad news for Greg Sudderth. Bill Wagner is reporting that wide receiver Greg Sudderth’s request for a fifth year of eligibility has been denied by the NCAA.
“I’m very disappointed for Greg. I felt he deserved another season,” Niumatalolo said.
“Sometimes, things are too black-and-white with the NCAA. We were hoping they would look at the totality of the situation and the fact this kid has never been able to play a full season.”
Sudderth switched to wide receiver last year after playing most of his career as a defensive back. He appeared to be adjusting well to his new position, blocking aggressively and catching 6 passes over the first half of the season (including impressive grabs against Duke and Delaware) before an ankle injury ended his season. That might not sound like much, but when you consider our leading receiver only had 13 catches all year, it was a significant contribution to the offense. Sudderth was expected to start this year.
Daily Chuckle
The Air Force put out a press release praising the USAFA football team for their academic prowess, which you can read here. One part made me laugh a little:
Air Force continues to be one of the leaders in academic excellence among the Mountain West Conference. The football team’s score of 975 ranked highest among the nine-team MWC. Air Force is one of only five football playing Division I institutions to post a four-year APR in the top 10 percent nationally while playing in a major conference with the football bowl subdivision. Duke, Rice, Rutgers and Stanford are the other four.
OK, two things. One, if the Mountain West (and Conference USA, based on the inclusion of Rice on the list) is considered a “major conference with the football bowl subdivision,” then what do they consider a minor conference with the FBS? Two, why do you suppose the press release only compared Air Force to other schools in conferences as opposed to everyone, including independents? No reason, I’m sure.
Roffles.
Common Sense Prevailing?
My hope that the Ohio State game would be offset with an adjustment in the rest of the 2009 schedule might be on its way to being fulfilled. According to Bill Wagner’s blog:
Meanwhile, Gladchuk said Navy has moved its 2009 game with Hawaii from Sept. 5 to Nov. 21. Navy was forced to switch the date of that contest in order to play Ohio State in the 2009 season opener.
Gladchuk said Navy will release its complete 2009 schedule in early May. It will not resemble the previously published slate for that season.
“There are about half a dozen changes in terms of opponents and dates,” he said. “We are still fine-tuning some things, but should have it nailed down in a week or so.”
So stand by. It appears that sanity may be on the march.
Ohio State is going to happen.
http://navysports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/042308aaa.html
Well, it’s official. Navy is going to open up the 2009 season against the Buckeyes in Columbus, with a return trip coming in 2014 to either NMCMS (probably unlikely) or a higher capacity venue in the area (pray for Baltimore instead of FedEx). For Ohio State, a game against Navy is a tune-up against a spread option team before they play their season finale against Michigan. For Navy, one can only assume that the appeal of this game comes from tapping into the gate receipts of a 102,000-seat stadium. To my wife’s chagrin, the game replaces a previously scheduled contest at Hawaii that will likely be pushed out away from her birthday to a later date, possibly even that season. I suppose that the flight to Honolulu is now paid for:
Gladchuk declined to discuss financial terms, but admitted this would be the most lucrative home-and-home contract in the history of Navy football. Sources said the deal has the potential to earn the Naval Academy as much as $2 million for each game.
I don’t have a problem with playing Ohio State if it’s at the right time. The problem is that as the schedule stands right now, 2009 is not the right time. Let’s take a look:
Sept. 5 . . . at Ohio State
Sept. 19. . . at Pittsburgh
Sept. 26 . . . Wake Forest
Oct. 3 . . . Air Force
Oct. 10 . . . at Rutgers
Oct. 17 . . . at SMU
Oct. 24 . . . Bowling Green (Homecoming)
Oct. 31 . . . Georgia Southern
Nov. 7 . . . at Notre Dame
Nov. 14 . . . Delaware
Nov. 21 . . . at Temple Hawaii
Dec. 5 . . . Army (Philadelphia)
Four of our first six games are on the road, and they’re at Ohio State, Pitt, Rutgers, and a revamped SMU. Are you kidding me? What happened to scheduling to give the team a chance to win? Who knows what kind of shape Air Force will be in by then, but the other home game wedged into that road gauntlet is against Wake Forest! It wouldn’t be a shock to anyone if Navy came out of the first half of the season at 1-5. The second half of the season could get dicey too, with Notre Dame, an improving Temple team, and possibly Hawaii.
I have a hard time believing that the Ohio State game would be happening if Paul Johnson was still the head coach. PJ was clear about how the 2002 schedule– which included NC State, Northwestern, Boston College, and Wake Forest in addition to the annual reach game against Notre Dame– set his first Navy team up for failure. The lesson learned was a scheduling philosophy that called for balance, as described by Chet here in a response to a question about scheduling Nebraska:
Being a Division IA football program, there’s always the possibility that we could play anyone. Whether scheduled during the regular season or in a bowl game. As it stands today, we do not have Nebraska on the schedule. My most important objective is to make sure the coach and the team have every opportunity to earn a successful season. Who we schedule is actually a science that, to date, has served us well. When you take a look at some of the programs we have down the road, including Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Wake Forest, Connecticut, East Carolina, and of course Army, Air Force and Notre Dame, I am very careful to ensure that there’s adequate balance throughout the season. We don’t want to put ourselves in a situation that doesn’t provide us with a legitimate shot at post-season consideration. This is one of the key reasons why we remain comfortably as an Independent. Remember, television, tickets, corporate support, alumni giving, facility construction, and other important advancements continue to flourish by virtue of the fact that we’re winning football games, and a balanced schedule is a big part of it.
Wise words from the Navy AD. While everyone has fun with the glitz and hype that comes from playing big names, when it’s all said and done, it’s winning, not hype, that people really want. There’s a group in any fanbase that thinks their team should schedule LSU, the Kansas City Chiefs, a team of mini-Ditkas, and the Nothing every year, but for the most part I think Navy fans understand that as a service* academy, we have to be a little more realistic. Does that mean never scheduling the Ohio States of the world? No, but it might be better off to do it in years where the schedule wasn’t already shaping up to be brutal.
Navy fans like to talk about 4-4-4 scheduling as a way to achieve the balance that Chet describes– 4 games where you’ll be the underdog, 4 games where you’ll be favored, and 4 games where the matchup is about even. While the twists and turns of any given season might alter Navy’s standing relative to their opponents, when everything averages out, those last two categories are pretty hard to come by. Think about it. Who do you think will win more head-to-head recruiting battles between Navy and Bowling Green? How big is Temple’s recruiting pool compared to Navy? Will Navy ever create a sports management major to lighten athletes’ loads like SMU? Of course not (but maybe Army will). There isn’t a team on the schedule outside of the other service academies that would trade their roster for Navy’s. In reality, “balance” is pretty much impossible to achieve. That means that wins over Delaware, Bowling Green, and co. should not be taken for granted. Winning at a service* academy is hard to do. It would be very easy for Navy to bite off more than it can chew, and without a big adjustment in 2009, that would seem to be exactly what has happened. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more changes to the schedule in an attempt to lighten the load. I sure hope it happens.
When I was a mid, West Virginia came to Annapolis, led by Amos Zereoue. That game was a really big deal in Bancroft Hall, and there was a huge buzz about it out in town. We got stomped, but the atmosphere was fun. I can understand the appeal of wanting to schedule a game like that. But when the game is over, there’s still a season to be played and goals to be met. As things stand right now, it’s going to be tough to meet those goals in 2009. Playing Ohio State will be fun. Here’s hoping that the schedule gets a bit of an overhaul to accomodate them.
The Weekend That Was
The weekend of the spring football game and the Hopkins lacrosse game is usually when I make my annual pilgrimage to Annapolis from my humble Florida home. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make the trip this year due to some emergency work issues. Bummer for me. Of course, after talking to a few people that did go, I’m not sure that my mood would be any better had I made the trip. Hopkins crushed the Mids, tacking another year onto their mind-boggling streak. The night before, Navy Blue defeated Navy Gold in a snoozer of a spring game. I suppose I’ll tackle the lacrosse game first.
The football team’s losing streak to Notre Dame was more high-profile, but I always thought that that Navy lacrosse’s losing streak to Johns Hopkins was far more perplexing. Navy and Notre Dame are on different planets when it comes to college football, but the delta between Navy and Hopkins lacrosse is much smaller. Sure, Hopkins still has all the advantages when it comes to recruiting against Navy and should win more than they lose against them, but the Mids are still a solid lacrosse program. Hell, if Navy hadn’t lost to Army, they’d have been ranked higher than Hopkins going into the game. You’d think that the law of averages would throw us a bone once in a while. But no, 33 games has now turned into 34, and Navy finds itself in a rather precarious position when it comes to getting an NCAA tournament bid. I wonder if John Feinstein thinks that Navy should stop playing those bullies from Hopkins. Anyway…
The game itself was a suck tsunami. The usually stout Navy defense seemed to have a great deal of difficulty with the Hopkins ride, leading to several turnovers. It probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference even if they were able to get the ball to the offense, though, since that unit continued to struggle. How many games have we watched this year where a graphic pops up on the screen to say “NAVY: NO GOALS SINCE 5:32 IN THE SECOND QUARTER” or “NAVY SCORING DROUGHT- 15:48” or something similar? Our offense just hasn’t cut it since we’ve entered the meat of the schedule. Navy has averaged a little more than 6 goals per game in regulation since the Bucknell game. You’re putting one hell of a load on your defense & goaltender if you’re asking them to hold some of these high-powered offenses to less than that. Being patient and setting up a quality shot is one thing, but what Navy is doing is a whole different ball of wax. The scoring opportunities aren’t developing, and it’s leading to desperation heaves from bad angles or shots from 20 yards away– both of which are easily saved by the opposing goalie.
All of that is easy for me to observe from my La-Z-Boy. Fixing the problem is a different issue. I have no answers. I just hope that the coaches see that there is a problem and can fix it.
Anyway, moving right along…
The spring game wasn’t exactly a suspense-filled drama. The first-teamers who made up the Blue team were for the most part, as Coach Niumat put it, just punching the clock. In contrast, the Gold team seemed to really be playing hard, but just didn’t have the horses to keep up. I’ll give my impressions of what I saw, but it’s important to keep everything in context. People make a big deal out of the spring game, but it really is just one practice out of 15, and nothing more. Anything we see, good or bad, may not be a reflection of reality. That said, it’s the only practice my Floridian ass gets to see, so here’s a bit of stream of consciousness to relay my observations.
– First off, congratulations are in order for next year’s team captains, Jarod Bryant and Clint Sovie. Craig Schaefer also gets a pat on the back for winning the VADM Mack award as the team’s most improved player of the spring. His swift rise up the linebacker depth chart made this one pretty easy to predict.
– The hit of the night came from Joey Taylor, the Gold team safety who stepped up in run support to bounce Greg Shinego to the ground on the sideline. The Gold team in general was hitting hard. Linebackers Trey Grissom and Tyler Simmons were everywhere in the first half. Especially Grissom, who got behind the line of scrimmage to make 3.5 tackles for a loss, including a sack. On the blue side, I thought Ram Vela played well. Corey Johnson made a couple of plays as well.
– It was tough to get a read on the defensive lines, because neither offensive line looked all that great. The Blue d-line spent a lot of time in the Gold backfield. Matt Nechak registered a sack. Nate Frazier only had one tackle, but he seemed to be wreacking havoc on the inside. Andy Lark struggled at center, especially in pass protection. He’s got a ways to go to be ready to back up Ricky Moore, who actually looked pretty good.
– Jarod Bryant looked terrific. He stepped up on the opening drive and marched the first-team offense down the field for an easy touchdown. His passing was clearly improved, as demonstrated by his 25-yard sideline bullet to Shun White that put the ball on the Gold 1-yard line. His running was great, but we already knew that. Most importantly, he also seemed to have pretty good command of the triple option. It was a great showing by next year’s offensive captain.
– Mixed reviews for the other quarterbacks. Greg Zingler and Joe Taylor both looked decent when they weren’t running for their lives– they usually were. Zingler probably had the play of the game, hitting Greg Jones in perfect stride for a 65-yard TD pass that was called back thanks to an illegal shift penalty. As for Ricky Dobbs, whether you feel good about him or feel a little nervous, you got some fuel to support your opinion. For the most part, Dobbs just didn’t look ready for prime time, fumbling twice and looking very tentative on his option reads. But on one busted play, Dobbs unleashed a barrage of moves that will keep Anne Arundel County’s ankle surgeons in business for at least another month. Ricky was able to reverse his direction and turned a doomed play into a 32-yard scamper down the right sideline that led to 1st and goal from the 4-yard line. It’s clear that the athletic ability is there. Now we just need to wait for the learning process.
– Kevin Campbell was the game’s leading rusher, although in all honesty I was a bit underwhelmed by his performance. He ran hard, but usually he ran hard straight into a pile. The difference between 2002 Kyle Eckel and 2003 Kyle Eckel was that while the former tried to move piles, the latter tried to avoid them. The same metamorphosis would work well for Campbell. He did show some good hands and quickness in turning a fullback screen into a 24-yard gain. I was very impressed with Vince Murray, who seemed to have a knack for finding open space. If there was a knock on him, I’d say that didn’t run with his pads low enough. Hopefully one of you more knowledgable readers can correct me if I’m off-base on that one.
– The A-backs didn’t get the ball into their hands very often, but they usually made it count when they did. Shun White led the way with 23 yards on 4 carries, plus that great catch on the pass from Bryant. Greg Shinego looked very quick on a 3rd quarter 12-yard run, and Andre Byrd, while not seemingly as fast as the other two, had a knack for making tacklers miss to gain some extra yards, plus a TD run. I have no idea if these guys were doing the right things without the ball, but in terms of their playmaking ability with the ball, my optimism is unchanged.
– Kyle Delahooke’s missed field goal was a little discouraging, but everyone seemed to punt the ball pretty well.
All in all, it was a typical spring game. Let’s be honest now… None of them are ever that exciting. Huge, huge props go to NAAA for putting it on All-Access. Pete & Omar, despite the audio difficulties, were very entertaining in calling the game. The next step is to wait for the last depth chart of the spring (if there will be one).
Catching Up
— The big news over the weekend was the lacrosse team’s 5-4 win over Maryland on Friday night. The Mids took a 5-0 lead into halftime and held on at the end. TBO2F sums things up and gives you all the links to game reports here. Between Maryland, Georgetown, and Hopkins, Navy probably needed to win at least one of those three to have a shot at being seeded in the NCAA tournament, assuming they beat Army and win the Patriot League tournament. Of course, that’s no guarantee the way Army and Bucknell have been playing. Navy travels to West Point to take on Army on Saturday at noon.
One more thing on the Maryland game– TBO2F points out that Navy turned the ball over on 14 of its 16 second half posessions. Not good, and not going to cut it if we want to purge the last of the wretched losing streaks that hang over our athletic department.
— Speaking of West Point, the tremendous amount of “good PR” generated by their Alternative Service* Option keeps pouring in. Here we have Thomas Hauser, Muhammad Ali biographer and Pulitzer Prize nominee, taking a break from boxing to write about the new super-awesome West Point policy. Most of his points are things you’ve already read here, but it’s worth a look.
— The other big news from this weekend was the first football scrimmage of the spring. The official report is here. Adam gave a good recap down in the comments of the last post, too. Bill Wagner gave his impressions here. So far the stars on the offensive side look like Bryant, Shinego, and Byrd, with Maurice Cumberland standing out on defense.
— All of next year’s home games (except Notre Dame) will start at 3:30 (ET).
— One Baltimore blogger wonders if the new DC Bowl will keep the proposed Baltimore game from happening.
The Birddog 