Imagine how good
This defense would be if they
Could get off the field.
Navy – San Jose State Drinking Game
OK fans, this is an abbreviated drinking game because it’s not like we have a lot of history with SJSU. So, if the announcers do or say any of the following, you should do what I write!
1. Mentions the song “The Way to San Jose” in any way ==> DRINK A SHOT. TAP YOUR IPAD IN HONOR OF SILICON VALLEY. LOOK TO HEAVEN AND POINT TO STEVE JOBS.
2. Talks about how Navy’s offense isn’t built for 3rd and 20 (like anybody’s offense is built for that) ==> DRINK SOMETHING. MAKE LIP FLAPPING RASPBERRY SOUND. CALL YOUR MOTHER. SHE LOVES YOU.
3. Talks about how Navy’s offense isn’t a “quick strike offense” ==> REPEAT #2 TWICE EXCEPT FOR THE CALL YOUR MOTHER PART.
4. Shows Navy’s turnover margin for year ==> DRY HEAVE. DRINK. SAY “WELL, THAT’S LEGIT.”
5. Catch all: any service academy related cliche that deals with discipline, academics, unnecessary suffering, or lack of real college life ==> DRINK. THINK TO YOURSELF “WOW, WHAT WAS I THINKING?” THEN, FOR NO REASON, STAND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM AT PARADE REST.
Game Week: San Jose State
That San Jose State would even have a I-A football program in 2012 wasn’t always a given.
Football in the Cal State system has always been a bit of a dicey proposition thanks to tight budgets and low attendance. Schools like Long Beach State and Cal State-Fullerton both dropped the sport in the early 1990s, and there was a time in the early 2000s where it looked like San Jose State might follow suit. SJSU football lost several scholarships because of academic issues, and budget cuts in 2004 led the school’s faculty to pass a resolution to drop the sport from the I-A ranks. The resolution was non-binding, but as the school was in the process of hiring a new president, the faculty wanted to make a statement to whoever was hired about what direction they felt the school should be moving.
NAVY 41, VMI 3
How is one supposed to feel about a win over VMI?
On one hand, they aren’t very good, even for a 1-AA team. We knew that going into the game. Blowout wins over lower-level competition don’t prove very much, and they don’t do anything to inspire confidence in how Navy will perform against the rest of their schedule. A win is a win, but classes weren’t cancelled on Monday because of it.
On the other hand, we’re talking about a Navy team that was 0-2 after a pair of blowouts to start the season. They needed SOMETHING positive to happen, and winning by 38 points while outgaining the opposition 510-222 is certainly positive. Not that there weren’t issues– and we’ll get to those– but even wins like this can help build confidence. The sloppiest win is always better than a well-executed loss.
That’s how I see Saturday’s game, anyway. Not that I felt that way at the time; I was just as frustrated as I suspect you were. Nevertheless, it was a pretty thorough pounding, and it felt good to see Navy get into the win column.
Concussions end career of Navy CB Jonathan Wev – Washington Times
Concussions end career of Navy CB Jonathan Wev – Washington Times.
Sort of had a feeling this was coming. Just awful.
New Big East Power Rankings – Week 4
It was not a good week for a lot of the members of the New Big East. With no league games on the docket, opportunities were plentiful to increase win totals against mostly middling competition. Unfortunately, 5 of the 9 teams that played this weekend lost and some of those that did win did so with their share of struggles. 6 teams hit the road and 4 of them returned home with a loss. Of course, this does nothing but muddle the middle of the conference and make the power rankings as much as a crapshoot after 4 weeks as they were after week 1. But on the positive side, the New Big East has 3 teams ranked in the AP poll (Louisville #19, Rutgers #23, and Boise State #24).
1. Louisville (4-0)
Last Week #1; This Week: Won 28-21 @ FIU
Teddy Bridgewater came back down to earth a little this week, but still did enough to get the Cardinals a win at FIU. Throwing more incomplete passes than he had in the previous three games combined, he was also picked off for the first time (actually, first two times). FIU was able to grab a 14-7 2nd quarter lead, but Louisville scored the next 21 points. A 4th-quarter Bridgewater interception gave FIU the ball deep in Louisville territory and set up the Panthers’ only 2nd half score, closing it to 28-21. But the Cardinals were able to pick up three first downs and run out the clock. They and their undefeated record head to Southern Mississippi this Saturday (CBSSN, 8pm).
This Week in Service Academy Football
Army (0-3): Lost to Wake Forest, 49-37. Remember back in 2007, when Navy’s defense was so bad that the first time the offense didn’t “hold serve,” the game was pretty much over? That’s Army now. The Black Knights went into halftime with the lead, and Wake Forest responded with a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half to take it back. On Army’s next possession, and errant pitch gave Wake Forest the ball on the Army 25. Three plays later, Wake Forest had a two-score lead that they never relinquished.
You can make a very legitimate argument that right now, Army’s offense is playing the best out of all the service academies. If you were to rank the defenses, though, it’d look like this: 1. Air Force 2. Navy 3. Merchant Marine 4. Coast Guard 5. Navy Sprint 6. Royal Military College of Canada club team (12 players make all the difference) 7. Army. As bad as Army’s defense is playing, though, keep one thing in mind: Navy’s lousy 2007 defense played their best games against Air Force and Army.
Air Force (1-2): Lost to UNLV, 38-35. The Falcons’ trip to Las Vegas was sort of like the Army game, with both teams’ offenses moving the ball almost at will in the first half. Air Force had the lead at halftime, but their offense wasn’t the same after losing a fumble in the third quarter. While the Falcons finished with 352 rushing yards, more than half of that total came in the first quarter. They were out-rushed by UNLV 199-172 over the last three.
The dirty little secret in service academy football is that the Air Force defense is as bad as the other two, even if perception is otherwise after they managed to keep things close against Michigan. Giving up 422 yards to Wolverines isn’t all that bad in the big picture, but Air Force also gave up 431 to Idaho State in week one. That UNLV was able to pick up almost 450 probably shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
This was a UNLV team that was starting a freshman quarterback and was 0-3 going into the game, including a loss to Northern Arizona. They are not good. Navy fans know after last year that close losses to BCS programs don’t mean anything. If any Air Force fan didn’t learn that lesson in 2006, they have by now.
Postgame Haiku, Vol. 59
Forty-one to three
Never has domination
Felt so frustrating
What you see vs. what you think you see
It usually takes me a few days to churn out a game post (or a few years in the case of the Texas Bowl). It stinks sometimes, especially after losses; by Wednesday, most of us have moved past the last game and have started looking forward to the next one. The reason it takes so long is that the video clips are a bit time-consuming to put together. First, I have to copy the game from my DVR onto DVD. Once the game is on DVD, I watch each play several times in slow motion until I understand exactly why the play turned out the way it did. If there’s anything noteworthy, I write down the timestamp of the play in my notebook with a short description, then move on to the next play. Once I’m done with the game, I pop the game discs into the DVD player that I have hooked up to my computer, capture the plays that I wrote down in my notebook, and begin editing them. Once all the movies are done, I upload them to YouTube and start writing. Unfortunately, since the paying job and family obligations force me to share my time with things that aren’t Navy football, I’m lucky if I get it all cranked out by Wednesday night.
Game Week: VMI
I once had a conversation with a football player the week after the team played Colgate during my firstie year. Navy won, but it wasn’t exactly their magnum opus. The player was candid about how it’s hard sometimes for the team to get pumped up about playing a 1-AA opponent.
I certainly hope that’s not the case for the Mids this week. When you’ve started the season 0-2 while being out-scored 84-17 in the process, you’d better get up to play any team, especially in your home opener. I’m sure that Navy is anxious to make something positive happen, so I don’t think that there will be any lack of effort on their part. Then again, effort hasn’t really been the problem for Navy. The Mids have played plenty hard. It’s the mental mistakes on offense coupled with a lack of discipline on defense that has the Navy team still looking for its first win of 2012.
And let’s not kid ourselves– they’re going to get it this week. I know that no game should be taken for granted– hell, I preach that more than anyone– and I know that VMI gave Army a pretty good scare back in Rich Ellerson’s first season. That Keydet team ran the option and was able to control the tempo of the game to keep the score close. Today, VMI runs more of a pro-style offense and is a less-than-mediocre 94th in FCS total offense. While VMI’s defense has given up a respectable 334 yards per game, it completely fell apart last week against Richmond, as the Spiders out-gained VMI 487-197 en route to a 47-6 win. This is a VMI team that was trailing going into the 4th quarter against Division II Chowan (3-7 last year and 1-2 so far this year) before finally scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 8:29 left to play. There are lots of games where Navy can play the “we don’t win any recruiting battles against these guys” card, but this game is not one of them. VMI has 16 freshmen or sophomores listed on their two-deep defense. They have two seniors. Navy is going to win. How they win, though, is the big question. You’d hope to see a penalty-free and turnover-free game.
That is particularly true for the offense. Whatever experience VMI’s defense lacks on the field, they make up for it on the sideline. VMI’s coaching staff has extensive ties to the Southern Conference and has seen the spread option many, many times. Head coach Sparky Woods is more offense-oriented, but he was the head coach at Appalachian State during Georgia Southern’s rise to prominence from 1984-1988. He also led VMI in the aforementioned game at West Point in 2009. Defensive coordinator Jeff Farrington faced Georgia Southern as an assistant at both East Tennessee State and Furman. And of course, VMI plays The Citadel every year. You can’t tell how VMI defended The Citadel’s spread option last year just from pictures other than to say that they used an odd front. They’ll be the first odd front that Navy sees this season, and I’m sure that the VMI staff has a few wrinkles that they can’t wait to throw at Trey Miller. He’ll be challenged mentally in this game even if the team won’t be challenged too much physically.
While a win is a win (especially if you’re 0-2), it won’t feel like one if we see a repeat of the same blunders that plagued the Mids in their first two games. I wrote earlier this week that these mistakes will be corrected and won’t be a theme for the whole season, but I have nothing more than faith backing up those words until the Mids prove it on the field. VMI may or may not be able to make the Mids pay for their mistakes, but there is no such doubt when it comes to San Jose State next week. Navy must show that it is capable of playing smart football.
The Birddog 