2010 Navy Midshipmen Football Preview

2009 Results: 10-4, Won Texas Bowl vs. Missouri

Head Coach: Ken Niumatalolo (3rd year @ Navy, 18-10 Overall)

Home Venue: Navy-Marine Memorial Stadium (34,000), Annapolis, MD

The Naval Academy enjoyed a rebirth in 2003 under the leadership of Paul Johnson, whose option attack allowed the Mids to compete at college football’s highest level. While Johnson has since departed to great achievement at Georgia Tech, his system remains and his success has been continued by protégé Ken Niumatololo, who has shepherded Navy’s bowl streak to seven seasons. Can the Midshipmen continue their great run of success in 2010?

OFFENSE

Things on offense revolve around senior quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who scored 33 TDs last season! Dobbs combined for 2200 yards of total offense and the self-proclaimed future President of the United State of America is one of the best leaders in college football. His dual threat abilities are also perfect for Navy’s option scheme.

But he’s not the only major contributor on offense as the six leading rushers from last year are all back. Senior Vince Murray (971 yards, 6 TDs in 2009) is the primary tailback but junior Marcus Curry (585 yards, 5 TDs) is a dangerous threat coming in motion across the formation and is also a hazard catching the football.

The Mids have an excellent O-Line opening up holes for their myriad of runners. Three starters return from last season’s group and junior center Eric Douglass started half of the season, so there is a ton of experience on hand. While Navy’s linemen are one dimensional run-blockers, they’re very good at it since passing plays are few and far between.

So how will this group perform overall in 2010? Navy has rung up an average of nearly 300 rush yards per game during their seven year bowl run and that seems extremely likely to continue. One interesting change could be the increased number of throws by Dobbs as he is considered to be the best pure QB that the Mids have had under center during their great run. Expect Navy to continue hammering opponents this season offensively and controlling the clock at will.

DEFENSE

For all of the positives on offense, there are some concerns defensively. Navy allowed the fewest points per game of their seven year streak in 2009 but only six starters are back from that unit. Furthermore, their excellent run defense will likely suffer with the loss of all but one starting linebacker.

The good news is that Navy returns three senior starters in the secondary and lots of experience up front. Senior Wyatt Middleton led the team in interceptions last season and is tied with senior Tyler Simmons as the team’s leading returning tackler (each tallied 68 stops last year).

All things considered, Navy has five seniors back from last year’s excellent defense and that’s a comforting thought. While filling in the loss of three of their top five tacklers at linebacker will not be easy, there is a lot of experience on hand and the Mids should have all the pieces in place to field another solid defense this fall. Just don’t expect them to match last season’s excellent scoring D.

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SCHEDULE

Navy has a reasonable schedule in 2010. Instead of traveling to Pitt, Notre Dame, SMU, Hawai’i and Ohio State like they did in 2009, the Mids find themselves with a significantly easier road slate. Trips to Wake Forest, Air Force and East Carolina combine with neutral site showdowns with Maryland, Notre Dame and rival Army to form an easily navigable schedule. Midseason home affairs with SMU and Duke could be an interesting clash of styles and this is a somewhat challenging but entirely fair schedule for the Naval Academy.

OUTLOOK

The consistent success at Navy has truly been amazing in the last seven years. Thanks to the relative uniqueness of their system and excellent discipline, the Midshipmen have been a textbook example of option football. Under Dobbs’ senior leadership, expect this team to continue the school’s recent tradition and extend their bowl streak to eight seasons. More importantly, Navy is still the class of the military academies and is the favorite to repeat as the winner of the Commander In Chief’s Trophy. Expect eight or nine wins this fall, another C–I-C Trophy and the potential for a 3rd win over Notre Dame in the last four years.