Mids’ next two football foes weigh big on season
Mids’ next two foes to weigh big on trajectory of 2020 season
If the Navy football team can successfully dance a little Texas Two-Step, it will be solidly entrenched as a contender for the American Athletic Conference championship.
The Midshipmen face a tough two-week stretch against two of the top teams in the American, both of which reside in the Lone Star State. Navy welcomes Houston to Annapolis this Saturday before traveling to Dallas to meet SMU.
No. 16 SMU was chosen fourth in the AAC preseason media poll and has gotten off to a 5-0 start. Houston is known for its highpowered offense and showed its capability during a 49-31 defeat of Tulane.
Navy (3-2) sits alone atop the American standings with a 3-0 conference mark after earning narrow victories over Tulane (27-24), Temple (31-29) and East Carolina (27-23). The Midshipmen were outgained in terms of total yardage in all three AAC games.
“Somehow, we’ve found a way to eke out these close wins,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said after Saturday’s game in Greenville, North Carolina.
The Midshipmen were blown out 55-3 by BYU in the season opener and routed 40-7 by service academy rival Air Force. Niumatalolo said beating three AAC opponents has given Navy confidence and “hope.”
Meanwhile, Houston is coming off a disappointing 46-23 loss to No. 12 BYU. The Cougars led 26-21 after three quarters and were outscored 22-0 by the Cougars in the final frame.
“[Houston] is probably the most talented team we’ll play this season,” Niumatalolo said Monday during a video conference call. “Obviously, we know how good BYU is. To see what [Houston] was doing to BYU for three quarters was scary.”
Perhaps no program in college football has been affected more by coronavirus cancellations more than Houston, which has had five games postponed or canceled. The Cougars are down to nine contests, having lost nonconference matchups with Rice, Washington State and North Texas.
When the AAC opener versus Memphis was postponed, Houston hastily scheduled a game against in-state rival Baylor. That fill-in affair was canceled a day before kickoff because the Bears had several positive COVID-19 tests.
Only in 2020 could a college football team only have two games under its belt threeweeks into October.
“We’re still trying to figure out exactly who we are,” second-year Houston coach Dana Holgorsen said. “I’ll know on the plane on the way home from Navy who we are. I think I’ll have a pretty good at that point. Right now, I don’t.”
Houston is typically loaded on the offensive side of the ball and is averaging 37.5 points and 457 total yards through two games. Quarterback Clayton Tune has thrown for 629 yards and four touchdowns, completing 64% of his passes. He’s blessed with two dangerous targets in Marquez Stevenson and Keith Corbin.
Stevenson was a first team All-American Athletic Conference selection last season after leading Houston with 52 receptions for 907 yards and nine touchdowns. The 6-foot, 190-pound speedster has amassed career statistics of 133 catches, 2,099 yards and 19 touchdowns despite playing in just two games as a freshman and missing the entire 2017 season with an injury.
“This offense is really potent and can make some big plays. They really know how to throw the ball downfield,” Navy inside linebacker Diego Fagot said of Houston. “Their offense is unique, not like any other teamwe see. They don’t fit the mold of the AAC.”
Holgorsenwas disappointed his team could not finish against BYU, which turned around the game with a wellexecuted onside kick. He described BYU as an experienced, mature team playing its fifth game of the season and felt Houston lost focus.
“For three quarterswewere great; for one quarter we were really bad,” said Holgorsen, who previously the coach at West Virginia. “I was really happy with our team’s effort and physicality. We just lost our minds a bit. We need to clean some things up and become a smarter, more disciplined football team.”
Holgorsen knows that issue needs to be corrected this week as the Cougars prepare for the Midshipmen and their patented triple-option offense.
“One thing we’re going to focus on this week is being more disciplined. You better be disciplined against these guys,” he said. “How we played last week, the undisciplined nature, was unacceptable. We did too many stupid things.”
Fullback Jamale Carothers rushed for career highs of 188 yards and five touchdowns as Navy beat Houston, 56-41, in a wild shootout at TEDCU Stadium last season. Quarterback Malcolm Perry ran for 146 yards and a score for the Midshipmen, who amassed 554 total yards.
Holgorsen apparently forgot about Carothers when talking about how the Cougars defended the triple-option a year ago.
“We did a decent job against it last year other than the quarterback run. That dude was special, and we couldn’t tackle him,” Holgorsen said.
It appears at this point theAACrace is wide-open. Central Florida, the preseason favorite to capture the championship, has already lost two conference contests. Memphis, the defendingchampion, was beaten by SMU before rebounding to defeat UCF. Cincinnati, which was picked second in the preseason media poll, is 3-0 with the lone league win coming against struggling South Florida.
“I don’t see anybody being very dominant at this point,” said Holgorsen, adding that he “couldn’t have been more impressed with the level of play in our league last year.”