Know the Opposition: Navy

Ricky Hobbs will help lead Navy this Saturday// Photo by Jim McIsaac

Dave and Drew Thurman (1:04 pm)

Mascot: Midshipmen
Stadium: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000)
Coach: Ken Niumatalolo (2nd year, 8-6)
2008 Record: 8-5 (Lost to Wake Forest  29-19 in EagleBank Bowl)
Base Offense: Triple Option
Base Defense: 3-4
Lettermen: Returning - 27, Lost - 28
Returning Starters: Offense - 4, Defense - 7, Specialists - 1
Returning Stars: QB Ricky Dobbs, LB Ross Pospisil

Notable Alumni:

-Jimmy Carter – 39th President of the United States
-Roger Staubach – NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback
-Alan Shephard – First U.S. Astronaut in space
-Ross Perot – Self-made billionaire; presidential candidate
-David Robinson – NBA Hall of Fame center
-Tom O’Brien – Football head coach at N.C. State
-Oliver North – White house aide; author; and, radio host

Cheerleading Scouting Report:

Navy Overview:

Second year coach Ken Niumatalolo hopes to put together another solid season for the Midshipmen in 2009, who haven't had a losing record since 2002. They did lose a lot from the 2008 season especially on the offensive side of the ball. A lot of their success will depend on junior quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who has been limited as a starter but has a lot of experience. Last year, he found himself buried at third string on the depth chart before watching the guys ahead of him (Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada and Jarod Bryant) get injured. Dobbs quickly showed off his running ability, and was the first Navy quaterback to rush for over 200 yards in a game since 2001 (against SMU). He also had good performances against Temple, Notre Dame, and Northern Illinois before watching the Kaipo come back for the final two games. Overall, Dobbs doesn't have a consistent or unbelieveable arm (212 yards and one touchdown), but can frustrate defenses with his legs. Last season he had 495 yards (4.7 avg) with eight touchdowns.

It is not going to help Dobbs that the three leading pass catchers from last year are gone. Not that Navy throws the ball very often, but they still plan on having talented pass catchers to help mix it up when they do. The three main guys to watch out for are Greg Jones, Mario Washington, and Mike Schupp. Not one of these guys had more then three catches all of last year though!
 
Outside of Dobbs, the names you will hear the most on the offensive side of the ball are the guys in the backfield. Since Navy runs the triple option, they start a fullback and two slotbacks. Unfortunately for Navy, like wideout, there is little experience here. They lost Shun White (1092 yards and eight touchdowns) and fullback Eric Kettani (982 yards and four touchdowns) who were their top two rushers in 2008. Dobbs is actually the top returning rusher for the Midshipmen. This week against the Buckeyes, the Midshipmen will start Chardon, Ohio product Bobby Doyle (169 yards and 1 TD), Marcus Curry, and fullback Alex Teich. Obviously there are not big names here like the last few years for Navy, but it is typically the system that makes these running backs solid. On top of that the offensive line returns every starter except one, so the holes will be opened.
 
On defense, the Midshipmen return a much more experienced unit than on offense. The name to look out for here is ILB Ross Pospisil. Not only is he the largest linebacker Navy will start on Saturday (6-0 227), but he is coming off a season where he led the team with 106 tackles. Honestly he is the only linebacker of note to start the season. The defensive line on the other hand brings back everyone in the two deep from last season, including Jabaree Tuani (42 tackles and 9 TFL) and Matt Nechak (39 tackles and 8.5 TFL). Finally, the secondary will look much more similar to the linebacking core, and will be led by an upperclassman. That guy is ROV Wyatt Middleton, who has been a dominating force for the Midshipmen the last two years. As a freshman he broke the Navy freshmen tackling record with 88 tackles. Last season he had 80 tackles. 

Game Outlook:

This game is no doubt going to be a weird one for the Buckeyes to start with. Most of this will be on the defensive side of the ball, due to the triple option offense of Navy. Ohio State has very little history with the Midshipmen or with teams that use the triple option, so there could be some early frustration. Under Tressel, the defense has been more vertical in nature, coming up to plug holes in the running game. Against Navy though, the Buckeyes are going to be running sideline to sideline trying to cut the option short. 

On offense, the Buckeyes will be fielding a unit with some question marks, and a ton of fresh faces. The offensive line play will obviously be under the microscope all afternoon long, but this unit still has to prove the overall quality of the new guys at running back and wide receiver. Fans can also expect a rather vanilla version of what the staff plans to do this fall. After criticisms that the Buckeyes were too predictable against USC a year ago, you better believe Tressel isn't going to play all his cards in week one. Pay attention because there may be a quick snapshot or two of something they are going to reveal on September 12th, but outside of that Tressel will not vary.

So overall, this game will probably be a frustrating one in the first quarter. The Buckeye defense will allow the Midshipmen to sustain a few drives early on, while the offense will have to settle for a few field goals. The second quarter will be a different story though, and Pryor and the boys will start to get in a groove on offense. From then on the Buckeyes should establish the style of ball they want to play, which will give Tressel the chance to try out some other players in the second half.  Expect Navy to dominate the time of possession though! Anyways, the Buckeyes move on with a win and get ready for September 12th...

Father vs. Son Prediction Battle:

Dave: OSU 31-17
Drew: OSU 30-10