Minutes after losing to Notre Dame last week, Navy linebacker Eddie Carthan stood in front of the media and spoke from the heart.
"This hurts because we had a chance to make history," Carthan said of Navy's 30-23 loss. "Everyone would have looked at us differently. Right now, people are saying, 'Navy might be good.' But after a week they'll have forgotten about this game."
A week has passed, and it turns out Carthan was right. Many have forgotten Navy's heroic effort against the highly favored Irish. The national media are off somewhere else this week, and the practices in Annapolis have been understandably low-key.
Heading into today's game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium against Connecticut (4-6), the Midshipmen are just another team with a 1-8 record trying to salvage a frustrating season.
What matters today for the Mids, however, is not whether people remember how good they looked against Notre Dame. What matters is, can Navy bring that same emotional intensity to every game?
"I hope that we've learned that that's the way you play football every week," Navy coach Paul Johnson said.
"I think everybody was disappointed after [Notre Dame] because they put so much into it. It's like I've said all year, when you invest, it hurts. That's the way you have to play. ... It makes me feel like we have a chance to turn the corner if we can carry that over."
Offensively, the Mids have performed well recently. The only team to score more points against the Irish than Navy, with 23, is Florida State.
Navy ranks fourth in the country, averaging 275 rushing yards a game, and though the Mids will likely be without quarterback Craig Candeto and fullback Kyle Eckel (both out with injuries), moving the ball against Connecticut likely won't be Navy's biggest challenge.
Eight of the 10 teams the Huskies have faced this season have had a 100-yard rusher. Sophomore quarterback Aaron Polanco and sophomore fullback Michael Brimage could see a few openings playing in place of Candeto and Eckel.
Defensively is where Navy could be in trouble. Though the Mids have lost eight straight games, teams that focus on running the ball haven't given Navy nearly so many problems as teams that spread the field with multiple wide receivers.
The Huskies have two formidable weapons in sophomore quarterback Dan Orlovsky (1,983 passing yards, 13 touchdowns) and freshman running back Terry Caulley (899 yards rushing, 13 touchdowns). They have helped Connecticut's offense score 124 points in the last two games.
"They're very athletic," Johnson said. "There is no question that they have good skill people.
"We'll have a chance to see if we've made progress on defense against that kind of offense. ... We can't line up and blitz them every down or they will kill [us]. We have to make tackles. We have to try and contain them and limit the big plays."
Caulley, a former standout at Pautuxent High, has been the biggest surprise.
Nicknamed "Squeak" and "Mighty Mouse" by his teammates because of his 5-foot-7 frame, Caulley has rushed for 100 or more yards in the past three games. Against Kent State, he tied an NCAA record with four touchdown runs in one quarter. Caulley is 10th in the country in scoring (9.75 points a game) and 20th in rushing (112.3 yards a game).
"He has great speed," Johnson said. "You have to try and bottle him up and keep him in front of you, because if he gets a crack he can go the distance. He's a really good football player."