NAVY KEY: EXECUTE OFFENSIVELY FOR 60 MINUTES
That has been easier said than done this season as Navy has rarely put together two halves of good offensive football. By far the most complete performance came during a 37-29 defeat of Tulsa when quarterback Zach Abey directed an offense that amassed 404 total yards. The Midshipmen have looked good for one half in numerous other games, but that type of effort won’t cut it on this day. Navy needs to play flawless, which means completing eliminating the penalties, negative plays and assignment errors that have plagued the unit. Abey must be totally on point with reading the defense and distributing the ball and there simply cannot be a single turnover. The Mids will no doubt try to establish the inside game with Abey and fullback Anthony Gargiulo, but a real key will be to get speedy slotbacks Malcolm Perry and Tre Walker involved. Whenever offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper calls play-action pass, Abey must connect with the
open target.
ARMY KEY: WREAK HAVOC DEFENSIVELY
If there is one major difference between Army and Navy this season it comes on the defensive side of the ball. Army ranks 12th nationally in rushing defense and 11th in total defense, giving up just 106.5 yards per game on the ground and 301.3 all together. The Black Knights are an equally respectable No. 16 in scoring defense, allowing an average 18.7 points. Rarely does a service academy rank so highly in
so many defensive categories. Most observers credit defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, who has the Black Knights flying around and making plays. “Jay is as good a defensive coordinator as there is in the country. I’ve always thought that
Obviously, he gives option teams like Air Force and Navy a hard time. I also watch what he does against conventional offenses and it is very impressive,” Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “Jay is really innovative with what he does and gives you multiple looks. There might look like a little bit of chaos with what they do, but they know exactly what they want to accomplish.” There have been times this season when the Navy offense has looked completely discombobulated. You can bet Bateman is going to shift his linebackers and defensive backs all over the place and send blitzes from different angles in an attempt to disrupt the Midshipmen.