The Mid-Season Report Cards are a subjective look using objective numbers with a look toward the remainder of the season as well. Teams are being reviewed in random order once they reach 6 games.
I’ve gone back and forth most of this season on how to cover Navy & Army. Since they don’t play in a conference, they don’t have quite as compelling a story to tell- 6 wins, they go to a bowl, that’s about it. So they won’t get a lot of discussion here, but the reality is that they’re just as stuck outside the BCS system as the rest of them are, so they’ll be discussed when there’s good reason to do so. As for Navy, they’re out to a very impressive start and appear comfortably headed towards a bowl berth. They lost to Ohio State by only 2 in the season opener and have picked up four wins since then.
- Wins: B. Despite the close loss to OSU, they’ve beaten the teams they should beat and lost to the teams they should have. Solid B.
- Offense: B-. With their intentionally unbalanced attack, Navy’s national rankings are a bit skewed- 6th in America rushing, averaging 270 per game, but nearly last in passing, at 91 yards. Overall, they’re 69th, but 34th in scoring (thanks to the strong ground game in the red zone, no doubt) at almost 32 ppg.
- Defense: B. Total defense ranks well, at 32nd in the country. Giving up only 307 yards per game has kept them in a couple different close games. Scoring defense also rates high, giving up just 20 per.
- Special Teams: C-. Navy is only 114th in kickoff returns, and 78th in punt returns. Net punting is better, at 40th overall, but cranking up the return yards will help that ground game get going.
- Turnovers: B+. The Midshipmen are +4 in margin, only giving the ball away 6 times so far and gaining 10. If the D can generate more turnovers, that will give them an even better advantage going through the second half.
- Grading Curve: No Change. Navy’s schedule has featured one top 10 team and two of the worst teams in the country, so no bonus points here.
- Final Grade: B+. Navy has had a great start, putting up a lot of points and beating a couple of good teams. No reason to think this path won’t continue.
Remaining Games:
Navy is playing 13 games this year, since they play at Hawaii, and will need to win 7 of them to be bowl eligible.
- at SMU
- Wake Forest
- Temple
- at Notre Dame
- Delaware
- at Hawaii
- vs. Army
Best Case Scenario: 7-0. Beating Notre Dame is the only game that might be a bit of a reach, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
Worst Case Scenario: 3-4. There are some of the better non-BCS schools still on Navy’s slate, so they should get a game or two from some of them.
Prediction:5-2. I think they’ll get beat a couple times, but not many, en route to a nice 9 win season and an easy berth in the Texas Bowl.