Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
Navy (and Army) occupy a strange place here on the Fringe. Since most of the writing here is organized by conference, they don’t get much attention. And since they’re usually locked into one bowl so long as they’re eligible, there’s not much suspense in their season. That being said, Navy was a very compelling team last year, peaking at their big win at Notre Dame. They ended up 10-4 and decimated Missouri in the Texas Bowl.
Star QB Ricky Dobbs is back to run the triple option, as are four of the other five top rushers from the system last year. Dobbs rushed for more than he passed last year, 1203 yards to 1031. The schedule sets up nicely enough that I’m prepared to make my first bowl projection of the 2010 season: Navy to the Poinsettia Bowl.
Schedule
9/6/2010 Maryland
9/11/2010 Georgia Southern
9/18/2010 at Louisiana Tech
10/2/2010 at Air Force
10/9/2010 at Wake Forest
10/16/2010 SMU
10/23/2010 Notre Dame
10/30/2010 Duke
11/6/2010 at East Carolina
11/13/2010 Central Michigan
11/20/2010 Arkansas State
12/11/2010 vs. Army
Seven home games, one neutral site, and no BCS conference superpowers means that Navy should coast past the six win mark and into the postseason. Maryland will be a fair test right out of the gate, and then the trip to Air Force will tip off a string of respectable opponents before the cold mid-December date with Army (which really mucks up bowl projections if one of them is sitting on 5 wins).
Coaching
Ken Niumatolo has set the new Navy record for wins by a coach in his first two years (18), and was the first to coach an unranked Navy to a win over a ranked Notre Dame- a big deal in those parts (ask Charlie Weis how it was received in South Bend). He’s been in the Navy program since 2002 as an Assistant Head Coach before taking over the top job in 2008.
Rankings
Navy is 38th in the USA Today Coaches poll, and the AP poll hasn’t been released.
Outlook
There’s no team on Navy’s schedule that they absolutely can’t beat. 9 or 10 wins at a minimum, and 11 or even 12 could be on the table. The only question is whether or not some of the teams facing Navy for the second time might figure the system out and scheme a way to shut it down.
Navy Connections
GoMids.com – Scout message board
Hometown Annapolis- Local coverage of the Midshipmen