Navy isn’t an easy win by any measure. Just ask Ohio State.
The Midshipmen were beating the Buckeyes (then the No. 5 team in the country) well into the third quarter in Week 1. They’re also second in the nation in rushing yards. They’re the type of team that can upset any team in the country at any time.
That tricky triple-option offense that Navy runs is really difficult to game plan against. Led by Keenan Reynolds, who is essentially a running back playing as a quarterback, the complex schematic gives offers so many choices and can make heads spin.
On paper, it looked like Temple’s defense was really overmatched—487 rushing yards against—but watching the game, it actually played pretty well for the most part.
The Owls came in swinging (literally) on Navy’s first offensive play of the game when defensive end Sharif Finch batted a Reynolds lateral out of the air like King Kong and scooped it up for a touchdown. There were many plays throughout the game where the they made the Midshipmen look inferior, stuffing them for short gains or losses. The problem is, the way the option works, one missed assignment on defense amounts to a home run for Navy.
Temple simply threw too many fastballs down the pipe—the Midshipmen had nine runs of 12 yards or more.
Missed assignments leading to big plays were the downfall of the Owls. This is usually the case for teams that lose to Navy. More times than not, people like to blame missed assignments on inexperience, but I wouldn’t classify the Owls’ defense as “inexperienced.” They have a good amount of returning starters or transfers who have starting experience, they were solid against the run last year (it was probably their only strength) and outstanding in last week’s game against Vanderbilt.
There was no excuse. Temple’s defense simply wasn’t good enough to stop Navy. It only forced one punt the entire game and couldn’t get off the field.
But it is improving.
Last year’s Owls would have gotten blown out of the water by Navy. This year’s Owls have forced 10 turnovers in their first two games, whereas it took them eight games to do that last year. And they hung in there enough to keep Temple in the game—quarterback P.J. Walker fell about 10 yards short on the game-tying drive.
The upcoming schedule offers more hope. The Owls are off this week, followed by a gimme against Delaware State. Then they have another bye week before they start conference play against an extremely winnable UConn team. After that, they have another bye week followed by a home game against underwhelming Tulsa.
Temple certainly could (and very well should) start the season 4-1, leading to what I hope will be the first of many classic showdowns between Walker and Houston’s John O’Korn, two of the AAC’s best up-and-coming quarterbacks.
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