Navy coach not penalized for halftime encounter with ref
September 7th, 2010 | Football Navy | Posted by Mike Hoffman
I’m a bit surprised more hasn’t been made about Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo’s encounter with a ref at halftime during Monday’s game with Maryland. Navy’s coach was visibly upset after the clock ran out before he could get his field goal team on the field. It appears from the video above that Niumatalolo angrily bumps his hat against the ref’s forehead, gritting his teeth with a crazed look in his eyes.
Navy was not penalized for the encounter when the second half started. It’s surprising, though, there have been no reports that any NCAA governing body is reviewing the tape for future disciplinary actions.
If one of Niumatalolo’s players would have done the same thing on the field, the player probably would have received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty and ejected from the game. The fact that it happened in the tunnel doesn’t excuse the action.
Navy went on to lose 17-14 after a heartbreaking 4th and 1 stop by the Terrapins at the goal line.
For Navy, a painful loss and a bright future
September 6th, 2010 | Football Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
Maryland's Kenny Tate hits Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs at the goal line on the game's deciding play. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
I believe in moral victories. This wasn’t one.
But Navy’s season is far from ruined after a 17-14 loss to Maryland on Monday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
The unbeaten season nonsense, the Dobbs for Heisman impossible dream — all of that is dead now. But nothing that happened today leads me to believe that Navy can’t still end up with 9-10 wins and a bowl berth.
Between an inept start on defense, a missed field goal and four red zone drives that ended in zero points, the Mids did about all they could to lose this game. But in the final minute of the fourth quarter, they were a yard away from winning it. How did that happen? Here’s how: The Navy option attack, led by quarterback Ricky Dobbs, racked up more than 400 yards rushing against a BCS-conference school. Navy’s defense, battered by Maryland’s running game in the first quarter, forced two timely turnovers of their own and tightened up enough to not allow a touchdown after the first quarter. The Mids offense dominated the time of possession, and their defense managed to force more punts than the Terps did.
Two other bright spots for Navy fans: the play of Gee Gee Greene and Andre Byrd. The inexperienced slotbacks combined for 128 yards on 16 carries. As Navy marched to 26 first downs against the Terps, I never once thought, “If only Navy had Marcus Curry right now.”
Dobbs, despite two disastrous turnovers inside the Maryland 5-yard line and the costly decision not throw the ball away at the end of the first half, still ran the option to perfection for much of the game. He came up short on fourth and goal on the Mids’ final play, but like coach Ken Niumatalolo, I’d put my faith in Dobbs in that situation against any team, any time.
Navy slotback Andre Byrd scores a touchdown in the second quarter as fellow slotback Gee Gee Greene (21) blocks. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
Don’t let Maryland’s 2-10 record in 2009 fool you. They are a bigger and more talented squad than Navy. That doesn’t mean they’re better — luck turned out to be their biggest asset this afternoon — but seeing Navy lose to the Terps shouldn’t trigger panic. With its always small defense (manned this year by a set of inexperienced linebackers), Navy will struggle against teams who run the ball effectively. Offensively, with Dobbs, fullbacks Vince Murray and Alexander Teich, and Greene and Byrd picking up the slack left by Curry’s departure, Navy will give every single defense on their schedule fits.
So in essence, it’s the same old Navy we’ve seen for the past 6-7 years. That’s a great thing for level-headed Navy fans, and bad news for Army and Air Force.
Falcons Coach Troy Calhoun: Tweet this!
August 31st, 2010 | After Action Air Force Army Football Navy | Posted by Mike Hoffman
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Don’t expect Air Force football coach Troy Calhoun to be confined to 140 characters.
He told the Colorado Springs Gazette that, unlike other Mountain West coaches, he will not start his own Twitter account, but he will not ban his players from starting their own. The Air Force football team has its own Twitter account, although @AFFalcons is leaving its 17 followers wanting more with only 19 tweets in the past year.
Army football coach Rich Ellerson has his own Twitter account, but someone might want to tell him. @RichEllerson has 12 followers, even though he has yet to tweet once. We’re waiting, Rich.
Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo is sitting on the sidelines along with Calhoun. @TripleOptionSailorBoy is still an available handle. Just saying…
Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs doesn’t have a handle, which is absurd considering @MagicMan4 is open. However, @DobbsForHeisman is “the resource for the Completely Unofficial Ricky Dobbs Heisman Campaign,” with 168 followers.
Anyone have any suggestions for Calhoun’s handle if he ever caves? Leave suggestions in the comment section below.
Navy practice schedule released
August 5th, 2010 | After Action Football Navy | Posted by Mike Hoffman
Coach Ken Niumatalolo celebrates after Navy beat Notre Dame last season. (AP photo)
Want to catch an early glimpse of quarterback Ricky Dobbs’ run to Navy’s first Heisman Trophy since Roger Staubach? Navy released its preseason practice schedule as Coach Ken Niumatalolo gets the Midshipmen ready for the upcoming season.
The annual Blue & Gold game will be held on Aug. 14 in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Aug. 20 and 27 scrimmages will be closed to the public as Niumatalolo fine-tunes his game plan for the Labor Day opener against Maryland. Navy is an early 7-point favorite against the Terps.
Full schedule after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Dobbs chose Option 3, and other reasons he should be considered for Heisman
August 3rd, 2010 | Football Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
Ricky Dobbs is a long shot to win the Heisman Trophy, but CBSsports.com columnist Gregg Doyel thinks that's wrong.
CBSsports.com columnist Gregg Doyel has weighed in on the Ricky Dobbs For Heisman movement that has gained steam recently (there’s even a Twitter account pushing for Dobbs). Turns out Doyel is onboard, although he has no illusion about how difficult it will be for Dobbs to garner serious consideration.
“This is a long shot, of course. You know it. I know it. Even Dobbs knows it, ” Doyel writes. “He’s a confident sort — in his official bio at Navy he not only says he wants to be President of the United States, he tells us which year he wants to be elected — but he’s not confident enough to think he can win the Heisman.”
The best anecdote about Dobbs came when Doyel asked Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo about the broken kneecap that Dobbs played with for most of last season.
This injury requires surgery, ideally immediately, but when doctors gave Dobbs two choices — season-ending surgery that would rebuild the knee, or a less-invasive surgery that would sideline him for a month or so — Dobbs called an audible.
“I’m sitting there with Ricky and the doctors, and they gave him two options, and he said, ‘I’m going with option three,’” said Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo. “The doctors are going, ‘Option three?’ But that’s what Ricky said. He said he was going to rely on his faith in God and play through it.”
Option three. Fantastic. As Navy fans know, Dobbs missed only one game and eventually led the Mids to wins over Notre Dame and Army, as well as a Texas Bowl victory against Missouri. Granted, some of the love for Dobbs is way over-the-top, but how can you not like this guy?
Navy football announces 2010 plebe class
July 7th, 2010 | Football Navy | Posted by Mike Hoffman
Navy's Ricky Dobbs, center, breaks through to score a touchdown against Ohio State during the first quarter of a September 2009 game. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)
Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo called this year’s recruiting class the “best class we’ve ever brought in.” Coaches seem to say this about every class, but it could be true considering the national pub the Midshipmen have gotten by playing in a bowl game the last seven years.
The bevy of recruiting websites that college football fans flock too don’t think much of Navy’s class. Rivals.com has Niumatalolo’s class ranked 111th out of 120 teams. Of course, those same recruiting classes that websites have ripped in the past have proven the critics wrong.
This year’s 52-man class includes plebes from 20 different states with the most, seven, coming from Texas. Navy has always had a national recruiting base, which they work to their favor. North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and California all also produced five recruits for this year’s class.
If you’re wondering why we are posting Navy and Army’s recruit lists now, months after the rest of college football’s powers announced theirs, it’s because of the nomination process academy football players must go through. Congress must nominate each student enrolling at a service academy. Air Force Academy’s football recruit list is coming next.
The list of players is after the jump.
Obama awards Navy the Commander in Chief’s Trophy
May 3rd, 2010 | Football Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
President Obama poses for a photo with the Naval Academy's 2009 football team in the East Room of the White House on Monday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Players graduate, coaches leave and presidents change. But each spring you can count on Navy’s football team to visit the White House to accept the Commander in Chief’s Trophy from the president. At least it seems that way.
Navy swept Air Force and Army for the seventh straight year to earn the Commander in Chief trophy again, and on Monday the team and coach Ken Niumatalolo were recognized by President Obama at the White House. Obama praised captains Ross Pospisil and Osei Asante in his remarks, as well as quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who set an NCAA record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in 2009. The president also joked about Dobbs’ well-known goal to run for president in 2040.
Now, I also understand Ricky has announced for the presidency — in the year 2040. I know people are announcing early these days — but, Ricky, that’s a bit much. But it does mean that when Navy comes back for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy 30 years from now, you might hear a speech from this guy.
The Mids have won a record 15-straight games against the other two service academies, dating back to the 2002 Army-Navy game. This past season Navy beat Air Force 16-13 and topped Army 17-3.
Niumatalolo after the game
December 13th, 2009 | Army-Navy game Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
I’ve seen a some positive comments around the Web about Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo’s emotional postgame interview with a CBS sideline reporter, so I figured I’d post it here for anyone who might have missed it.
Niumatalolo uses his air time to praise the players on both teams, and says how much he respects them — not for how they played the game, but for going to the academies during a time of two wars. Niumatalolo chokes up when talking about how the many of the players will be heading to battle in the future, and it’s obvious that the coach is truly moved by the path these young men have chosen.
Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs, the game’s MVP, is interviewed first.
