The Navy football team appears to have the perfect opponent to start its season as it begins its quest to win a fourth straight Commander-in-Chief Trophy and earn a fourth straight bowl berth.
The Midshipmen, under fifth-year head coach Paul Johnson, enter the season as the top rushing team in the nation after averaging nearly 319 yards a contest in 2005. In East Carolina, they face a team that went 5-6 a year ago while giving up an average 217.6 rushing yards a game. That figure was 12th among 12 teams in Conference USA and 112th out of 117 teams nationally.
Making matters worse for the Pirates is that they are still very inexperienced among their front seven defenders, with at least three players getting their first start against the Midshipmen. None of the expected starters among their defensive line or linebackers are seniors.
“Coach Johnson has done a great job in bringing a lot of talent to Navy,” said East Carolina head coach Skip Holtz. “He brings a toughness and a mindset to work hard. I?m sure Navy is licking their chops and salivating over this game after learning we finished last in rush defense in the conference a year ago.”
Saturday?s game marks the first meeting between the two schools in football. However, Johnson and Holtz have faced off as opposing coaches when Johnson?s Georgia Southern team knocked off Holtz?s Connecticut team, 52-30, in a 1998 NCAA Division I-AA quarterfinal playoff game.
Johnson said East Carolina?s defensive statistics mean nothing because they are from last season and are not representative of the team Navy is scheduled to play this weekend. He added that the I-AA playoff game happened too long ago to try to use that to assist with his game plan.
“I felt they started to turn things around in that regard toward the end of last season,” Johnson said, regarding East Carolina?s rush defense. “They will be a better team this season, and they will surely be bigger and stronger than us. I certainly don?t feel sorry for them.”
Despite being involved in college football as either an offensive coordinator or head coach since 1981, Johnson said the excitement he feels about season openers has never diminished.
East Carolina at Navy
» When: 5:30 p.m. Saturday
» Where: Navy Marine-Corps Memorial Stadium
» Series record: First meeting
» Did you know? When Johnson?s Georgia Southern team beat Holtz?s Connecticut squad in the 1998 I-AA playoffs, his Eagles rushed for a then-playoff record 530 yards ? The Mids have won 18 consecutive games and are 21-4 under Johnson when rushing for more than 300 yards.
