First and foremost...
Happy holidays to all!, Stop to enjoy every moment..... the silent majesty of a winter's morn... the clean, cool chill of the holiday air... an asshole in his bathrobe, emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer...
Wake (-3) over Navy W
24-17 should be the number carved into the brains of Wake players. Wake was the 16th ranked team in the country before that loss to Navy. One of the best things about this game is that they have played this season and Wake lost. See the wishbone is very tough to stop but the deamon dacons not only have current game film of them against it but the players have first hand knowledge of playing it. This is big because of the experience they have at defense, this is not a young team and should be able to bounce back after the first meeting to play better defense. All the game film in the world will be meaningless if Riley Skinner has a game like he did the first time. Throwing 4 picks against anyone is not the way to go but especially against a Navy team that uses a lot of clock when they have the ball. Navy led the nation with 298.3 rushing yards per game. White racked up 1,021 yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games, ranking third nationally with an 8.7 yards-per-carry average. It is important to have gap control to get Navy out of those 2nd or 3rd short yardage plays, put them behind the chains and force them to change the plan. This will be a game that comes down to who can force the other out of the game plan. Can the deacons turn the offense on, they have the ability but can they turn it on? The Deacons rank 103rd nationally in total offense (315.8), 101st in rushing yards (111.6) and 97th in scoring offense (20.3). They have scored only 20 touchdowns in 41 trips inside the red zone. This one will come down to motivation and the upper classmen will have the players up for the game. After all, Wake's senior class will leave as the winningest class in school history. They enter the bowl game with a four-year record of 31-19 with three bowl appearances and the 2006 ACC Championship. I always hear how hard it is to beat a team twice, well in the first game Wake beat themselves. So really Navy could come in and win this game by just outplaying Wake. That being said Wake is hot and cold, they have one series where they look like the Colts offense of years back and then a series where they look like a high school JV squad. I think it stems from the offense not being intense series after series. When they score or get on top they don't keep the pedal down and look for more, they take a deep breath and then by the time they turn around they are in a close game. That is why Navy is going to be a tough out for them because the midshipman are the photo negitive of that, they are going hard all game. They may not be successful but the push back and are not pushed over. Wake has the passing attack and offense ability to get ahead of this team and force them to play catch up and pass more which hurts the overall effectivness of the novicane wishbone. I also know Navy will pass deep, they save these little passing plays for big games and they have a senior QB that can chuck it, especially when you have a defense playing run only. I do not think they will go only to the pass but it will be more of a factor. To say more of a factor is easy considering this team has gone whole games without throwing one pass. Wakes defense should keep them at bay, and the offense with all this practice tme should come out like they did in week one. I also have issues with a Navy team that was handled by Notre Dame, I know they have some good wins but if ND could hold them down I would think Wake can as well.
Cheers
Irish
Happy holidays to all!, Stop to enjoy every moment..... the silent majesty of a winter's morn... the clean, cool chill of the holiday air... an asshole in his bathrobe, emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer...
Wake (-3) over Navy W
24-17 should be the number carved into the brains of Wake players. Wake was the 16th ranked team in the country before that loss to Navy. One of the best things about this game is that they have played this season and Wake lost. See the wishbone is very tough to stop but the deamon dacons not only have current game film of them against it but the players have first hand knowledge of playing it. This is big because of the experience they have at defense, this is not a young team and should be able to bounce back after the first meeting to play better defense. All the game film in the world will be meaningless if Riley Skinner has a game like he did the first time. Throwing 4 picks against anyone is not the way to go but especially against a Navy team that uses a lot of clock when they have the ball. Navy led the nation with 298.3 rushing yards per game. White racked up 1,021 yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games, ranking third nationally with an 8.7 yards-per-carry average. It is important to have gap control to get Navy out of those 2nd or 3rd short yardage plays, put them behind the chains and force them to change the plan. This will be a game that comes down to who can force the other out of the game plan. Can the deacons turn the offense on, they have the ability but can they turn it on? The Deacons rank 103rd nationally in total offense (315.8), 101st in rushing yards (111.6) and 97th in scoring offense (20.3). They have scored only 20 touchdowns in 41 trips inside the red zone. This one will come down to motivation and the upper classmen will have the players up for the game. After all, Wake's senior class will leave as the winningest class in school history. They enter the bowl game with a four-year record of 31-19 with three bowl appearances and the 2006 ACC Championship. I always hear how hard it is to beat a team twice, well in the first game Wake beat themselves. So really Navy could come in and win this game by just outplaying Wake. That being said Wake is hot and cold, they have one series where they look like the Colts offense of years back and then a series where they look like a high school JV squad. I think it stems from the offense not being intense series after series. When they score or get on top they don't keep the pedal down and look for more, they take a deep breath and then by the time they turn around they are in a close game. That is why Navy is going to be a tough out for them because the midshipman are the photo negitive of that, they are going hard all game. They may not be successful but the push back and are not pushed over. Wake has the passing attack and offense ability to get ahead of this team and force them to play catch up and pass more which hurts the overall effectivness of the novicane wishbone. I also know Navy will pass deep, they save these little passing plays for big games and they have a senior QB that can chuck it, especially when you have a defense playing run only. I do not think they will go only to the pass but it will be more of a factor. To say more of a factor is easy considering this team has gone whole games without throwing one pass. Wakes defense should keep them at bay, and the offense with all this practice tme should come out like they did in week one. I also have issues with a Navy team that was handled by Notre Dame, I know they have some good wins but if ND could hold them down I would think Wake can as well.
Cheers
Irish
Last edited:
