Look, I’m not judging anyone here, but there’s a reason the big teams play a smaller team on Week 1, and it’s not to help the smaller school get TV ratings. Does anyone actually think the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks are going to beat Georgia on Sept. 2?
The Navy Midshipmen opened their 2023-2024 season against the Fighting Irish in Dublin over the weekend. Things did not look great for the Mids, but there are reasons to be hopeful — and there’s a lot of time before the Army-Navy Game in Foxborough, Massachusetts, in December.
Before the end of the first half, Navy was already down by 28 points. The Mids didn’t score until the fourth quarter, when Navy kicker Evan Warren hit a 31-yard field goal with just 3:33 left in the game. Quarterback Tai Lavatai gathered only 43 passing yards. Meanwhile, people had already begun comparing Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman to another famous Notre Dame QB: Joe Montana.
Don’t lose heart. There were a lot of reasons for this.
After three straight losing seasons and a heartbreaking overtime loss to Army in 2022, Navy did not re-sign 15-year veteran coach Ken Niumatalolo. Defensive coordinator Brian Newberry was elevated to head coach, and this was his first game leading the team. He’s still running the option offense Navy is known for, but with a lot more plays in the playbook.
Former Kennesaw State offensive coordinator Grant Chesnut is expected to add a lot more passing into the mix, despite…