Navy Offense Rolls for 605 yards

May I, for starters, say how much of an idiot I am. A week after grumbling about the ineffectiveness of Navy's offense and how much trouble this team was in, the Mids proved me wrong in grand style with a 41-17 smack-down of UConn. In what can only be described as a dominating offensive performance, the Midshipmen put up 605 yards in the box score, including 464 yards on the ground.

A 77-yard Brian Hampton touchdown pass to Reggie Campbell from the first play of scrimmage set the tone. On the play, Coach Johnson had Hampton make a "dummy check" for a pitch play to the motioning slotback. Picking up on what they presumed to be a genuine audible, the UConn defenders jumped the fake, allowing Reggie Campbell to get behind the safety. Hampton made a reverse pivot to freeze the defense, then gunned the ball downfield to Campbell, who made a great cut and picked up a block from Jason Tomlinson to get to the outside and score.

Navy's offense didn't let up though, and took advantage of a UConn fumble to punch the ball in minutes later on a 29-yard Brian Hampton run. Hampton was excellent in this game, showing off his toughness and breaking tackles to compile 181 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. His management of the offense wasn't too shabby either, as the senior quarterback avoided the turnovers and botched pitch attempts that have caused Navy to struggle early this season. He received some great help from the offensive line, which despite several holding penalties did a great job run blocking. UConn's defense keyed in on fullback Adam Ballard early, but the bruising back was used largely as a decoy in the first quarter. He carried the ball only three times for 88 yards, most of which came on a mad 81-yard dash which he nearly took to the house. It appeared as though he injured his hand on the play, but backup Matt Hall was an effective 38 yards on eight carries in relief. Reggie Campbell, par usual, impressed on the ground, taking the first play of the second half 68 yards to the house to give Navy a decisive 27-10 lead. From that point on it was all Navy, as a battered UConn defense more or less gave up against the option.

Keep in mind that this season-high performance came against the fourth best team against the run in the country. While UConn certainly isn't that good, this has to bode well for a Midshipmen team which will take on Air Force, Rutgers, and Notre Dame within the next four weeks. Hampton once again showed great improvement, and the balanced play-calling and usually flawless execution made the Triple Option Offense seem practically unstoppable. With the win today, Navy improves to 4-1 for the season, just two wins away from clinching a Bowl bid.