Navy was completely dismantled by SMU on Saturday, losing 59-14. The Mustangs could have scored 100 if they wanted to. This kind of thing happens when Oregon plays Eastern Washington or something. For it to happen in a conference game is hard to stomach, even considering the challenges faced at the Naval Academy.
These are the times that try men's souls.
I won't spend too much time on the debrief this week since I know none of you want to revisit the game. However, it's still important to understand what happened, if for no other reason than to immunize yourself against internet hot takery. It's better to be upset over what really happened instead of what you think happened.
Anyway, off we go.
In the preview, I discussed how SMU's offense would be a difficult matchup for the Mids. That isn't exactly inspired analysis, since SMU is statistically one of the best offenses in the country. They're a bad matchup for anyone. However, we looked at one specific thing that made SMU particularly difficult to defend: their offensive line. Against UAB and ECU, Navy was able get pressure on the quarterback while rushing only three or four. That wouldn't be the case against SMU's talented and experienced line. If Navy wanted pressure, they would have to bring numbers. If they chose to drop into coverage instead, they risked giving Preston Stone all day to find an open receiver. As it turned out, they did both, and neither worked. Even when the coverage was there, Stone threw with such pinpoint accuracy that it didn't matter.
On the Mustangs' first drive, the Mids were in cover 3, with both corners dropping to a deep zone. Luke Pirris covered the near flat. They tried rushing four, bringing the fourth rusher in from the second level. If the defensive end could have forced a double team, then maybe the fourth rusher could have created some pressure. Instead, Stone was able to stand in the pocket, and he found the tight end on the sideline in the soft spot in the zone.
On SMU’s next possession, Navy switched to a cover 2, with a cornerback and a safety playing deep. The Mids rushed four again, and Stone still was unbothered. He delivered a perfect ball to a receiver splitting the two deep zones.
The Mids tried rushing three, but Stone had all day to throw a laser beam to a receiver who came open late.
They tried blitzing, but they didn’t get to the quarterback. Stone again made perfect throws, even when the coverage was good.
And that might have been the most frustrating thing. It isn’t like SMU had guys running wide open all over the field. Most of these plays involved Preston Stone throwing a perfect pass to a receiver who made a play on the ball.
With a quarterback that good, the only chance the defense had was to find ways to make him uncomfortable in the pocket. Navy couldn’t do it against SMU’s offensive line, and Stone picked them apart. It was vital for Navy to stop the big play, but they allowed Stone to average 23 yards per completion.
Offensively, the Mids suffered from the same problems that have afflicted them all season.
Navy’s first possession started with a wrinkle on the counter trey option that was so successful against UAB. Here, they ran a counter trey triple option. Against UAB, Navy ran a double option out of that counter trey look. Either the quarterback handed it off on a sweep, or he kept the ball and followed the pulling linemen. In this variant, the offensive line does the same thing; the guard and tackle pull. The quarterback reads the defensive end behind the pulling linemen. A give read would mean a T-back would get the ball and follow the linemen. With a keep read, the quarterback would work outside to a pitch key.
It was all moot since Xavier Arline missed the first read.
This wasn’t the first time Navy ran this play this season. They also ran it once against ECU. The result was the same.
That possession ended with another missed read, this time on an inverted veer.
The Mids also tried running the midline triple. The first time, it worked reasonably well. SMU lined up in two different ways. Sometimes they used a standard 4-3, and sometimes they lined up in a 4-4 with the outside linebackers lined up more like shallow safeties. On the first play, they lined up in a 4-3. The motion slotback drew a safety outside, making him the slotback’s blocking assignment. The tackle uses an outside release with two assignments: ensuring the pitch key doesn’t string out the play, and guarding against a scraping linebacker. Arline makes the correct reads, and it’s a modest gain.
The offense lines up in the same formation on the second play, but the slotback doesn’t go in motion before the play. Instead, he fakes a bubble screen. This leaves one less blocker on the play side. Now the wide receiver has to hope the cornerback follows him when he tries to block the safety. He does not, and the play is stopped for a minimal gain.
It was a similar result when Navy ran the triple option using inside veer. The first time they ran it, everything was fine. The wide receiver blocked the cornerback, and the slotback blocked the playside safety like he’s supposed to. But the second time they tried it, the slotback inexplicably went to block the backside safety instead. Arline couldn’t pitch the ball because the unblocked playside safety had the pitch man covered.
When the offense ran the midline triple, the defensive end played outside. But when the Mids ran inside veer, the defensive end took the fullback. With the DE taking the fullback, the Mids tried running outside zone. It worked as designed with the DE, but once again, the safety was unblocked. That wouldn't have been a problem except Arline couldn't pitch the ball because the outside linebacker was in the pitch lane.
Something similar happened when they tried to un the outside zone out of the shotgun. Again, while the outside linebacker was blocked, he interfered with the pitch relationship, forcing Arline to hesitate and giving backside defenders the opportunity to run him down from behind.
While the issues with the midline and veer were self-inflicted, the outside zone problems were just good defense by SMU.
Most of this was just in the first quarter, but the game was basically over by then.
Navy has won games like this in the past. An offense that can control the clock and limit possessions can keep a game like this from getting out of hand, and if they control the clock and score, then anything can happen when the fourth quarter rolls around. But we haven't seen that kind of offense out of Navy in a long time, and there's a lot of work to do before they get back to that level.
