An ugly win is better than any loss. That's especially true for a 2-5 team fighting to salvage its season. If given a choice between rushing for 224 yards in a win over Temple versus 372 yards in a loss to SMU, well, that isn't a choice at all. You play to win the game. That much is obvious.

Still, in the bigger picture, I'm not entirely sure that the outlook wouldn't be rosier with a high-flying loss. Navy is about to embark on a three-game trial that is as daunting as any in the country. For the team to have a chance in those games, the offense will have to play at a high level. After putting up big numbers against Tulsa and SMU, there was hope that maybe the Mids had turned a corner. They took a step back against Houston, but there were extenuating circumstances. If the offense could get back on track against Temple, maybe you could feel good about having some positive momentum going into the home stretch.

Instead, the Mids struggled against a basic five-man front, nearly blew a 13-point lead, went three-and-out six times, and lost Tai Lavatai for the remainder of the season. A win is a win, and the Mids deserve credit for coming out on top. Nevertheless, it was far from a reassuring performance.

As I mentioned, Temple lined up in a five-man front, and they didn't really do anything crazy stunt-wise against the option. Their defensive ends occasionally changed their alignments, their inside linebackers scraped outside sometimes, and the secondary shifted based on the motion they saw in the backfield. Navy's playcalling revolved around dealing with each of these factors.

Early in the game, Temple's defensive ends would line up directly over the B gap on the tackle's inside shoulder. When they did, Navy motioned one of the slotbacks over to draw the playside safety further outside, then ran the quarterback off tackle. The DE's alignment made for an easy block for the playside tackle.