After Action Report: Maryland/Navy

"I don't even know how I did it," [Lance Ball] said. "I just had to do what I had to do."

Maryland beat Navy last night 23-20 after RB Lance Ball improbably broke several tackles along the left sideline to make what looked like a futile 4th down pass from QB Sam Hollenbach a prelude to victory. Hollenbach completed the fourth down toss as time sank towards the 1 minute mark in the 4th quarter, allowing Maryland to snag victory from the likely jaws of defeat. You can go here for a summary of the game's action.

Poor Navy. This was Navy's game to win, and they should have. Their defensive line dominated the Terps' offensive line all day, and blitzing linebackers had Hollenbach struggling to let go of passes. Hollenbach spent most of the evening watching the fate of his passes from his back. Hollenbach made several forced errors in the face of an unrelenting Navy pass rush, and only Ball's miracle catch and run in the waning seconds of the game saved the young QB from a disappointing first showing.

Navy's offensive line similarly dominated the Terps' defensive line, and especially Maryland's linebackers. The undersized Mids made up for what they lacked in poundage with quickness, and always seemed to make the key block that allowed one of the four Navy rushers in its triple option offense to gain that extra, decisive few yards.

I believe there were two keys to Navy's defeat, in an otherwise dominating performance by the Mids. First, and most importantly by far, was the loss of QB Lamar Owens for a couple of series. With Owens at the helm, Navy sliced and diced the Terps D at will. Owens spent a couple series in the locker room before returning to a big ovation from the Midshipman fans. The couple series Owens spent in the locker room, Navy was forced to punt each time. As soon as Owens returned, the Mids marched straight down the field and scored an easy TD to take a 20-15 lead just before Maryland began their final drive with just over 4 minutes remaining. Owens was the most effective skill player on the field (Navy's blitzing linebackers and offensive line deserve similar credit as units). Without Owens, Maryland may have cruised to victory.

The second key to Navy's defeat is a couple of odd coaching decisions by Paul Johnson. With about 8 minutes remaining in the first half, Navy took the ball deep into Maryland territory. At the Maryland 15 yardline, Navy went for it on 4th and two. Normally, a team would send out its field goal unit here and try for three. Granted, Navy has never been known for its powerful field goal kickers, but the score was 14-3 and a field goal would put the Mids up two TDs. The fourth and short failed, and Maryland took the ball down the field and put up three of its own to narrow the lead. The second iffy call was Johnson's attempted razzle-dazzle play on the final kick off return. Remember the Music City Miracle in Nashville when the Tennessee Titans' Frank Wycheck (Go former Terp!) lateralled the ball across the field to Kevin Dyson who ran the kick back for the impossible game winning TD as time expired? Navy tried the same play, but the refs called the lateral a forward pass. Instead of having the ball near the 20 to start its final drive, Navy was forced to start at its 10 with 53 seconds remaining, an insurmountable hole for team whose strength is the (time-consuming) run, not the pass. The Mids never made it past the 25 yard line.

On the QB issue for the Terps, Hollenbach looked strong and impressed me with his poise in the face of pressure. Navy blitzed all day and forced one interception as Hollenbach was hit as he passed. But Hollenbach did not make bad decisions in the face of the rush. Joel Statham, last year's starter, would have fumbled a few, thrown a couple picks, and wilted in the face of pressure. Hollenbach stood tall and made good decisions. You might say, yeah, but it was Navy, not Florida State. Sure, but the pounding he took mirrored what could be dished out by the best, and Mr. Sam took it like a man and performed well. He finished 19-30-217-1-2 and a win.

Another question going into this first game was, how would the running backs look? Mario Merrills took the bulk of the snaps and ended up 30-159-1. Here I will make the caveat that this was against the Navy defense. Navy looked spectacular on the pass rush, but Merrills carved up the running defense with ease. We'll reserve judgment on the running game for next week against Clemson.

Biggest negatives: the performance of the offensive line against the Navy blitzing defense, and the performance of the D-line and linebackers against Navy's running offense. Though Navy only sacked Hollenback once, the smaller Mids did have Hollenbach throwing under pressure for almost the entirety of the game. Against bigger ACC opponents, this could make for a long season. Maryland's linebackers were repeatedly neutralized by Navy's offensive linemen and couldn't get into the backfield to disrupt Navy's triple option offense. Even though the Terps knew what was coming on nearly every play (a run), Navy still ran up 246 yards rushing, including 122 yards by the QB Owens. Granted, the Terps defense may hold up better against more conventional rushing attacks, but it cannot be forgotten that the Navy offensive line gave up a substantial number of pounds to the much larger Terps defensive line and LB's.

On a final note, I wrote on Friday how, having two horses in the race, it would be tough to pick a side. Last night, the only thing I could applaud for was the game. I found myself wanting Navy to win when Maryland was down, and Maryland to when when the Terps were down. When Maryland scored the game winner in the last minute of play, I was happy for Maryland, but disappointed for the Mids (I am a sucker for the underdog). I left the game feeling entirely indifferent. I was unable to cheer the whole game. Maybe I would have been most satisfied with a tie. What a great game...that I was entirely unable to enjoy!

Next game: Versus Clemson at Byrd Stadium, noon on Sept. 10.

PS: I will post some photos I took from my nosebleed seats as the week goes on.