Dec 27, 2006, 17:40 GMT
Charlotte, NC - In the fifth annual Meineke Car Care Bowl, the 23rd ranked Boston College Eagles will try to post their seventh consecutive bowl victory when they battle the Navy Midshipmen at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although the Midshipmen have not been as consistent as BC over the years, Navy will be playing in its fourth consecutive bowl game and will be trying to secure its third straight postseason victory. Last season, the Middies posted a convincing 51-30 victory over Colorado State in the Poinsettia Bowl and the year before that, Navy collected a 34-19 win over New Mexico in the Emerald Bowl. The Mids flew out of the gates this season, as the team won its first three contests and five of its first six overall. The only loss during that stretch was a heartbreaking 24-23 overtime setback to Tulsa. After the 5-1 start, the team was brought back to Earth, losing to Rutgers (34-0) and Notre Dame (38-14). Fortunately, that would be the last time Navy would taste defeat as the squad closed out the season with four consecutive wins, including a 26-14 victory over rival Army. A victory on Saturday would give the Mid a school-record tying 10th victory. As for the Eagles, this will be their eighth consecutive bowl contest, which is a school mark. As mentioned earlier, the Eagles come into this matchup red-hot in postseason play, winning six straight bowls, which is the longest streak in the nation. Winning a seventh consecutive bowl could be tough, especially with the coaching situation. BC started the season with Tom O'Brien at the helm, but he accepted the head coaching job at NC State, and will not coach in this matchup. Instead, Frank Spaziani will play coach for a day, as he will lead the Eagles against Navy and afterwards quickly step aside for Jeff Jagodzinski who was recently named the new head coach. The Eagles were one of the more talented teams this season, as they opened the year with seven wins in their first eight games. Unfortunately, the team closed the year with just a 2-2 mark, suffering losses against Wake Forest (21-14) and Miami (17-14). If the Eagles are victories against Navy the team will post its first 10 win season since 1984.
Without a doubt the Middies are the most one-sided offense in the nation. Navy comes into this matchup as I-A's top rushing team, while finishing dead last in passing. Navy averaged 28.6 ppg on the season, but the majority of those points were achieved via the run. Navy, which produced a whopping 327.4 ypg on the ground, scored 38 of its 43 offensive touchdowns with the run. Five players closed out the regular season with over 400 rushing yards and Adam Ballard was the team leader with 792 yards. Ballard, who averaged 5.1 ypc, will unfortunately miss the bowl due to a fractured right fibula. After Ballard there is Reggie Campbell who rushed for 655 yards and five scores. Campbell proved he was a solid option for Navy, but the back will be asked to do even more with Ballard out of action. Next on the rushing list for Navy is quarterback Brian Hampton, but just like Ballard he will be unavailable for the bowl game thanks to a dislocated right knee he suffered in the seventh game of the season. Fortunately, Kaipo Kaheaku-Enhada proved to be a reliable back-up, as the signal caller rushed for 480 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The Middies being a run-oriented team is not surprising, however, the team's play at the defensive end of the field this season was definitely a shocker. Navy surrendered only 19.7 ppg this year and held the opposition to only 336.8 total ypg. The unit only allowed 120.3 ypg on the ground, but struggled somewhat against the pass, permitting 216.5 ypg. A major issue for this unit was its inability to make the big plays, as Navy forced just 22 turnovers on the year and collected only 26 sacks. Rob Caldwell played like a madman all season and finished with a whopping 106 tackles, while the closest player behind him was David Mahoney who tallied just 76 stops. However, Mahoney also made his presence felt in the backfield, collecting 9.5 TFLs and six sacks. Defensive lineman John Chan paced the defense with seven sacks and also tallied eight TFLs for the Middies.
The Eagles too very effective offensively this season, but their success did not come from the ground, instead it was the passing attack that led BC to a 9-3 ledger. Boston College only produced 117.9 ypg on the ground, but the passing attack was far more impressive, as the Eagles averaged 241.1 ypg. Quarterback Matt Ryan completed 61.1 percent of his passes on the season, while throwing for 2,700 yards. Unfortunately the signal caller only tossed 14 touchdowns on the year and finished with eight INTs. Kevin Challenger and Tony Gonzalez were the top two options for Ryan throughout the season, as Challenger grabbed 45 passes for 508 yards and five scores, while Gonzalez collected 39 receptions for 441 yards and another five touchdowns. As mentioned previously, the Eagles did not have a devastating ground game, but it was good enough to keep defensive units guessing. L.V. Whitworth led the Eagles' ground attack with 790 yards and four scores, while Andre Callender prove to be a solid second option by averaging 567 yards to go along with three scores.
While the Eagles were solid offensively, the team was downright nasty at the defensive end. BC comes into the postseason holding the opposition to just 15 ppg, while allowing only 303.2 total ypg. Boston College was tenacious against the run, holding opponents to only 90.1 rushing ypc. The team did struggle at times against the pass, allowing 213.1 ypg through the air, but fortunately the unit was able to force big plays and comes into this game with 21 interceptions. Overall, the team forced a whopping 35 turnovers and also collected 27 sacks. The defense held opponents to a mere 34 percent on third down attempts and just 69 percent on red-zone chances. Jolonn Dunbar finished the season with a team-high 78 tackles, while free safety Larry Anam added 62 stops. Linebacker Kevin Akins led the team with 8.5 TFLs and 7.5 sacks, while corner back DeJuan Tribble collected a team-best seven interceptions.
Navy has done a terrific job with its ground attack, but considering how impressive the Eagles have been offensively, the Middies will need to find success with its passing attack if it wants to keep up with Boston College and the chances of Navy throwing the ball consistently is highly unlikely.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Boston College 37, Navy 14
© 2006 The Sports Network
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