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Game Thread Navy 27, at tOSU 31 (Sep 5th, ESPN)

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Lima

All eyes remain on Navy

Tressel keeps Buckeyes from looking ahead


July 28, 2009 7:18 PM

Jim Naveau
CHICAGO ? Jim Tressel was reaching. But it was obvious his message has reached his players.
On Monday at the Big Ten football media days, Tressel talked about how tough Ohio State?s football opener against Navy (8-5 last season) on Sept. 5 would be.
He threw in everything except the kitchen plumbing equipment, talking about Navy?s unique style of play and the fact that a military academy has not played at Ohio Stadium since 1930.
Tuesday, when some of the Buckeyes took their turn speaking at media days, that same message reappeared.
The reason for this naval focus isn?t hard to find. The Navy game is followed by OSU?s much-anticipated Sept. 12 game against Southern California at Ohio Stadium.
It is a make-or-break game for Ohio State in terms of national respect this season. And it?s a chance to avenge a 35-3 loss at USC last season.
Senior defensive lineman Doug Worthington admitted it is hard to avoid letting thoughts of a return match with USC cross his mind.
?I?d be lying if I said it wouldn?t be, with everybody talking, everybody saying what happened in the USC game last year. But that?s what Navy wants. Navy is a great team, it?s going to be a great, great battle.?
Asked if he had the date of the USC game memorized, Worthington said, ?I have the whole month of September memorized.?
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CFN places Navy 88th in their preseason rankings.

CFN

88. Navy
- Preview | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart

Relative Strengths: Quarterback, Running Back
Relative Weaknesses: Wide Receiver, Defensive Line
[FONT=verdana, arial,
sans serif][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=verdana, arial,
sans serif][SIZE=-1]What to watch to watch for on offense: More passing ... at least a little more. Ricky Dobbs is the most talented passer the offense has had in years, and while he's not going to be Sam Bradford winging it around, he has the arm to push the ball deeper and make things happen with the offense that the past several Navy quarterbacks couldn't. Dobbs can run, too, and it's not like the offense is going to stop doing what it does best, but it could be interesting to see if the attack can open things up a bit.

[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=verdana, arial,
sans serif][SIZE=-1]What to watch to watch for on defense: The linebackers. Ross Pospisil led the team with 106 tackles, Clint Sovie made 60 stops, Ram Vela made three sacks and 33 tackles, Tony Haberer made 41 tackles, and Craig Schaefer is a good veteran who appears to be ready to come up with a good year. This group is tough, quick, and will be flying all over the place to not only add more to the pass rush but to be even better against the run.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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For anyone interested, the OSU rugby team will be playing the Naval Academy on that Friday night (September 4th) at our home pitch at Beekman Park on the corner of Lane and Kenny...
 
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wadc45;1509037; said:
For anyone interested, the OSU rugby team will be playing the Naval Academy on that Friday night (September 4th) at our home pitch at Beekman Park on the corner of Lane and Kenny...
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What time?
 
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Navy opened practice today.

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica] Protecting Ricky Dobbs
[/FONT]
A year ago, Ricky Dobbs was the third-string quarterback, a big-armed sophomore with a lot of promise but no experience. Now he is the clear-cut starter and one of the unquestioned leaders of Navy's offense. He is the only quarterback on the roster with even modest playing experience; his backups are sophomores Kriss Proctor and Kameron Smith.
Coach Ken Niumatalolo jokes that if he could, he would keep Dobbs in bubble wrap to ensure that he doesn't get hurt. Instead, Dobbs will wear a green jersey at practice that makes him off-limits to full contact; it's the first time that Navy has made its quarterbacks off-limits in practice since Chris McCoy in 1997.
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[SIZE=+2]Navy Has Big Hole to Fill at Fullback[/SIZE]

Unproven Group May Share Load
[SIZE=-1] By Camille Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 8, 2009
[/SIZE]

Every night before he went to bed this summer, Alexander Teich ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. On most mornings, the sophomore fullback woke up before 5 a.m. to join quarterback Ricky Dobbs on the practice field. It was all part of a routine that Teich hoped would prepare him to be Navy's featured fullback this fall.
The sandwiches helped Teich gain weight. The early-morning workouts helped "build a great relationship between me and Ricky," Teich said. "I know what he expects, where he's going to be. He knows where I'm going to be, where I like the ball. We had to get a chemistry between us, fullback and quarterback, because it's one of the most important things to run the triple option."
Navy has led division I-A in rushing for four straight years, and the Midshipmen averaged 292.4 yards per game en route to an 8-5 record in 2008. But unlike previous years, these Midshipmen don't have a proven fullback on the roster to start the season. Teich enters the fall as the starter, with junior Vince Murray and senior Kevin Campbell behind him. Of the three, only Campbell has ever had more than three carries in a game.
Last year, fullback Eric Kettani was the workhorse on offense, rushing for 982 yards on a team-high 190 carries; Teich and Campbell combined for 29 carries and 108 yards. With Kettani having graduated, Navy expects to spread the ball around a little more.
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cont'd
 
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This is personally one of my more highly anticipated games of the season, but not for what others may think are obvious reasons. Navy's option attack will put our LB corps "front and center." This game should give fans, and the staff, a good idea of who will be our playmakers out of the bunch. I'm really anxious to see the young guys get in there and PLAY SOME FOOTBALL:pissed:...as one of my HS coaches would say.
 
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