Navy Defense Will Be Tested By 'Disciplined' Wake Forest

Navy's defensive players, rightfully so, celebrated like mad after junior linebacker Ross Pospisil intercepted a pass to seal the Midshipmen's 23-21 comeback victory over Rutgers last Saturday. The unit had weathered criticism from fans and the media, and finally it had produced a thrilling, game-saving stop when it was needed. The stand reaffirmed the faith that the defense had in itself.

But when the euphoria died down, a different realization set in.

"Everyone was selling out, going 100 miles an hour, and we still just scraped by with a win," Pospisil said Wednesday. "It goes to show that even when we are giving our best, everyone flying to the ball -- risking everything, as we like to talk about -- it only gives us a chance and we still have to finish. We want that chance every game."

Navy faces a bigger challenge today, when it plays No. 16 Wake Forest (3-0) in Winston-Salem. The Midshipmen (2-2) have not beaten a ranked opponent since Sept. 28, 1985, when they upset 20th-ranked Virginia, 17-13, on the road.

Midshipmen players and coaches clearly have respect for the way Wake Forest Coach Jim Grobe -- a longtime Air Force assistant -- has built his program and for the way the Demon Deacons play. Perhaps that's because Wake Forest seems to have many of the qualities that Navy emphasizes with its players.

"They're very disciplined," Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo said of the Demon Deacons. "They play a thousand miles per hour. They're not going to beat themselves."

Said Pospisil, "Their offense, they're kind of like our offense. They do a couple of things, and they do them extremely well. They kind of dare you to stop them, and they have the athletes to do that."

Wake Forest uses some option principles -- Pospisil describes it as "basically something like a triple-option out of the shotgun" -- and misdirection plays.

"We've talked about doing your job, staying in your gap, and knowing your keys," nose guard Nate Frazier said. "You got to get the right play call. If you have one missed assignment, that can cause a touchdown."

"The key is, we've got to be disciplined and keep our eyes in the right place at all times," defensive coordinator Buddy Green said. "The running game, the passing game -- they have so many things, if you have your eyes in the wrong place, you can give up a big play. . . . You read your keys, you play ball, you be disciplined in what your job is. If you follow what's going on somewhere else, you're going to get lost."

But the biggest challenge is preparing for Wake Forest's playmakers, who remind Pospisil of Ball State's. The Midshipmen struggled to contain the Cardinal trio of quarterback Nate Davis (326 passing yards, four touchdowns), running back MiQuale Lewis (114 rushing yards) and wide receiver Dante Love (nine catches for 165 yards). Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner is completing 70 percent of his passes and has yet to throw an interception this season, and running back Josh Adams ran for 131 yards against the Midshipmen in last year's 44-24 Wake Forest win.

"They're just a hard-nosed, disciplined football team that gives you a lot of formations," Green said. "They give you a lot to defend. It's tough."

Midshipmen Note: Senior defensive end Michael Walsh is sidelined indefinitely with a toe injury, and freshman Jabaree Tuani or junior Kyle Bookhout likely will start in his place. If Tuani gets the nod, he will be the first freshman to start on the defensive line since Bwerani Nettles did so in the 1998 Army-Navy game.