Forde, Wetzel, and Thamel Disagree on BYU-Navy Outcome
Dan Wetzel, Pat Forde, and Pete Thamel sat down and recorded a podcast in which they picked the winners of college football's week one matchups. For BYU-Navy, only one of the national writers picked BYU to beat Navy on Labor Day. Here's what they had to say on the podcast:
Pete Thamel: BYU
"I'm all in on the Coug. Navy loses Malcom Perry who was pretty much everything to them last year. BYU returns a majority of their starters on offense, they bring back a ton of skill. They score a lot of points, they're going to score even more. BYU is probably like 10 points better than Navy. A lot of people are going to get sucked in on the military academy line here - don't do it. BYU is good and they will score liberally.
The reason why Navy's defense went from one of the worst in college football to an excellent one, they switched coordinators and they brought in Brian Newberry, but they also just controlled the ball. Without Perry, they're not going to be able to control like that. The defense is going to swing back cause they're not going to control the ball for 40 minutes per game...I really like BYU in this game."
Pat Forde - Navy
"I kind of want to agree with you but I can't do it - I'm taking Navy. The option game is problematic coming out of the chutes. I know they've got a new QB but they're a very solid program. The next man up for them is always a good man in terms of at least knowing the scheme and how to execute it. In terms of BYU scoring a lot of points, do you mean the three they scored in the regular season finale against San Diego State?...Not that many points being scored by BYU."
Thamel's rebuttal noted an injury-ridden 2019 campaign. Thamel said, "I think Zach Wilson is one of the 10 best quarterbacks in the America. I think against Navy's defense he will have a field day."
Dan Wetzel: Navy
"I think BYU could be really good this year, but I'm going with Navy here. I like the venue, I like the trip East, I like how they usually are early, and I like our military...I'm betting on America."