Navy at UCF: Statistics to Know for the Midshipmen
Preparing for the Navy Midshipmen and their option attack has never been easy. The unusual offense aside, it also presents other valuable assets for the Midshipmen overall.
Their defense is usually on the field less than the opponent, and any team that went against them has been able to utilize fewer possessions than normal. Teams also need to prepare for Navy in a completely different manner than usual because of the triple-option it uses. That’s difficult on Navy’s opponents.
Those are some of the reasons that Navy produced the following results, as well as helping to paint a picture of what UCF needs to do to win this coming Saturday on gameday.
Navy Offense
(national ranking)
Scoring average: 22.9 (100).
Rushing average per game: 238.7 (10).
Rushing touchdowns: 19 (45).
Number of 20-plus yard rushing plays: 16 (30).
Time of possession: 34:20 per game (4)
Third down conversions percentage: 40.1% (57).
Red zone percentage: 82.8% (76).
Fumbles: 13 total fumbles, eight lost (88).
A couple of key takeaways. Navy can obviously run the football pretty well. It has not, however, hit a bunch of long runs. The current quarterback situation for Navy has not shown the ability to bust open a lot of runs. Prior Navy signal callers were the home run hitters. Those days have concluded, at least for now.
Also, Navy’s third down percentage has not been impressive for an option team. UCF has a chance to make some headway with short-yardage situations. Additionally, Navy can be a bit fumble happy.
Navy Defense
Points allowed average: 25.8 (63).
Rushing yards allowed per game: 85.8 (5).
Passing yards allowed per game: 274.4 (116).
Third down defensive percentage: 38.4% (68).
Fumbles gained: nine (16).
Interceptions gained: seven (71).
The defense for the Midshipmen could be suspect to big plays from quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, RJ Harvey, and Ryan O'Keefe to name just a few. They rely on all-out blitzes to get after the quarterback, leaving the defensive backs in one-on-one coverage. UCF should feast with their passing attack, and the running game might pop a couple of runs as well.
The Midshipmen have been so bad at stopping the pass, most teams stay away from running the football. Further, UCF’s ability to turn the tables and utilize run-pass option plays, as well as jet sweeps and reverses, should be problematic for Navy.
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