College Football 2007 Independents
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2007 Independents Football Preview
Notre Dame
Think Charlie Weis knows a thing or two about offense? Weis has electrified the Irish attack in his two years as head coach. Brady Quinn took to Weis's aggressive spread offense and Notre Dame averaged 36.7 points, 147 yards rushing and 330 passing per game in 2005, then last season averaged 31 points and 264 yards passing against a tough schedule. Weis had been an NFL offensive coordinator for much of the last 16 years, winning three of the four Super Bowls as coordinator for Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots.
Despite a terrific recruiting class, 2007 might be a bit of a retooling season. Only 3 starters return on offense and Notre Dame has not been a good defensive team under Weis, giving up 44 and 41 points in the last two games of 2006 to USC and LSU. They also allowed 40 to Michigan and 37 to Michigan State. Quinn, RB Darius Walker, and WRs Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight are gone, so they will build around freshman QB Jimmy Clausen. Clausen is considered a super-prospect, with comparisons to John Elway. He's 6-3, 200 pounds, didn't lose a game in three years in high school, and threw 146 touchdowns to 20 interceptions! When Clausen announced he would attend Notre Dame, he said he wanted to win four national titles. Let's hope he reads up on the Ron Powlus-hype of 15 years ago. Actually, Powlus himself could explain it to the kid, as Powlus joins the Irish staff this season. Weis has said Clausen, redshirt freshman Demetrius Jones and junior Evan Sharpley would compete for the starting QB job.
Four starters are gone off the offensive line. The offensive line struggled at times, too, giving up 31 sacks, which could be a worse problem with a new QB stepping in. Sophomore RBs James Aldridge (142 yards) and Travis Thomas saw a little time as freshmen. 6-foot-6 senior TE John Carlson (634 yards) will be a go-to guy, with relatively new WRs sophomore David Grimes (336 yards) and soph George West. Expect growing pains with this offense, Irish fans.
The defense has 6 starters back, but was weak, allowing 23.8 points per game and getting shredded against good offenses. That's why the Irish are 15-10 over the total under Weis. Up front, senior DT Trevor Laws is back, with the secondary anchored by senior safety Tom Zbikowski and senior cornerback Ambrose Wooden. Senior Joe Brockington handles the linebacking corps. The schedule is tough, opening with Georgia Tech, at Penn State, at Michigan, and Michigan State - all in September. The final four games are easy, so another bowl game is in the cards, with games against Navy, Air Force, Duke and at Stanford.
Navy
Navy has enjoyed banner years in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, winning the Commander In Chief's Trophy (by beating Air Force and Army). They also went to their first bowl game in 22 years. Four in a row now, actually, rolling over New Mexico 34-19 in a bowl, an impressive 51-30 bowl rout of Colorado State, and last season's close 25-24 loss to Boston College. Head Coach Paul Johnson has certainly done a magnificent job as he begins his sixth season. They finished second in the nation in fewest penalties in 2004, and have been near the top since, showing they are disciplined. With 10 starters back for 2007, 7 on offense, expectations are high for a 5th straight CIC Trophy. Navy has won nine-straight Service Academy games dating back to 2002.
They're not fancy: The defense plays tough even though they lack bulk and struggle against good offensive teams, and the offense is all on the ground: 323 yards rushing in 2003, No. 1 in college football, and 289 rush yards per game, 5 yards per carry, in 2004, 319 yards rushing in 2005 and 327 yards rushing per game last season, 5.6 ypc. Navy led the nation in rushing in 2005. They win with speed all over the backfield. The offense loses three key offensive linemen along with top receiver Jason Tomlinson.
You may not be able to pronounce junior QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, but he is fast and stepped in for injured QB Brian Hampton, saving the season. He ran for 507 yards and passed for 384 yards, 5 TDs, one INT. Navy fullback senior Adam Ballard ran for 792 yards and 5.1 yards per carry, leading the team in rushing even though he battled injuries. He's back for his senior season, along with speedy 5-foot-6 senior Reggie Campbell (706 yards, a whopping 7.1 yards per carry!) Campbell tied an NCAA bowl game record with 5 TDs against Colorado State two years ago. The passing game was the worst in the nation last year, but that's because they run all the time. Don't look for the Midshipmen to open the passing game up in 2007 with all this backfield talent.
Navy was 9-2 against the spread in 2003, 7-5 ATS last season and 31-14 ATS the last four seasons! Senior LB Rob Caldwell leads a defense that allowed 20 points and 116 yards rushing per game. They are not big, but quick, disciplined and hard hitting. The secondary loses its best players and overall only 2 starters are back on defense. The schedule is relatively easy, outside of road games at Rutgers, Pitt and Notre Dame. After going 10-7 under the total in 2003 and 04, the Midshipmen are 16-9 over the total the last two seasons.
Army
Army Head Coach Bobby Ross stepped down after three seasons at Army, after 2-9, 4-7 and 3-9 campaigns. The Cadets pulled stunning upsets of Cincy and South Florida as a +15 dog each time in 2004, and lost close ones to TCU, Air Force and UAB in 2005, so they were competitive, just short on depth and talent. In 2006 Army had an impressive 27-20 win at Baylor and nearly pulled a colossal upset, losing 28-24 at Texas A&M as a huge dog. Stan Brock is the Black Knights' new head football coach. Brock served as an assistant on Ross' staff each of the past three years.
Army led the nation last year with 37 turnovers, two more than anyone else, and only forced 19 takeaways with just four interceptions. The offense has a battle between sophomore QB Carson Williams and senior QB David Pevoto. Williams has talent, but needs time to learn after throwing 4 TDs and 10 INTs. The veteran Pevoto was worse with 6 TDs, 14 picks. Top WR senior Jeremy Trimble returns after leading Army with 534 yards.
The running game was always a focus under Ross and they averaged 127 rush yards per game. A key guy to watch is 5-foot-6 sophomore RB Wesley McMahand, who led the Knights with 654 rush yards, a strong 4.4 yards per carry. Throw in sophomore RB Tony Moore (399 yards) and the top two runners return. Army will feature five returning starters on offense and 6 on defense. Defensively, they return All-East strong safety Caleb Campbell to a unit that allowed 28 points per game and struggled against the run.
Senior Shane Zinszer is back on the defensive line along with senior DT Tony Fusco, while Brandon Thompson is back at Defensive end. The schedule is very tough. Seven of the 12 teams slated to square off against Army this fall appeared in postseason bowl games in 2006, including four that either captured conference divisional titles or finished second. Only four of Army's 2007 opponents posted losing records a year ago.
The schedule features three ACC opponents in all (2006 champion Wake Forest, 2006 Coastal Division champion Georgia Tech and Boston College), one from the Big East (Rutgers), two from Conference USA (2005 champion Tulsa and Tulane), three from the Mid-American Conference (2006 champion Central Michigan, 2005 champion Akron and Temple), one from the Mountain West (Air Force), one Independent (Navy) and one foe from the ranks of Division I-AA (Rhode Island). Army plays only 5 home games. A winning season is unlikely under the new coach.
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