San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

Navy vs. San Diego State  

                Ahhh, time for my favorite bowl game. I know there aren’t a lot of big names that come to this game, but many teams that are tremendously underrated end up here. The case is the same here; both Navy and San Diego State are tremendously underrated teams. When you add that to their contrasting styles of offense, then you have a great match-up to watch.

                Navy’s offense, a triple option, is extremely dangerous, both from the run and the pass. Quarterback Ricky Dobbs is one of the best triple options quarterbacks to play in college football. Not only is he an elusive and dangerous open field runner, but he is also an efficient passer with a powerful arm. He may never be dangerous in a spread offense, but he can keep defenses from stacking in the box. He’s aided by fullback Alexander Teich and split backs Gee Gee Greene and Aaron Santiago, all of whom are very efficient at their jobs. Any one of them can have a big day if Dobbs gets bogged down. The undersized line and strong blocking receivers also keep this offense chugging. However they aren’t going against ant slouches defensively, San Diego State played Air Force, another team that uses the triple option very well by keeping some of their DBs near the line of scrimmage and playing very disciplined defense. If San Diego State can do that again, then they have a pretty good shot of winning.

                San Diego State’s offense is multi-dimensional, even if they use a spread option all the time. While Ryan Lindley and the passing offense are dangerous on the perimeter, Ronnie Hillman is a good runner and has kept defenses from ignoring the run most of the season. He is athletic enough to take advantage of even the smallest holes provide by the offensive line. It also helps that Navy’s defense is undersized up front. Also the Navy pass rush isn’t that good, leaving Lindely with plenty of time to survey the field from the pocket. Navy is going to need their athletic linebackers to step up, keep pace and play sound defensive football if they want to hold down the San Diego State offense.

Prospects to Watch

                Navy

                                Due to Military Commitments, no Navy players are projected to be drafted this year.

                San Diego State

                                Vincent Brown – Wide Receiver: while he doesn’t impress with his tangibles (Height –Weight-Speed), he’s shown himself to be a hard worker, with enough talent to be a solid receiver. He has solid hands, good speed and enough experience to find ways to get open in spite of his lack of natural speed. He also has a tremendous feel for the tempo of a route. He knows how to time his cuts and breaks so that he’ll be open when the Quarterback is looking for him. I think this is his best asset and can help him find a place on a west-coast style offense, somewhere in the 4^th or 5^th round.

Final Pick

                San Diego State – As much as I like Navy, their defense is a bit overmatched and time has shown me that the triple option can be stopped when given enough time to prep for it.