After a 42-3 loss to Notre Dame to open up the season, Navy looks to right the ship during its home opener against Wagner on Sept. 9.
Against Notre Dame — now the No. 10 team in the country — the Midshipmen did not gain any momentum offensively and key defensive series turned into points for the Fighting Irish. But Navy has at least 11 games left, so there is plenty of time to improve.
Navy will host FCS Wagner for its home opener on Sept. 9. This will be the first time in school history that Navy football will face the Seahawks.
“We just focus on what’s in front of us right now,” Navy defensive coordinator P.J. Volker said on Sept 6.
Wagner is coming off a 46-16 loss to Fordham on Sept. 2. Despite the large margin of defeat, graduate quarterback Steven Krajewski stood out for the Seahawks.
In his debut for Wagner, Krajewski completed 19 of 33 passes for 334 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. According to Wagner Athletics, Krajewski is the first quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards for the Seahawks since 2017 (last achieved by former quarterback Luke Massei).
Volker believes Wagner’s passing game is “extremely effective” and versatile, which will pose a challenge for the Mids defensively.
“I think [Krajewski] is going to throw the ball in there and give his guys opportunities to make plays, much like they did in Week 1,” Volker said, adding that the Mids have to “make sure we do a great job making plays on the football and if they are able to catch it, then we’ve got to get it down quickly, line up and play the next play.”
Wagner rushed for 104 yards on 27 carries against Fordham. The majority of those rushing yards came from sophomore running back Zachary Palmer-Smith, who carried the ball nine times for 61 yards.
Navy head coach Brian Newberry says the Mids aren’t overlooking any opponents. Newberry felt that the Mids’ season-opening 14-7 loss to FCS Delaware last season serves as a “good reminder” for the team.
“I look at every game on our schedule and they’re all winnable games and they’re all games that we can get beat,” Newberry said on Sept. 4.
Newberry explained that the Mids ‘defense focused on the basics after Notre Dame, and the coach is thrilled with how that unit has practiced of late. Against the Irish, Navy’s defense missed tackles and put little pressure on sixth-year quarterback Sam Hartman.
Now, the Mids will be tackling an interesting schedule throughout September. After Wagner, Navy will have a short week and a Sept. 14 matchup at Memphis followed by a bye week, the program’s second one early in the season. After the bye, the Mids will play on four straight Saturdays.
With such a bizarre first few weeks of the schedule for Navy, Volker expressed that the message for each opponent has been clear since Day 1 regarding tackling one game at a time.
“Whether it’s the Green Bay Packers on the schedule or somebody else, we’ve got to just make sure we’re focused on what’s in front of us and doing the best of our ability to make sure we’re 1-0 in whatever environment that we are in that day,” Volker said.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Navy Athletics