The AAC will be getting a new member on the football side of the conference during the 2015 season. The fresh conference will be gaining a team with rich history and this addition will help add validation to the conference. The new kids on the block will be the Navy Midshipmen.
The Midshipmen are coming off of an 8-5 season and have explosive quarterback Keenan Reynolds back for his senior season. Reynolds is the heart and soul of the Navy offense; I know they have a plug and play system, but Reynolds is the guy who controls the car.
Reynolds ran for 1,191 yards and 23 touchdowns, he also threw for 843 yards and 6 touchdowns. You don’t want to know his completion percentage; nope you just don’t want to know.
After saying Memphis would win the AAC, and being high on Cincinnati, I sat back and thought to myself, ‘can any team in the AAC stop or even control the Midshipmen’s triple option attack?’
I personally don’t have the answer to that question and if I were to guess early, I would vote no. They are the only team in the American that runs the triple option on a regular basis – so that right there will provide shock value to every team they play weekly. Other teams may have more talent, but will they be able to handle a physical game for 4 quarters with Navy? You know Navy is going to run 95% of the time and you still won’t be able to force many three and outs.
Navy’s ground game slows the game down for both teams so the opponent may rush because they know their defense has a lot of pressure on them and in the long run could play into the Midshipmen’s hands.
Preview of Navy courtesy of the American Athletic Conference
Only time will tell if the AAC is ready for the triple option. I know the teams that don’t have to play the Midshipmen are happy, but they could meet in the conference championship game, *points to Cincinnati*.
