Sometimes, in sports, we search long and hard for the story of the underdog, the overachiever, the Cinderella, if you will.
We yearn for the tale of the scrappy fighter that beats the odds to emerge victorious, to grab the brass ring and all those other hoary cliches that are a part of athletics.
Well, for the first few weeks of the season, many folks latched onto the Navy football team as just what the doctor ordered as a balm for the sickness that is modern-day college athletics.
Through six games, the Midshipmen were up to the challenge, winning all six contests by double digits and with all but one of those wins coming by more than two touchdowns, turning the ball over only twice.
Navy has gotten it done on both sides of the ball. Junior quarterback Blake Horvath has done a nice Lamar Jackson impersonation, averaging over 103 rushing yards per contest.
And defensively, senior Dashaun Peele, a cornerback from Norfolk, has three interceptions, running two of them back for touchdowns, leading an opportunistic unit.
After an impressive 56-44 September win over Memphis, the preseason favorite to win the American Athletic Conference, the Midshipmen, under second year coach Brian Newberry, sailed into first place in the league.
And two weeks ago, Navy docked in a place they haven’t been in six years: the Associated Press Top 25, arriving first at No. 25, then moving up a spot the following week.
Indeed, there was talk that if the stars aligned properly, Navy could navigate its way into the first ever 12-team college football playoff, admittedly as an underdog, but there nonetheless.
You have to go back a ways, roughly 40 years since the last time a Navy football team evoked this kind of excitement. Those were the days of Napoleon McCallum, the star running back who went on to play in the NFL for the Raiders and Chargers.
And before that, the last halcyon times at Annapolis were in the 1960s when quarterback Roger Staubach won the Heisman Trophy, presented to college football’s best player.
It’s not as if Navy hasn’t fielded representative or even intriguing teams. Under previous coach Ken Niumatalolo, who spent 15 years at the academy, Navy achieved a level of noteworthy success.
But the Middies’ hopes of competing at the highest levels have run aground against the stark reality of modern college sports.
Top high school athletes are drawn to universities that can provide both exposure on the collegiate level and the chance to advance to make a living on the professional stage.
Well, the combination of the academies’ strenuous admission standards and the requirement that graduates give the country five years of service, means the list of five-star athletes signing up to attend Navy, Army or the Air Force is short.
Navy’s hopes of getting to that playoff ran aground this weekend when they were trounced by No. 12 Notre Dame 51-14.
The Middies committed six turnovers against the Fighting Irish and looked overmatched, casting doubt among some on their ability to finish among the elite.
But with five games left on the schedule, including the showdown with Army, there’s plenty of time for Navy’s 2024 story to have a happy ending.
And that’s how I see it for this week. You can reach us via email with your questions and comments at Sports at Large at gmail.com. And follow me on Threads and X at Sports at Large.
Until next week, for all of us here and for producer Spencer Bryant, I’m Milton Kent. Thanks for listening and enjoy the games.