Charlotte, ECU look to wreck magical seasons for Navy, Army

Army and Navy have been two of the most inspiring stories in college football this season.

Both are ranked together in the national top 25 for the first time since 1960. Both own undefeated records at the midpoint of the season, the first time that has happened since 1945. You may remember, 1945 was a great year for our service members.

This week, along comes East Carolina and Charlotte from the Old North State looking to muck everything up.

ECU (3-3) will visit Army (6-0) on Saturday, kicking off at noon (ESPN2). Charlotte (3-3) will travel to Navy (5-0), with a 3:30 p.m. start time (CBS Sports Network).

Can the Pirates and/or 49ers put a wrench in what has been two feel-good, nostalgia-inducing stories?

Both in-state teams face an uphill climb for sure. ECU was listed as a 15.5-point underdog at FanDuel as of Wednesday afternoon. Charlotte was a 16.5-point dog.

But both have had two weeks to prepare for these unique opponents since playing each other in Richardson Stadium in Charlotte on Oct. 5 (a game won by the Niners 55-24).

Army: Thriving With Traditional Triple-Option

Army joined Navy in the American Athletic Conference this season. So far, the Black Knights have been running roughshod over league opponents, sparking debate as to whether this group can make the College Football Playoff.

After early non-conference wins against Lehigh (42-7) and FIU (24-7), Army has rolled over Rice (37-14), Temple (42-14), Tulsa (49-7) and UAB (44-10).

Army quarterback Bryson Daily (6-0, 221 pounds) accounted for five touchdowns against UAB, four rushing and one passing. The Black Knights, using their patented triple-option attack, average 369.8 yards per game on the ground. Daily leads his team in rushing, with 738 yards and 14 TDs for the season.

ECU surrenders 148.5 yards per game in rushing and has allowed nine rushing touchdowns.

It is amazing in this day of wide-open college offenses that Army can be 6-0 having only thrown the ball 46 times (27 completions for 555 yards). But the Black Knights are effective when they finally do go to the air, recording seven passing TDs.

“We’ve been working the last week on it and have really drilled into our secondary that their eye discipline is critical,” ECU coach Mike Houston said during Monday’s presser. “If you don’t have very disciplined eyes, you look up and, just like Saturday, they cross the 50 against UAB and run a little play action, post-wheel to the boundary, and there’s nobody within 30 yards of the post route.”

Coming out of the Charlotte loss, ECU had a players-only meeting, Houston said. The coach called that positive and said the bye week gave his troops a chance to reset and re-center. Fans were plenty disgruntled after the debacle against the 49ers.

“None of us were happy with our performance,” Houston said. “I mean Pirate Nation, me, the players, none of us. We take this very seriously and the players and staff invest a lot. When your sleep at night depends on how you play on Saturday, that’s pretty serious stuff. We tried to do a great job this extra bye week correcting things, addressing things, and I think that the team is in a good spot.”

Houston did not commit to a starting quarterback for Saturday’s game, only saying “whoever gives us the best chance to win on game day is who’s going to start.”

Jake Garcia has played in all six games, throwing for 1,426 yards and eight touchdowns (237.7 ypg). But he has been mistake-prone and has 12 interceptions. Katin Houser saw time against Charlotte and completed 11-of-28 throws for 84 yards, one interception and no TDs.

Getting running back Rahjai Harris (397 yards rushing, 3 TDs) untracked could be key. Sustaining drives and playing clean on both sides of the ball are a must against a disciplined opponent. Falling behind early could be detrimental because Army can hog the ball with their methodical offense. They are 8-of-10 on fourth down and have lost just one fumble.

“I think they’ve scored on the first drive or first two drives of every game except for one,” Houston said. “They play at a very high level, and they’ve got a lot of experience in that offense. They’re very solid in all three phases so they get up two or three scores, and they put a lot of pressure on the opponent.

“At the same time, I don’t know how much they’ve been challenged to play a full game yet and that’s the thing where I see a lot of opportunity.”

Navy: Unleashing the ‘Millennial Wing-T’

Navy also has beaten up on Temple (38-11) and UAB (41-18) in league play. More eye-popping were wins over Memphis (56-44) and at Air Force (34-7). Memphis was the preseason favorite in the AAC.

Charlotte will be Navy’s homecoming guest. Both teams were picked low in the AAC preseason balloting, but both still have unbeaten conference records — Navy 3-0 and Charlotte 2-0.

Like Army, the Midshipmen score early and often — five times on first drives this season. They also thrive in the run game, averaging 295.6 yards per carry, trailing only Army in the FBS. Navy has made 18 trips into the red zone, coming away with 18 touchdowns. Yikes.

Blake Horvath directs the Navy attack. He has accounted for 17 touchdowns — 10 rushing and seven through the air. He torched UAB for passing scores covering 77 and 74 yards, going over the top when the Blazers overplayed the run.

While ECU seemed to welcome its bye week, Charlotte may have been more reluctant to shift out of weekly game mode. The 49ers had strung together back-to-back conference wins, including the trouncing of the Pirates that included six rushing touchdowns and more than 500 total yards.

“A bye week is never great unless you’re banged up,”, Charlotte coach Biff Poggi said earlier this week. “If you win and have a bye week, you’d like to keep playing because you’re hitting your stride and don’t want to lose any of that momentum.
 
“The good thing about the bye week is that, when you play a team like Navy, the bye week really helps. But Navy had a bye week also. So I am sure we’ll see different things out of their offense and different things out of their defense. They will be prepared for us. It’s kind of a wash.”

Charlotte likely will turn the quarterback reins back to Max Brown, who has been sidelined since an injury at North Carolina. Deshawn Purdie and Trexler Ivey have been solid in his stead over the past four games. Each has thrown just one interception. Purdie leads the team in passing for the season with 717 yards and four scores.

“Non coach-speak, it truly will be a game-time decision. Max is back,” Poggi said. “He’s been pretty good in the bye week and he’s been pretty good so far this week. He is locked on. We will have both quarterbacks ready to go … We’re very blessed because we’ve got three guys that have experience and are pretty good players.”

Navy’s offensive coordinator this season is Drew Cronic, who coached at Lenoir-Rhyne before taking over at Mercer in 2020. He left the Mercer job in January (which resulted in another head coaching change at Lenoir-Rhyne). So far, Cronic has super-charged Navy’s offense. It is more than just traditional option football.

“They have not been stopped all year,” Poggi said. “They are calling his system the Millennial Wing-T, and it is really very, very fun to watch – and hell to play against … A lot of motions. A lot of shifts … They throw it much better than a normal option team throws the football, and the quarterback, Blake Horvath, is a star.”

After entering the season with rampant injury issues, Charlotte looks the healthiest it has been since opening kickoff in August. The 49ers are going to need everybody to contain one of the top group of five teams in the nation.

“We are totally full go,” Poggi said. “We are healthy. We’ve got no excuses.”