I was feeling pretty good about my prediction as Navy came out of halftime and marched all the way downfield. As I watched the ball sail through the hands of the wide open Bo Snelson on fourth and goal, that good feeling. The game changed right then and there. Navy never really threatened on offense again the rest of the game. The defense had to take more risks and gave up more big plays as a result.
Navy made a nice offensive adjustment by running away from the motion, and SDSU took a quarter and a half to adjust to it, but once they did, it was lights out, game over, go home. There isn't much more to say than that. SDSU was better prepared, and made an adjustment when Navy did. 35-14.
This sets the stage for SDSU for 2011. They do lose a few key players on offense, including DeMarco Sampson and Vincent Brown, but they bring back a load of other good ones. Included in those coming back are Ryan Lindley, Ronnie Hillman, 3rd WR Dominique Sandifer, Gavin Escobar (who had a nice year at TE for SDSU), and 8 of the 10 guys on the two-deep at Offensive Line.
They bring back a lot of experience in the front 7 on defense, including a very talented freshman class that played a lot and fared pretty well. In the secondary they are only losing two of the ten guys who rotated in and out. With a 9-4 season, a bowl win, and so much coming back, they should have the upper hand going into the MWC season against TCU and Boise State, who are great teams/programs, but are losing so much on both sides of the ball. If Rich Rod stays at Michigan, look for SDSU to finish in the top 2 in the MWC (if Rich Rod gets fired, Brady Hoke would probably be tops on their list to replace him as he has had head coaching success after being an assistant for Michigan's 1997 National Championship team: he's a defensive-minded coach and Michigan has had an horrific defense for about 5 years now).
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