Navy's triple option another challenge for Duke football

A week ago, Navy was not sure it would be making the trip to Duke this weekend.

When the government shutdown forced the Department of Defense to briefly suspend the intercollegiate athletics programs at Army, Navy and Air Force, the showdown between the Midshipmen and Blue Devils was immediately thrown into a state of disarray.

"It's obviously just gridlock in D.C.," said Dave Harding, Duke guard and resident political guru. "The far right, the Tea Party is not willing to budge, so it makes any kind of compromise difficult.... I didn't realize it would have such a direct impact to football."

After 48 hours of chaos, Navy (3-1) was able to come to a resolution and play its regularly scheduled game against Air Force last week—a 27-10 victory for the Midshipmen—and will make the trip to Durham this weekend to face the Blue Devils (3-2).

Navy's success this season has been driven by the play of sophomore quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who is the lifeblood of the Midshipmen's triple-option offense. But the team's success does not rest on Reynolds' arm, but rather his legs. Reynolds has carried the football 81 times this season for 385 yards and seven touchdowns—no other Navy player has more than 45 carries, 140 yards or two touchdowns this season.

Reynolds has thrown the ball just 31 times this season, completing 20 passes for 378 yards and two scores and averaging 18.9 yards per completion.

"He's a winner, and it all does go through him," Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said. "What you have is an athlete touching the ball in that offense every play. He can run it, he can throw it, he's smart, he can read you."

Duke has struggled against the triple-option this season, allowing Georgia Tech to rack up 344 yards on the ground in a 38-14 loss four weeks ago.

Although it lacks playmakers outside of Reynolds, the Midshipmen offense actually displays more offensive ripples than the Yellow Jackets did. Navy is not afraid to deviate from the basic option formations and will actually take snaps out of the shotgun.

The way the Midshipmen throw the ball could also be problematic for the Duke defense. Most triple-option teams will use their rare passing attempts to take deep shots down the field, but Navy mixes a fair amount of short and intermediate passing into its aerial attack.

This could make life difficult for the Duke secondary. In addition to providing support against the run, Blue Devil cornerbacks and safeties won't just have to turn and run every time Reynolds drops back to throw—they will have to watch for underneath routes as well.

"It does make it difficult. Most of the times when you think about triple-option teams you're taking those deep shots, so when you see the pass you just turn and run as fast as you can and try to beat them to the spot," redshirt senior cornerback Ross Cockrell said. "With this team, they actually run routes. They have route concepts, and you have to defend against that as well as defend against the option."

Despite the intricacies in Navy's passing game, it is not something the Midshipmen do often—they are tied for dead last in the FBS by attempting just 11.7 passes per game.

On the defensive side of the football, outside linebacker Chris Johnson is Navy's primary playmaker. Of Johnson's 26 stops this season, 20 of them have been solo tackles. He also leads the Midshipmen with three interceptions on the season. The Navy defense has allowed just 17.8 points per game this season, which is good for 22nd in the FBS.

Navy has lost its last two matchups against Duke. A victory for the Midshipmen Saturday would be their first against the Blue Devils since Sept. 27, 2007.