It's time to move past the Holy War and look to Utah's next bowl opponent. All signs point to the Utes playing Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl. And while I respect what Paul Johnson has done there, I would much rather the Utes play a BCS team over a fairly mediocre Midshipmen program. But it appears that's who Utah will face and it isn't totally bad, since the Poinsettia Bowl will offer far more than that damn New Mexico Bowl.
Navy is currently 7-4 on the season heading into their rivalry game with Army Saturday afternoon. Navy's four losses came to Rutgers, Ball State, Wake Forest and D1-AA Delaware State. Their seven victories were against Temple, Duke, Air Force, Pitt, Notre Dame, North Texas and Northern Illinois. That list isn't really impressive, especially when you realize Navy barely defeated Duke and allowed Northern Texas to score 62-points on them.
But 7-4 is 7-4 and Navy does have a style of offense that could give Utes fits. Right now they run the triple option, which has proven effective this season, as the Midshipmen average 40 points per game. When Utah's bowl invite becomes official, I'll break down why they're such a solid offensive team and why their defense might be one of the worst in college football. But for now, we'll just discuss the possibility of playing them in a bowl game.
For historical purposes, this is actually a pretty good match-up, since Utah has never played Navy. But, outside of that, I'm not so sure I can find many other positives. Utah gains little from winning and takes a hit if they were to lose. And this isn't just my issue with Navy, it's an issue Utah faces whenever they play a mediocre non-BCS team (like last year, when they played Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl).
What are your thoughts on a probable match-up with Navy? Excited, indifferent, peeved? Leave a comment and let me know.