When Paul Johnson looked at his team for the first time this season, he didn?t see a team that has played in four consecutive bowl games or won 35 games the past four seasons.
He saw what he always has since arriving in Annapolis five years ago: a group of undersized football players who received little interest from other colleges.
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“It?s always a challenge,” Johnson said. “We?ve got to get ready to play no matter who we play or we?re going to be in trouble.”
Navy held its annual media day Monday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, which signaled the start of training camp to prepare the Midshipmen for one of the toughest schedules in recent school history.
Following its season opener against Temple (1-11 in 2006) at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Aug. 31, Navy?s schedule includes games at Rutgers (11-2), Pittsburgh (6-6) and Notre Dame (10-3) and home games against Wake Forest (11-3) and Northern Illinois (7-6).
Rutgers blanked Navy, 34-0, and defeated Kansas State, 37-10, in the Texas Bowl. Wake Forest won the Atlantic Coast Conference title before losing to Louisville, 24-13, in the Orange Bowl. And then there?s Notre Dame, which holds a 70-9-1 advantage in the overall series against Navy and has not lost to the Midshipmen since 1963.
“As far as the schedule goes, I?m worried about Temple and that?s it,” Johnson said. “We?ll take the first couple weeks of camp like we always do, try to get our systems in on offense and defense and solidify our depth a little bit and then take the last two weeks and get ready for Temple and go from there.”
Navy junior defensive back Ketric Buffin agrees. At just 5-foot-7 and 170 pounds, Buffin hashad to prove himself every season, so it?s fitting the Midshipmen do the same.
“A lot of the guys on this team look forward to the competition,” Buffin said. “It gives us an opportunity to see how good we really are since only 1 percent of us had the chance to play at another college because we?re too small. We thrive off the motivation of teams thinking they should always beat us.”
