Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs had 27 rushing touchdowns last season.
This is not your father's same old tired Navy football team. The Midshipmen concluded last year's 10-4 campaign by mauling Missouri in the Texas Bowl, 35-13. The fine finish was enough to give Navy a No. 26 ranking in the final poll and a 7-7 spread record.
Navy now has a legitimate chance to have back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in school history.
The USA Today/Coaches preseason poll ranked Navy at No. 38 this season, in part because the school is returning 12 starters.
Most Nevada sports books have included Navy as a ‘field' bet, with 25/1 odds to capture the 2011 BCS title. The majority of offshore sports books have Navy at plus 40,000 to garner the same honor.
Navy accomplished its fine 2009 season with a combination of ball control and defense. The school averaged 280.5 yards rushing per game, which was fourth best in the nation. It marked the first time since 2005 that Navy had not captured the nation's rushing title.
The Middies also averaged 28 points per game, 57th best in the country.
Most of the offensive success can be attributed to Navy's triple-option, led by quarterback Ricky Dobbs. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior had a phenomenal 2009 campaign, rushing for an NCAA record 27 touchdowns from the quarterback position. He also passed for another six scores.
Dobbs made good use of slot-backs Marcus Curry and Gee Gee Greene, as well as fullback Vince Murray. The trio combined for 1,809 rushing yards last season. However, Curry was dismissed from the team in May for a curfew violation.
Dobbs became just the third quarterback (Chris McCoy in 1997 and Craig Candeto in 2003) in school history to rush (1,203 yards) and throw (1,031 yards) for over 1,000 yards in a season. No Navy player has accomplished this feat twice in his career.
Last fall, Murray and Teich combined to rush for 1,347 yards and six touchdowns on 252 carries. That's an average of 5.3 yards per carry.
Navy's big offseason roster losses occurred on defense. The squad must replace its top two tacklers and five of its top 10.
Inside linebacker Tyler Simmons, who ranked third on the team last season with 68 tackles, must step into the role that Ross Pospisil (107 tackles) occupied last year when the Midshipmen ranked 34th in the country in total defense (335.2 yards per game).
Navy yielded just 19.4 points per game last season, which was the 18th lowest total in the nation. The strong defense helped the ‘under' cash in nine of the club's 14 outings.
The defense has not allowed a touchdown to Service Academy rivals Air Force and Army in 12 quarters (plus one overtime period). Additionally, the Mids have not yielded a touchdown to Army in 12 quarters.
Navy will be vying for an eighth-straight Commander-In-Chief's Trophy and an eighth-straight bowl game. If the Mids win at least six games, they will play in the Poinsettia Bowl.
Five games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and three neutral site games played at NFL venues highlight Navy's 2010 schedule.
The Mids will face four teams that played in a bowl in 2009, three bowl champions and two conference champions. Air Force won the Armed Forces Bowl, SMU captured the Hawaii Bowl, Central Michigan won the Mid-American Conference as well as the GMAC Bowl, while East Carolina was crowned the Conference USA champion and played in the Liberty Bowl.
Navy went 6-4 SU last year against teams on this season's schedule. However, only Notre Dame (Oct. 23) is currently ranked higher than Navy in the preseason polls.
CBS College Sports will televise all five games played in Annapolis, while the Notre Dame and Army games will be televised by CBS. ESPN will televise the Mids' 2010 season opener against Maryland.