Chuck O'Brien
Pittsburgh
San Diego St. / Navy Over
Al DeMarco
Pittsburgh
Spurs
Washington State
Al DeMarco
Pittsburgh
Should be Teaser Pittsburgh & Over
Tony Diamond
2* Navy
N Mexico St +8.5
Georgetown -4.5
IUPUI -4.0
Trace Adams
Navy
Pittsburgh
Kyle Hunter
3* Georgetown -4.5
Larry Ness
9* Navy
San Diego State will be playing in its first bowl game since 1998 when the Aztecs host Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl. However, this home field advantage for the Aztecs will not be as significant when playing Navy as it would be against most other bowl teams. San Diego is home to the largest naval base on the West Coast and the Midshipmen expect plenty of support for this game. This Navy squad returns 13 starters from last season's team that won the Texas Bowl over a young but talented Missouri team. This season, the Midshipmen won their last four games as well as seven of their last eight games, culminating in their NINTH consecutive win over Army on December 11th. The fact that Navy will have played less than two weeks ago should help ensure that the team is sharp for this contest (rare in bowl situations). San Diego State, on the other hand, has not played since its 48-14 over UNLV back on November 27th. With almost a full month in-between games, coach Brady Hoke's squad may need to knock off some of the rust during this game. The Aztecs finished the season tied with Air Force and BYU for third place in the Mountain West with a 5-3 conference mark. San Diego State prides themselves on an 8-4 overall record where its four losses were by less than 15 combined points. Navy supporters can respond with the fact that none of its of its three losses came by more than EIGHT points. San Diego State will be challenged by the Midshipmen's spread triple option that averages 288.9 YPG on the ground (5th in the FBS) on 5.4 YPC with 36 rushing TDs. The Aztecs allowed more than 140 rushing YPG but perhaps their contest against another service academy's spread triple option offense is more reflective as to how they will do against Navy. While San Diego State held on to defeat the Air Force by a 27-25 score, despite being outgained by 31 yards of offense, the Falcons gained 312 yards on the ground (5.0 YPC) and 487 total yards against the Aztecs defense in that meeting. While the Air Force offense is similar to what Navy will offer, one key difference will be the presence of QB Ricky Dobbs. Not only is Dobbs a master at orchestrating this triple option attack, but he can be deceptively dangerous with his arm. Dobbs passed for 186 yards on JUST eleven passes in the Army game and I fully expect coach Ken Niumatalolo to have some surprises up his sleeve with Dobbs and his arm. The Midshipmen's rushing game has the extra-benefit of burning time off the clock to keep its opponent's offense off the field, which will be important here. San Diego State has a strong balanced attack behind QB Ryan Lindley and freshman RB Ronnie Hillman. It ranks 19th in the FBS in total yards (448.5 YPG) and 20th in the FBS in scoring (35 PPG). However, Navy's defense was solid all season, holding teams to 376.8 total YPG along with allowing a modest 22.3 PPG (38th in the FBS). Ultimately, turnovers may play the deciding role in this game. Uncharacteristically, Navy lost all three of its fumbles while Dobbs threw an interception to contribute them losing the turnover battle with Army by a minus-two margin. However, this is unlikely to happen to them again, as the Midshipmen rank 21st in the FBS by averaging a plus-0.67 turnover margin per game. San Diego State, on the other hand, endured a minus-0.58 turnover margin per game which was 101st in the FBS. The Aztecs extended layoff from their last game may exacerbate this concern. Since Paul Johnson returned Navy to football prominence in 2003 (and now under Ken Niumatalolo), Navy has been a terrific underdog plus is a quite impressive 42-21 ATS in its last 63 games away from Annapolis. This is Navy's EIGHTH consecutive bowl game (its third Poinsettia Bowl) while SDSU plays in just the school's sixth. The Aztecs last won a bowl game in the now-defunct Pasadena Bowl back in 1969 (school's ONLY bowl win), 28-7 over Boston U (not, Boston College, mind you!). Doesn't an underdog HAVE to cover a bowl one of these times? Navy seems to me to be the PERFECT one to do just that!
Sports Unlimited
Navy Over
Pittsburgh
Scott Spreitzer
San Diego St
Pittsburgh
Sports Bank
300 Navy
Millionaire's Club
Pittsburgh
Blazer
3* Navy
Bankers Sports Wire
400 Navy
Wise Guy Sports Wire
Navy Over
Executive
250% S Diego St -3
Dave Cokin
San Diego St