Navy play-by-play announcer Bob Socci analyzes matchup with Notre Dame
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Correspondent
Notre Dame Football: A Navy Perspective
Each and every week during the Irish football season, IndySportsLegends.com will interview Notre Dame’s upcoming opponent’s radio play-by-play announcer.
This week, IndySportsLegends.com spoke with Bob Socci, who is entering his 15th season as the Voice of the Midshipmen.
Following is what Socci had to say about Navy, who is coming off a 5-7 2011 season, one that saw the program’s streak of eight straight bowl appearances come to an end.
IndySportsLegends.com: Originally this game was scheduled to be a home game for Navy. So when the opportunity presented itself, was it a no-brainer to take the game overseas?
Socci: As it’s turned out, it certainly looks that way. I think there were a lot of questions because you look at what Notre Dame and Navy stage every other year. Technically it’s a Navy home game, but let’s face it, it’s anything but a Navy home game because the crowd is predominantly Notre Dame partisan, but the crowd is big. You’ve got 80,000 people that show up in the Meadowlands or 70,000 that turn up in Baltimore and 80,000 perhaps in Landover, Md., so they can take the game to a neutral site every other year and play before a sellout on network television and know both schools are going to make a lot of money.
The 1996 game (against Notre Dame and Navy in Ireland) was a great experience, but it wasn’t necessarily a big success financially.
A year or two ago, there was a lot of trepidation on the part of Navy officials. ˜Can we make this game a success? Can we make it work?’ Now, it looks like they’re in good shape going into the game on Saturday.
IndySportsLegends.com: Do you think this Navy team has what it takes to get back into the postseason picture?
Socci: I do. This team is so similar to just about every other Navy team over the last nine years.
It does have a quarterback who is largely untested in Trey Miller. He struggled (last year) in that 56-14 loss at Notre Dame, but he’s matured a great deal. His knowledge of the offense is seemingly much improved. Coaches are very pleased and very confident with Trey thus far.
Navy’s halfback position is very talented and deep. There’s a new fullback in Noah Copeland, but I know there’s a lot of excitement about his potential. He’s a little bit smaller than Navy fullbacks in the past, but he’s fast and athletic.
With the way Navy runs its offense, there’s always going to be a lot of optimism going into the season as long as Navy is in a triple-option attack.
It’s hard for the defense to struggle more in 2012 than it did at times last year because it’s a much more mature defense in a lot of positions. It did lose one of its all-time best players in defensive end Jabaree Tuani.
The linebacking corps seems to be deeper and a little more athletic on the outside. I think the secondary will be stronger up the middle.
From Navy’s point of view, defensively it should be an improved team.
The big thing I’m hearing from a lot of people is the chemistry is a lot better than last year. As strange as that may seem, there were a lot of questions about leadership last year.
IndySportsLegends.com: Since Navy worked on shotgun formations in the spring, will Notre Dame fans see a more pass-happy offensive attack from the Midshipmen?
Socci: They’re still going to be a Navy team that No. 1 runs the ball, No. 2 runs the ball and No. 3 runs the ball, and tries to hit on the big pass play on play action.
They did incorporate some shotgun formations during spring practice and continued it over the summer.
It’s not unlike what you see in college football in the spread-option attack. Much of what guys like Urban Meyer and Rich Rodriguez have done with their success offensively has been taken from the academies’ option offenses. They’re reading the defensive tackle instead of the defensive end. It’s zone blocking and maybe more double-option than triple option, but there are a lot of variables that are very much the same.
I think Navy feels that a guy like Trey Miller is well suited for the shotgun formation because it affords him a little more pass protection with their offensive line not being well suited physically to pass block nor being very experienced at pass blocking. It also gives teams another thing to think about. Navy’s coaches want opposing coaches to think about it.
IndySportsLegends.com: What are some of Navy’s weaknesses?
Socci: Kicking. Repeatedly games swung literally on the swing of a leg. Last year Navy had a chance to tie East Carolina on the final play of the game and missed a field goal. Navy had a chance to beat Rutgers late and they missed a field goal. The Southern Miss game was a complete blowout, but it started with a blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown and the next series Navy is well within field goal range but they go for it on fourth down because they did trust the kicking game, are stopped and Southern Miss scores to make it 14-0.
Navy goes into the Notre Dame game with a freshman place-kicker and his backup is a freshman.
Other than that, defensively up front Navy is always going to have a lot of question marks physically on defense, but especially this year without Tuani.
From the offensive standpoint, can the right side of Navy’s offensive line gel? The kids are very experienced on the left side, but they had to replace their right tackle and right guard.
IndySportsLegends.com: Do you think Navy’s top concern when scouting Notre Dame is trying to match up against the Irish defense?
Socci: When I asked (Navy coach) Ken Niumatalolo how he was doing last spring, he said he was doing ok, ˜except we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to block Manti Te’o.’ He’s so good at his position that the Mids really couldn’t block him. He was so quick to avoid Navy’s offensive linemen.
(Irish defensive end Stephon) Tuitt played very well last year and he had a lot of help, but those guys manhandled Navy at the point of contact. For the Mids coming into this game, that’s a big concern.
On offense, even with (quarterback) Everett Golson, Notre Dame presents matchup problems for Navy.
Even without Tommy Rees and Cierre Wood, Navy is going to be very concerned about Notre Dame’s offense.
IndySportsLegends.com: Is the key matchup in this one Navy’s running game against the Irish front seven?
Socci: I think so because Navy plays keep away, grinds out possessions, limits the game and creates fewer opportunities for the opposing team while frustrating opposing teams. Navy’s defense compliments that because it plays a bend-but-don’t-break style. They just don’t want to give up a quick strike, a big play.
For the last nine years, Navy’s offense has been it’s best defense.
IndySportsLegends.com: Short of a prediction, what kind of a game do you envision taking place between the Irish and Midshipmen on Saturday?
Socci: I think we’ll see a better game than we did last year. Honestly though I really don’t know what to think.
When you line up the athletes, man for man, pound for pound, inch for inch, 40 time for 40 time, Notre Dame every year is a prohibitive favorite against Navy. Even when the Mids won three of the last five, Notre Dame athletically was far superior.
I think Navy comes into the game still confident because they have played well against the Irish recently last season not withstanding. I think Navy was embarrassed last year. These kids have tremendous pride. Their greatest asset is their desire to be maximum achievers. Last year their pride was hurt in South Bend. That was an embarrassing performance for them on a lot of different levels. Last year the Mids were manhandled in a lot of different ways, not only physically but emotionally. I think they’ve looked at this game as not only a great opportunity to play on national television and before an international audience, but they look at it as an opportunity to prove who they really are against Notre Dame, a team that embarrassed them in 2011.
We’re going up against a team that Brian Kelly thinks might be his best at Notre Dame, and they whipped our butts last year, so we better be ready to play.
