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Navy Football: 3 Reasons Lane Kiffin should fear Navy

By Justin Dottavio

ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 31: Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin for the Alabama Crimson Tide looks on prior to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl against the Michigan State Spartans at AT&T Stadium on December 31, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 31: Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin for the Alabama Crimson Tide looks on prior to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl against the Michigan State Spartans at AT&T Stadium on December 31, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /
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3. Navy scheme is hard to defend

Talk about walking into a buzzsaw. Lane’s first game as a head coach is against a tradition laden, disciplined foe whose head coach has won 77 games as a leader of his program. Lane has won 35 games and was once fired on the tarmac. Beyond that, Lane hasn’t been a head coach since September 29, 2013, his last game as head football coach at USC. Then there’s the scheme issue (watch more about the Flexbone triple option here)- how do you defend the triple option?

Only a handful of FBS teams run the Flexbone triple option. Opening with Navy gives a time advantage in a sense, spring football and most of fall camp is focused on your offensive scheme playing against your defensive scheme. Lane Kiffin ran a multiple offense at Bama focused on zone blocking and the elusiveness of Jalen Hurts. The Owls will try to do the same and that’s not quite the Navy triple option.

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FAU will have to work on their triple option responsibilities, defending a mobile quarterback that can still throw, defending wingbacks and the play-action pass as well as midline and fullback zone dive. It’s hard to stop Navy early because they’re so good at what they do that it comes second nature to the staff and student-athletes. On the other hand, FAU and Lane Kiffin only know 15 seconds of fame, that short burst of success followed by let down.

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