For the second year in a row, Navy pulled off one of best upsets in college football. Last year the Midshipmen beat Notre Dame for the first time in 43 tries, defeating the Irish 46-44 in South Bend. On Saturday, they pulled off an even bigger upset, beating No. 16 Wake Forest 24-17 at BB&T Field.
Wake, who perhaps was looking ahead to its game next week with Clemson, absolutely shot themselves in the foot all game. The Deacons turned the ball over an astonishing six times and mustered only 39 rushing yards. Conversely, Navy ran at will, racking up 294 yards and once they built a 17-0 lead at halftime, they never looked back.
Apparently nobody wants to win the ACC. One would have thought that with their big win last Saturday at Florida State, Wake would have used the momentum to take control of the conference. Instead they lost to an unranked Navy team that picked off four passes and dominated in time of possession, 35:40 to 23:19. Maybe Maryland, who pulled off an upset themselves on Saturday in beating No. 20 Clemson 20-17, can emerge in the Atlantic. But then again, the Terps also lost to Middle Tennessee State earlier this year.
Just a quick note about Navy, the Midshipmen go into virtually every game undersized, outnumbered and often with less overall talent on their roster. But they also have more heart, determination and focus than a lot of their opponents. And their upset over Notre Dame and Wake the past two years proves that.
