More troublesome was the fact the Midshipmen faced an ominous stretch of three potentially tougher games leading up to the current bye week.

On the horizon was a Rutgers program that had been to three straight bowls, a Wake Forest team that was an early favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference and service academy rival Air Force.

Rutgers, which had manhandled Navy each of the past two seasons, came to Annapolis. However, the meetings with Wake Forest and Air Force were on the road. Making matters even worse was the fact the Falcons had two weeks to prepare for the Mids.

It was not hard to imagine the Mids losing five straight and falling to 1-5. That would have been an almost impossible hole to dig out of. Instead, Navy has risen up and responded with three straight wins - snapping a three-game losing streak to Rutgers, stunning 16th-ranked Wake then turning back fired up Air Force.

All three games were battles and Navy had to dig deep to win each one. The Midshipmen rallied from a halftime deficit versus the Scarlet Knights, forced six turnovers and played stout defense to stymie the Demon Deacons and scored two touchdowns off blocked punts against the Falcons.

Following the Air Force victory, head coach Ken Niumatalolo's chest swelled with pride when a reporter pointed out that Navy had found a way to finish the first half of the season 4-2 against all odds.

"Our kids have been doing this the last three weeks. Our kids just continue to fight and I couldn't be more proud of them," he said. "This is a tough stretch we've had. We played Ball State on a short week, we were on the road against Duke, Wake Forest and Air Force. Our kids didn't flinch. They have stepped up to every challenge they have faced and taken it head-on."

Navy is two wins away from securing an appearance in the Eagle Bank Bowl, three wins away from assuring a sixth straight winning season. Considering the circumstances and the difficulty of the first-half schedule, Niumatalolo is happy to be 4-2. However, the first-year head coach and Hawaiian native is far from satisfied.

"What pleases me the most is that we've gotten better every week. I want to see that trend continue," he said. "I don't want this team to plateau. I don't want our players to get complacent."

While Niumatalolo feels Navy has improved in practice each week, he did not think the team as a whole played well in the narrow 33-27 victory over Air Force. He thought the Midshipmen were a step slow on both sides of the ball in Colorado Springs and sensed it was the result of cumulative fatigue.

"We've played three very physical ballgames, we've been on the road two straight weeks. To be honest, the bye week couldn't have come at a better time. I think we're worn down a bit," Niumatalolo said.

Navy needed the bye week in order to get some players healthy. Quarteraback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (hamstring), defensive end Michael Walsh (foot), linebackers Corey Johnson and Ram Vela (concussions) and cornerback Kevin Edwards (ankle) are all nursing nagging injuries and will try to participate in full-contact practice this week.

Navy opens the second half of the season at home against 24th-ranked Pittsburgh (4-1), which is coming off an upset of No. 10 South Florida. The Panthers will be looking to avenge last season's 48-45 double-overtime loss to the Midshipmen. Niumatalolo tried not to push the players too much in practice this past week while getting an early start on preparations for Pitt.

"We want to get some rest, want to get our legs back, want to get rejuvenated, but we also want to get ready for Pitt. This week, practices may be a little shorter but higher tempo, get in and get out," he said.

Niumatalolo had the coaching staff thoroughly re-evaluate every aspect of the program. Offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper and his staff reviewed tape of every single drive to determine what went right and what went wrong. Defensive coordinator Buddy Green and the staff worked individually with players to improve fundamentals and technique.

Navy's offense has struggled to move the ball consistently without Kaheaku-Enhada as the trigger man. The Midshipmen have scored just 10 touchdowns in 23 trips inside the red zone and have punted 17 times through six games. That's a significant increase over last season when the Mids only had 24 punts in 13 games.

After praising the performance of the offensive line against Rutgers and Wake Forest, Niumatalolo said the unit took a step backward versus Air Force. Guards Anthony Gaskins and Curtis Bass have graded out as the most effective blockers so far while center Ricky Moore, a converted tackle, has steadily improved.

The perimeter element of Navy's triple-option attack has been most affected by the absence of Kaheaku-Enhada. Slot back Shun White had 561 yards rushing through three games, but has just 137 yards in the last three games. Four other slot backs have a mere 150 yards rushing between them.

Fullback Eric Kettani has been the bright spot on offense of late, rushing for 383 of his 510 yards in the past three games. The bruising 6-foot-1, 243-pounder pummeled Wake Forest for a career-high 175 yards.

"Kettani has been a horse. He has run with great determination and made his own holes the last few games. He's been punishing people," Niumatalolo said.

Niumatalolo said Navy has to move forward as though Bryant will be the quarterback for the foreseeable future and said the senior captain needs to do a better job of reading the option and taking care of the football.

"Coach Jasper just has to work his magic with Jarod and get him to execute at a higher level," Niumatalolo said. "I have confidence that Jarod can do the job. I know he can run this offense."

Meanwhile, Navy's defense has stepped up during the current three-game winning streak. Opponents were averaging 30 points and 415 total yards against the Midshipmen through three games. Those figures have only fallen by five points and 31 yards the past three games, but the defense has been more opportunistic in terms of coming up with turnovers and third-down stops.

"We've made some progress in some areas. I like the way we're running to the football, the fact we've been able to create some turnovers," Green said. "Next week starts a new season and we still have to improve in a lot of ways. We need to be better than we have been to date."

Green has been particularly pleased with the development of the defensive line, which will be bolstered by the return of Walsh against Pittsburgh. Freshman Jabaree Tuani has been outstanding in place of Walsh at left end while nose guard Nate Frazier has been tough to block in recent games. Right end Matt Nechak, a converted outside linebacker, seems to be settling into the position.

"The defensive line has played really well the last three weeks. If there is one area of the defense that has really stepped up, it's got to be the d line," Green said. "Tuani has given us a big lift. Nate has been a force up front as far as causing some havoc. Nechak has quietly gotten the job done, taken care of his responsibilities. Those three down guys have been really consistent in terms of coming off the ball and making things happen."

Sophomore safety Wyatt Middleton has probably been the Most Valuable Player on defense so far, recording team-highs of 42 tackles and four pass breakups.

"Wyatt gets better and better every week. He's our best tackler and has made a ton of plays. He's playing with a lot of confidence," Green said.