Mids won't duck issue of letdown

Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo is referring to the Oregon football team this week when urging his players to keep an even keel.

Oregon shocked the college football world by blowing out fourth-ranked USC, 47-20, on Nov. 1. The Ducks rose to seventh in the Associated Press poll and promptly got upset themselves, falling 51-42 to Stanford in a shootout on Saturday.

"I draw a parallel with Oregon. They went from the high of beating USC to the low of losing to Stanford," Niumatalolo said.

Navy is coming off a stunning 23-21 upset of 19th-ranked Notre Dame and now must refocus its attention on Delaware, a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA). Niumatalolo said the Midshipmen need to take a business-like approach and go about their normal routine despite drawing national attention for knocking off the Fighting Irish.

"Obviously our kids are very happy. A lot of us are still on cloud nine. That's human nature," said Niumatalolo, adding that Navy coaches reviewed the Notre Dame tape on Sunday and handed out grades to the players yesterday the same way they did the week before following the loss to Temple.

"Hopefully, we can learn from our mistakes and move forward. It's going to be hard because a lot of people are patting us on the back. We better get ready because we know (Delaware) is a very good team. If we don't get out of this euphoria, they will knock it out of us real quick," Niumatalolo added.

Niumatalolo could actually use his own program as an example of the ups and downs that can occur in college football. In 2007, Navy suffered an embarrassing 59-52 upset loss on Homecoming to a Delaware squad led by quarterback Joe Flacco. One week later, the Midshipmen made history by ending their 43-game losing streak to Notre Dame with a thrilling 46-44 victory in triple-overtime. Now the Midshipmen need to make sure a similar scenario doesn't play out.

"The entire Brigade has been very supportive of the football team this year so naturally they were very excited about seeing us beat

Notre Dame. It was a great win for the whole academy and everyone was just ecstatic about it," Navy defensive captain Ross Pospisil said. "We enjoyed it for a day, but then we had to move on to Delaware. Maybe after the season is over we can reflect on it a little more."

In 2007, Navy followed its monumental win over Notre Dame with a bizarre 74-62 shootout victory over lowly North Texas State. The Midshipmen came out flat and gave up a whopping 49 points in the first half as an unknown freshman quarterback named Giovanni Vizza set an NCAA record by tossing seven touchdown passes.

"We want to be one of those teams that has the capability to win a big game then come back the following week totally focused on the next opponent," Pospisil said. "We have struggled with that in the past. So this week more than ever we need to really be focused and dialed in."

Delaware (6-3) is ranked No. 23 in the Sports Network's latest FCS poll, could enhance its chances of reaching the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs by beating Navy. The Blue Hens finish the regular season next week against Colonial Athletic Association rival and third-ranked Villanova.

"Delaware's) got a major task down there this weekend at Navy," New Hampshire coach Sean McDonnell said during yesterday's CAA teleconference. "If (Delaware) wins down there, I don't care what happens against Villanova. They should be in the playoffs with the schedule they play."

Two seasons ago, Flacco came to Annapolis and showed his NFL ability by completing 30 of 41 passes for 434 yards and four touchdowns against Navy. The Pittsburgh transfer would wind up becoming a first round draft choice and starting as a rookie for the Baltimore Ravens.

Delaware's offense is led by another major college transfer with pro potential again this season. Pat Devlin was the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year and rated the nation's fourth-best quarterback recruit coming out of Downington East High. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder picked Penn State over Miami, but left after two seasons because he was disgruntled about being the backup to Daryll Clark.

Devlin has lived up to his advanced billing so far, having completed 161 of 260 passes (62 percent) for 2063 yards and 15 touchdowns. Wide receiver Mark Duncan, a product of Suitland High in Prince George's County, has been the top target with 32 catches for 507 yards and six touchdowns.

Linebacker Benard Makumbi (56 tackles) anchors a Delaware defense that ranks 24th in the FCS with 19.1 points allowed per game. The Blue Hens may be without one of their top tacklers as safety Anthony Bratton (49 tackles) suffered a severe ankle injury in Saturday's 28-24 win over Hofstra.

Delaware's roster is always loaded with Division I-A transfers and this year is no different with players from Michigan State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Wisconsin and elsewhere. The Blue Hens are 2-1 against the Midshipmen this decade, having also won 21-17 in Annapolis in 2003 - the year they captured the Division I-AA national championship.

"Delaware is a great program, which always play us tough," Pospisil said. "Delaware always has terrific athletes. There are a lot of players on this team that probably wouldn't get recruited to Delaware."

It will be Senior Day in Annapolis with Pospisil and other members of the Class of 2010 playing their final home game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

"No senior class wants to go out losing on Senior Day. So this will definitely be an emotional game for them," Navy junior quarterback Ricky Dobbs said. "This is their last time playing in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. It puts a lot of pressure on the guys who aren't seniors to make sure we send them out in style."