The Navy Midshipmen begin the Post-Ricky Dobbs Era Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis against one of the FCS' best teams, the Delaware Blue Hens. In fact, Navy would be facing off against the 2010 FCS champion if Delaware had not blown an 19-0 lead against Eastern Washington in the national title game.
With Dobbs gone, Navy will hand the reins to Kriss Proctor, who should be able to match Dobbs' production on the ground but lacks the arm and throwing acumen of Dobbs. Proctor and the Navy offense should be able to do enough damage on the ground that the new quarterback's passing deficiencies won't cost them a win against Delaware, but it is definitely something to watch as the season develops.
Delaware too must replace a stalwart at quarterback with the graduation of Pat Devlin, and they plan to do that with a heavy dose of running back Andrew Pierce. Pierce, a true sophomore, rushed for 1,655 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, and will be the focal point of the Blue Hens offense against a Navy defense that returns only three starters.
As an aside, Maryland Terrapins fans might recognize #1 in a Blue Hens jersey - it's transfer Travis Hawkins, who played very little for Maryland last year but could have a huge impact in this game via the return game or out of the defense backfield.
Kick off is 3:30 P.M. on CBS Sports Network. Your announcing trio: Tim Brant, Randy Cross, Kaylee Hartung. You can also follow the game live at NavySports.com.