Under his watch as head coach, one of the nation’s oldest and proudest college football programs had come two possessions and one FCS opponent away from going winless. For the third straight year, they’d won fewer games than the season before. His assistants scrambled, his players left and recruits wavered.
Over their three-win season, the Midshipmen had displayed an atypical passivity and predictability. The chief driver of Niumatalolo’s trouble was his defense. The once fierce outfit that had surrendered 33.5 points per game and ranked among the worst in the country. And then there was Army.
Days earlier, Army had edged Navy to extend its winning streak in their storied, 130-year rivalry that packs more pride than any other in American sports.