Navy, Cal Meet With Contrasting Styles

No two college bowl teams could be more dissimilar in offensive style than Navy and California, which will meet today in the Aloha Bowl at Honolulu. But the two quarterbacks, Navy’s Chris McCoy and Cal’s Pat Barnes, have prospered operating their disparate systems.

“Pat and I are what you call opposites on the field,” said McCoy, who set a school rushing record for quarterbacks with 1,228 yards and 16 touchdowns out of his team’s spread offense. “We run first and pass second, while they throw the ball practically all the time.”

No argument from Barnes.

“I only run when I have to,” said the 6-foot-4, 215-pounder, who had minus-83 yards rushing this season.

But Barnes shattered school records by passing for 3,499 yards and 31 touchdowns. In a four-overtime, 56-55 victory against Arizona, he passed for 503 yards and a Pacific-10 record eight touchdowns.

“Our goal is to throw the football down the field and score as quickly as we can,” said Barnes, a senior who is projected as one of the top NFL quarterback prospects. “We realize we probably won’t get as many possessions as usual against a ball-control team like Navy.”

Navy Coach Charlie Weatherbie is worried about the possessions Barnes will get.

“You’ve got to be able to mix it up against him,” Weatherbie said. “You can’t let him guess what coverage you’re in. . . . He has some really talented pass catchers in Bobby Shaw and Na’il Benjamin and their tight end, Tony Gonzalez.”

Cal’s coaches are equally as concerned about how to stop Navy.

“We just don’t see that type of offense often enough,” Bear defensive coordinator Tom Holmoe said.