By Michael Page

As if the challenges of two tough road games under unusual travel conditions weren't enough, Navy football now has some key injuries they will have to deal with on both sides of the ball. The Midshipmen, who lost to Notre Dame, 50-10, during their opener in Dublin, Ireland, have a bye week and then a Sept. 15 game at Penn State looming ahead.

"You can't dwell on it," Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "You've got to move on. That's kind of our approach right now. We got two weeks before we play Penn State."

Quarterback Trey Miller played through an ankle injury during the opener and is going to miss some practice time leading up to the Penn State game.

"We're just going to be careful," Niumatololo said. "If we were playing this week, he'd probably start practicing, but we are going to keep him in the boot for a couple of days. We're just being really cautious, because we got some time."

Miller, during his debut as the Navy starter, got an early chance to show his toughness, refusing to let an injury sideline him.

"If I can play, I'm going to play all the time until I can't go no more," said Miller, who completed 14 of 19 passes for 192 yards. "I just tried to keep playing. I was hobbling around; I wasn't trying to worry about it. Like I said, I wasn't going to come out."

Miller also showed that the run-heavy Navy offense could rely on him as a passer. With Navy falling behind Notre Dame early, Miller had to put the ball in the air in order for the Midshipmen to have a chance at narrowing the gap.

"I'm just encouraged to see that some of the things that we worked on in camp came to fruition," Niumatalolo said. "I thought [Miller] did some good things. He bought some time and made some plays with his feet to get more time to throw the football."

On defense, starting cornerback Jonathan Wev could be sidelined as he deals with his second concussion since training camp.

"He feels good," Niumatalolo said, "but when you have your second concussion, we just got to be really cautious with him, so the doctors are going to take their time. You know we've got a protocol for guys who have a concussion, so we just got to wait."

Posted Sept. 6, 2012