Tag: Navy Midshipmen

Oct 1, 2022; Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA; Tulsa Golden Hurricane wide receiver Keylon Stokes (2) runs after a catch during the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Cincinnati won 31-21. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

Tulsa, after consecutive losses, aims to bounce back at Navy

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Tulsa will try to avoid a third straight defeat when it meets Navy in an American Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday in Annapolis, Md.

Tulsa (2-3, 0-1 AAC) fell 31-21 at home to Cincinnati in its conference opener last week, one game after taking a 35-27 loss at then-No. 16 Ole Miss. Cincinnati is now back in the AP poll at No. 24 while undefeated Ole Miss has soared to No. 9.

The Golden Hurricane managed just 36 rushing yards on 45 carries against Cincinnati. Tulsa quarterbacks Davis Brin and Braylon Braxton lost a combined 72 yards as the Bearcats racked up 11 sacks.

One bright spot for Tulsa was the season debut of Deneric Prince, who missed September due to an undisclosed injury. Prince rushed for 71 yards and two touchdowns on 18 attempts.

“First game back, so (he’s) got to knock a little rust off, but it was obviously good to have him back and I think his presence is gonna help us tremendously throughout the rest of the year as long as we continue to keep growing,” Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said.

Brin, a senior, played through an undisclosed injury to complete 18 of 36 passes for 237 yards with two interceptions. Montgomery said Brin remains day-to-day, adding the QB was “not any worse for wear” than last week.

Navy (1-3, 1-1) couldn’t build on the success of a 23-20, double-overtime win over East Carolina on Sept. 24. The Midshipmen lost 13-10 at Air Force last Saturday and are ranked 129th of 131 teams in scoring offense (13.3 points per game).

“What I told our guys is we’re not far off,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “We’ve got some resilient kids, and we’re looking forward to bouncing back against Tulsa.”

In a rarity for the service academy, Navy gained more yards through the air (129) than on the ground (114) last week. Quarterback Tai Lavatai has gone 26-for-50 passing through four games after attempting 61 passes last season. He already has thrown for 515 yards, eclipsing last year’s total of 449.

“I don’t see us throwing the ball 35 times or stuff like that, but we’ve definitely got to take advantage of his arm,” Niumatalolo said. “Maybe if there’s one bright spot, the pass protection’s been decent for us. (But) we don’t want to make a living off throwing the ball a ton. That’s not who we are.”

Navy leads the all-time series 7-2, including a 20-17 win last year at Tulsa. Both of the Golden Hurricanes’ victories came in Annapolis.

–Field Level Media

Dec 11, 2021; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Navy Midshipmen running back Maquel Haywood (24) gets stuffed on a carry against the Army Black Knights during the second quarter of the 122nd Army-Navy game. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

Navy comes through on key plays, beats Army 17-13

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Navy scored on its opening drives of both halves and its defense did the rest Saturday, shutting down the potent rushing attack of Army in a 17-13 victory in East Rutherford, N.Y. in the 122nd edition of the storied rivalry.

With the victory, the three service academies, including Air Force, finished tied for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, sharing the trophy for the first time since 1993. Last year’s champion Army retains the trophy.

Quarterback Tai Lavatai scored both touchdowns for Navy (4-8), on runs of eight and two yards. He carried 20 times for 62 yards and was 4-of-6 passing for 82 yards on a day in which Navy seemed to have the answers on all the game’s key plays.

The Midshipmen earned the victory in part by milking more than half of the fourth quarter – an 8:55 drive that covered 49 yards in 15 plays and was capped by a 43-yard field goal by Bijan Nichols with 6:10 to go.

The drive was extended by a fake punt at their own 34 yard-line when linebacker Diego Fagot gained four yards on fourth-and-1 early in the drive.

Army (8-4) had two more possessions but failed to get into scoring position. With 1:27 left, Navy wrapped it up on a fourth-and-3 play as Jacob Busic and Fagot combined to stop Army quarterback Christian Anderson a yard short of a first down at the Navy 46.

Army, gunning for its fifth win over Navy in the last six years, had entered the game averaging 301 yards rushing, but was held to 196 yards by the fired-up Navy defense.

Anderson scored on a 56-yard touchdown run on the fourth snap of the game to give Army a 7-0 lead. But after that, the Mids defense, led by Fagot (nine tackles), bottled up the Black Knights triple-option attack.

Navy retaliated with an 83-yard drive. The Mids converted two key third-down plays in Black Knights’ territory as wideout Jayden Umbarger ripped off 27 yards on an end around. Three plays later, on third and goal, Lavatai surprised Army with an 8-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw.

Army led 13-7 at halftime, but Navy drove 74 yards following the second half kickoff.

Lavatai got the Mids into Black Knights territory with a 28-yard completion to Maquel Haywood. Then on 4th-and-4, Chance Warren took a handoff on a reverse and streaked up the right sideline for 26 yards to set up a 2-yard scoring run by Lavatai.

–Field Level Media

Nov 13, 2021; West Point, New York, USA; Army Black Knights head coach Jeff Monken leads his team out onto the field before a game against the Bucknell Bisons at Michie Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

Army looking to beat Navy for fifth time in 6 years

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Eight years ago, after Army lost to Navy for the 12th straight time, the Black Knights decided the only way to compete with the Midshipmen was to be like them.

So they hired a former Navy assistant coach and went about the business of mimicking the success of their service academy rival.

Mission accomplished.

Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J., when Army (8-3) meets Navy (3-8) for 122nd time, the Black Knights will try to best the Mids for the fifth time in the past six years and capture their fourth Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy in the last five seasons.

The author of Army’s turnaround is Jeff Monken, 54. He coached at Navy from 2002-07 under Paul Johnson, helping the Mids to five CIC trophies and five bowl games. When Johnson departed for Georgia Tech, Monken followed, while fellow Navy assistant Ken Niumatalolo stayed on board to take over the program.

Niumatalolo has guided the Midshipmen to six more CIC titles and 10 bowl games. Navy has struggled this year but a lot of that has been the level of competition. The Mids have had the misfortune of facing six of the nation’s top 22 defenses as ranked by Pro Football Focus, including Notre Dame and Cincinnati.

“We’ve been improving,” Niumatalolo said. “But if you’re a boxer and you’re fighting Floyd Mayweather, you might have gotten better but you’ve got six black eyes.”

The Army defense will be tough to solve for Navy as well. The Black Knights have five starters back from last year’s defense that pitched a shutout in a 15-0 win against the Midshipmen. Linebacker Arik Smith leads the team in tackles (67), while Andre Carter II (14.5 sacks) has blossomed as a pass rusher.

“This is the biggest game of the year,” said Army defensive back Marquel Broughton. “This is the biggest rivalry in football, the most intense rivalry in college football.”

Army ranks second in the nation in rushing (301.2 yards per game) and features a balanced attack with Tyrell Robinson (582 yards), who averages 9.9 yards per carry, Tyhier Tyler (470 yards) and quarterback Christian Anderson (519 yards).

Navy, which ranks No. 7 in the country in rushing (228.2), counters with the inside power of Isaac Ruoss (608 yards) and the outside speed of Carlinos Acie (546 yards), who averages 9.6 yards per rush.

During the game, the teams will honor the memory of Navy SEAL commander Brian Bourgeois, 43, who tragically died in a training accident on Saturday while fast-roping from a helicopter. Bourgeois played four seasons for Navy.

–Field Level Media

Nov 6, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Navy Midshipmen running back Carlinos Acie (25) is tackled by Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety DJ Brown (2) in the first quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Temple ends turbulent season with finale against Navy

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It was a win that held such promise for Temple — 34-31 over Memphis in its American Athletic Conference opener — as their gifted new quarterback threw for 322 yards and three touchdowns.

With D’Wan Mathis — a 6-foot-6, dual-threat transfer from Georgia — running the show, it was exciting to consider the possibilities for the Owls.

But eight weeks later, Temple (3-8, 1-6) can’t wait for the season to end. The Owls have lost six straight games, none by fewer than 20 points, and their quarterback with the tantalizing talent has an uncertain future after announcing he was leaving the school and then reversing course a few days later.

Mathis was one of six scholarship players this year to declare he was departing a program that has fallen into disrepair under third-year coach Rod Carey. On their way out, some of the players have ripped Carey and his staff via social media.

It’s been a humbling downward spiral for Temple, which finishes its season Saturday against visiting Navy (2-8, 2-5).

“Guys, they leave for different reasons — reasons that, a lot of them, they haven’t really talked to me about,” Carey said. “That’s OK. That’s their business.”

It’s been a trying season as well for Navy, encapsulated by a 38-35 loss last Saturday to visiting East Carolina. The Midshipmen were on the verge of an upset of the bowl-bound Pirates, leading by eight points with six minutes left, but lost on a 54-yard field goal at the gun by Owen Daffer.

“This is a hard one,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “There’s been some tough losses this year. This one was obviously No. 1.”

With Army (7-3) still on the schedule, Navy still has much to play for. The positive for the Mids on Saturday was the play of their offense, which ranks last in the AAC but rolled up 345 yards rushing — led by Carlinos Acie’s 155 yards on six carries.

Temple will counter with quarterback Justin Lynch, who held the job early in the year, then lost it before regaining it when Mathis went down with an ankle injury.

–Field Level Media

Nov 6, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Navy Midshipmen running back Carlinos Acie (25) is tackled by Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety DJ Brown (2) in the first quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Kyren Williams helps No. 10 Notre Dame cruise past Navy

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Kyren Williams ran for two touchdowns and No. 10 Notre Dame recorded a key fourth-quarter safety in a 34-6 win over Navy on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.

Jack Coan went 23-for-29 passing for 269 yards and one touchdown, and Kevin Austin Jr. had six receptions for a career-high 139 yards for Notre Dame (8-1). Williams gained 95 yards on 17 carries.

Midshipmen starting quarterback Tai Lavatai sustained a neck injury during the second quarter and did not return. Xavier Arline replaced him and only had 18 passing yards and 8 rushing on eight attempts. Fullback Isaac Ruoss ran for 73 yards on 22 attempts for Navy (2-7).

The Fighting Irish outgained the Midshipmen 430-184.

Navy kicker Bijan Nichols connected on a 49-yard field goal with 3:03 left in the opening quarter after consecutive sacks on first and second down lengthened the distance. The Midshipmen appeared to have control when it forced a turnover on downs on the ensuing drive, with John Marshall sacking Coan on fourth-and-four from the Navy 19.

The Fighting Irish managed a 24-yard field goal by Jonathan Doerer on the next drive, then forced a three-and-out. With 2:46 left in the half, Williams became the first player to find the end zone with a 1-yard run at the end of an 11-play drive, making it 10-3.

Notre Dame forced another three-and-out to fit in a five-play, 95-yard before halftime. After Williams runs of 10 and 12 yards, Coan aired it out to Austin down the left sideline for a 70-yard touchdown in the final minute of the half.

The Midshipmen opened the third quarter with a 14-play, 71-yard drive that chewed up 9:36 of game time, but settled for Nichols’ 21-yard field goal.

Early in the fourth, Notre Dame pinned Navy at its 1-yard line on a Jay Bramblett punt. Two plays later, Arline attempted an option pitch to his running back in the end zone but the ball hit the turf. He landed on it, absorbing a safety and avoiding an Irish touchdown.

Leading 19-6, Notre Dame poured it on with another stellar drive. Williams scored a 20-yard touchdown on a run that included two cuts, a juke and a spin move to slide through the defense. He fumbled at the 1 but recovered the ball in the end zone, and on a rollout Coan tossed a completion to Braden Lenzy for a two-point conversion.

Freshman Logan Diggs added a late 8-yard rushing score.

The Irish played without midseason All-American safety Kyle Hamilton (knee) for the second straight game. Receiver Avery Davis suffered a left knee injury during the fourth.

–Field Level Media

Oct 23, 2021; Annapolis, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats tight end Josh Whyle (81) celebrates with wide receiver Tre Tucker (7) after scoring a first quarter touchdown against the Navy Midshipmen at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

No. 2 Cincinnati holds off Navy to remain unbeaten

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No. 2 Cincinnati overcame a rocky first half and held off a late rally from host Navy to remain undefeated, winning 27-20 on Saturday in an American Athletic Conference contest in Annapolis, Md.

Jerome Ford rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and Desmond Ridder connected with tight end Josh Whyle for a pair of touchdowns for the Bearcats (7-0, 3-0 AAC).

Tai Lavatai completed 11 of 15 passes for 116 yards and rushed for two scores and fullback Isaac Ruoss ran for a team-high 80 yards on 19 carries for the Midshipmen (1-6, 1-4).

Down by 14 late in the fourth quarter, Navy engineered a 16-play, 90-yard drive aided by two Cincinnati penalties: roughing the passer on a would-be interception and pass interference at the 1-yard line.

Lavatai punched in his second TD run of the day with 50 seconds left and the Midshipmen recovered their onside kick, but their last-ditch effort to tie the game fell short when Cincinnati cornerback Arquon Bush intercepted Lavatai.

It took until the final play before halftime for the Bearcats to grab their first lead. Cincinnati hurt itself with 11 penalties for 93 yards, twice jumping offsides before Navy fourth-and-short attempts.

The Midshipmen used their second possession of the game effectively, keeping Cincinnati’s offense on ice by running 13 plays and 7:12 of game time. A 19-yard wide receiver reverse to Jayden Umbarger helped set up Lavatai’s 2-yard touchdown on a draw run.

But Navy attempted a surprise onside kick and Cincinnati picked it up near midfield. Just a minute later, Ridder hit Whyle over the top for a 31-yard score to tie it 7-7.

Navy moved back ahead with a field goal and stalled the next Bearcat drive when Ridder threw an interception to Jamal Glenn in coverage near the goal line.

Later, with the score 10-10, the Midshipmen ran down the first-half game clock and went for a long field goal, but it was blocked and returned by Deshawn Pace. In a fortunate turn for Cincinnati, Pace stepped out of bounds with one second left, allowing his kicker Alex Bales time to knock down a 52-yard field goal that delivered the Bearcats a 13-10 halftime lead.

That finally got Cincinnati going. The Bearcats visited the end zone twice in the third quarter, when Ford broke away for a 43-yard touchdown scamper and Ridder tossed a play-action dump pass to Whyle for a 3-yarder.

Ridder finished with 176 yards on 18-for-30 passing with two TDs and an interception. Whyle led the Bearcats with 60 receiving yards.

–Field Level Media

Memphis Tigers wide receiver Calvin Austin III celebrates a touchdown reception against the Arkansas State Red Wolves during their game at Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro, Ark. On Sept. 11, 2021. Jrca0344

Memphis looking to end three-game skid with bounce back win vs. Navy

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Memphis won’t have to wait long for a chance to erase its three-game losing streak, as the Tigers return home Thursday night to face a similarly struggling conference opponent in Navy.

Memphis (3-3, 0-2 AAC) hasn’t won since upsetting Mississippi State 31-29 in Week 3 of the FBS season to improve to 3-0. The Tigers dropped their next three outings by a combined 12 points. Most recent was Saturday’s 35-29 loss at Tulsa after the Tigers made it close in the fourth quarter with two 75-yard touchdown drives.

“Unfortunately it’s been a similar narrative in all of our games, right, being down the last possession,” Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield said. “And looking at our opponent ahead at Navy, a lot of their games have come down to one possession. … Like a lot of teams, the records necessarily don’t indicate what type of team you’re getting.”

The close losses tell Silverfield that his team simply needs to drill down on cleaning up the details. Against Tulsa, for instance, the Tigers gained 614 yards of total offense but lost the turnover battle 3-0 and missed three field goals and an extra point.

Senior all-conference wideout Calvin Austin III (48 receptions, 837 yards, eight TDs to lead Memphis) said Saturday the team needed to address its “sense of entitlement” over assuming it would beat teams it’s supposed to beat.

“I appreciate Calvin’s mature enough to recognize that’s a trend and we gotta make sure that it doesn’t continue on our team or find a way to rear its head in the locker room,” Silverfield said.

Behind quarterback Tai Lavatai, the Navy offense has woken up. After three weeks it was averaging 10.0 points per game, worst in FBS. But the Midshipmen scored 34 and 24 points the last two weeks against respectable conference opponents in UCF and then-No. 24 SMU.

Lavatai completed his first career touchdown pass on a flea-flicker against SMU, but Navy (1-4, 1-2) couldn’t hold on and lost 31-24.

Coach Ken Niumatalolo said his team is preparing for “a typical Memphis team.” The Tigers have won between eight and 10 games for seven consecutive seasons and taken their last two meetings with Navy.

“They’ve got good coaches on their staff, good players,” Niumatalolo said. “Tough loss versus Tulsa. We had a tough loss last week also versus SMU. But both of us, we’ve got to find a way to bounce back, and the team that does that is the team that’s gonna be successful.”

–Field Level Media

Oct 9, 2021; Annapolis, Maryland, USA; Navy Midshipmen fullback Kai Puailoa-Rojas (21) catches a pass for a touch down as Southern Methodist Mustangs safety Isaiah Nwokobia (12) defends during the first half at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Tanner Mordecai heroics push No. 24 SMU past feisty Navy

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Jordan Kerley hauled in a diving, go-ahead touchdown pass from Tanner Mordecai to help the No. 24 SMU Mustangs escape Annapolis, Md., Saturday with a 31-24 win over the Navy Midshipmen.

The 22-yard strike came with 8:19 remaining, and the Mustangs’ defense forced two turnovers on downs to keep Navy at bay the rest of the game.

SMU (6-0, 2-0 AAC) remained undefeated as Mordecai went 30-for-40 passing for 324 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The nation’s leader in passing touchdowns now has 26 on the year.

In his second straight start, QB Tai Lavatai went 4-for-7 for 64 yards and a touchdown and led Navy (1-4, 1-2 AAC) with 53 rushing yards.

SMU opened the scoring just 92 seconds into the game when Mordecai found Roderick Roberson Jr. over the top for a 66-yard TD connection on a fourth-and-1. Navy tied it on its second possession when Chance Warren broke free on an option pitch for a 23-yard score.

The run-heavy Navy offense surprised the Mustangs in the second quarter with a flea-flicker, and Lavatai hit Kai Puailoa-Rojas for a quick 37-yard touchdown to push Navy ahead.

Mordecai guided SMU down the field on the next drive until he was intercepted in the end zone by Navy’s Johnny Hodges. Mordecai turned the ball over once again on his next possession; Mids nose guard Clay Cromwell stripped him and defensive captain Diego Fagot returned the fumble 20 yards to make it 21-7.

Navy’s growing momentum went out the window on the following kickoff, returned by Bryan Massey 95 yards down the right sideline for a Mustang touchdown. SMU leveled the score 21-21 before halftime when Tre Siggers punched it in from 2 yards.

The two sides traded field goals in the third quarter, including Navy’s Bijan Nichols converting from 50 yards out.

The result marked SMU’s first road win over Navy since 1998. The Mustangs and No. 5 Cincinnati remain the American Athletic Conference’s only remaining unbeaten teams.

–Field Level Media

Sep 18, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars cornerback Marcus Jones (8) celebrates his touchdown during the second quarter against the Grambling State Tigers at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Houston looks to ride momentum into clash vs. Navy

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Two American Athletic Conference programs that got off to vastly different starts to the season will kick off their conference slates when Houston hosts Navy on Saturday night.

After a season-opening loss to future Big 12 rival Texas Tech, Houston (2-1) demolished its next two opponents, Rice and Grambling, to carry momentum into AAC play. Picked fourth in last month’s AAC preseason poll, Houston still can present a challenge to No. 8 Cincinnati atop the conference.

It wasn’t all positive takeaways from the Cougars’ 45-0 blowout of Grambling on Saturday. Starting quarterback Clayton Tune left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury. Coach Dana Holgorsen revealed the junior sustained the injury in the previous week and missed two days of practice because of it.

“I own that. It’s my responsibility to get those guys ready,” Holgorsen said Monday. “When the backup hasn’t taken hardly any snaps in games, you kinda lean towards doing what you gotta do to get your starter out there.”

Ike Ogbogu subbed in for Tune against Grambling and passed for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Tune’s availability against Navy will depend on how he progresses through practice this week.

Houston gets the conference’s first crack at Navy (0-2), owner of arguably the worst offense of the young college football season. No FBS team has averaged fewer points per game than Navy (5.0); its 233 yards per game also ranks fourth-worst in the nation.

It will be Navy’s first game since athletic director Chet Gladchuk fired longtime offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper — then re-hired him to serve as quarterbacks coach after Ken Niumatalolo asked him to reconsider. Niumatalolo will assume full-time play-calling duties; the 14th-year head coach revealed he called Navy’s plays as recently as Week 1 against Marshall.

Niumatalolo said Navy’s open date last week came at a good time, allowing the offense to return to fundamentals at practice.

“I was encouraged by just the leadership of this team,” Niumatalolo said. “Nobody’s quitting. … Our guys continue to keep working. That’s all you can do right now. There’s so much flips and changes in a season.

“With all that we have still to play for, it’s a long season. We’ve got to keep going, got to keep grinding.”

–Field Level Media