Houston at Navy - Pregame Notes

 

Navy (2-4) hosts Houston (3-3) in a Noon contest on Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.  This will be the ninth meeting between the two schools and the last meeting as AAC foes.  The Cougars will be moving to the Big 12 conference next season.

Houston holds a 6-2 record against the Midshipmen.  Saturday's contest will be aired on ESPNU.

Navy is coming off a tough loss to SMU, 40-34 last Friday.  The Cougars are coming off a 33-32 win at Memphis on October 7.

Tai Lavatai is the offensive leader of the team.  Lavatai has thrown for 66o yards and 4 touchdowns on a running heavy team.  He also has the most carries (94) and touchdowns (5) on the ground.  Fullback Doba Fofana leads the team with 336 yards rushing.  Navy is ranked 5th in the nation in rushing yards, averaging 255.2 yards per game.

Jayden Umbarger leads the receiving corps with 13 receptions for 169 yards and one touchdown.  Slotback Vincent Terrell Jr. also has six receptions and two touchdowns.

John Marshall has 42 tackles and two sacks for the defense.

Clayton Tune has completed 64.7% of his passes for the Cougars.  He has thrown for 1567 yards and 12 touchdowns.  Tune's top target is Nathaniel Dell.  Dell has 43 receptions for 534 yards and six touchdowns.

Brandon Campbell (a USC transfer) and Tune lead the Houston running game.  Campbell has 67 carries for 296 yards and three touchdowns.  Tune has 66 carries for 211 yards and three touchdowns.

Donavan Mutin and Gervarrius Owens have 33 and 32 tackles respectively this season.  Mutin has four tackles for a loss and Owens has an interception.

Houston is a small favorite in the game.

Navy Dominates Tulsa, 53-21

Navy came into their game against visiting Tulsa as a slight underdog.  With 5:10 left in the first quarter, Daniel Davies kicked the first of his three field goals giving Navy a lead that they would not give up for the rest of the game.  The Mids finished the game against their AAC opponent, 53-21 improving Navy's record to 2-3 and 2-1 in the AAC.

The Midshipmen were playing on all cylinders on both sides of the football for the first time this season.  The offense looked like Navy football of old and rushed for 455 yards and five touchdowns in the game.  Five ball carriers averaged over 5 yards per carry and four of them rushed for over 60 yards in the game.

Daba Fofana was impressive carrying the ball this afternoon, rushing for 159 yards and three touchdowns. Vincent Terrell II carried the ball 17 times for 94 yards and a touchdown to complement Fofana and created a one-two punch that Tulsa couldn't contain.

Brian Newberry's defense would not be outdone holding Tulsa to just 25 yards rushing in the game.  The defense also had three interceptions, six quarterback hurries, and five pass breakups in the game.

Colin Ramos, Nicholas Straw, and Elias Larry each had interceptions in the game.  Larry also had two pass breakups causing problems for Tulsa quarterback Davis Brin.

Where Did That Come From - On Navy's third drive of the game, freshman wide receiver got the fans excited.  Nathan Kent, on his first collegiate play,  took a Tai Lavatai hand off and used his impressive speed to run for 70 yards and a touchdown giving Navy a 10-0 lead.

Drive of the Game - On Navy's first drive of the second half, Coach Ken Niumatalolo obviously wanted to keep the momentum that they had build up in the first half.  The Mids faced a 4th-and-3 on their own 46 yard line and ran a perfect fake punt.  Rayuan Lane III took the snap, his first career carry, and sprinted down the sideline for 28 yards giving Navy a first down at Tulsa's 26 yard line.  On the next play, Niumatalolo called another gutsy play.  Lavatai pitched the ball to Kai Puailoa-Rojas who then threw the ball back to Lavatai for a 26 yard touchdown giving Navy a 43-14 lead.

Performance of the Game - The Navy offense scored 26 points in the second quarter.  Navy has not scored that many points in a game this season.  Fofana had three touchdowns on the ground, Davies kicked the second of his three field goals, and the defense forced a safety.

Tulsa Coach Philip Montgomery on Navy's Running Game - "Well obviously it's a tough offense to go against.  If you let the fullback get going then it really opens up the rest of their offense."

Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo on Navy's Offense - "It is the young men.  They continue to come to work, continue to battle.  They haven't given up.  This team that showed up today, I expected this team. It's all them."

Next Week - Navy travels to SMU on Friday and Tulsa has an off week.

Tulsa at Navy - Pregame Notes

 

Navy (1-3) hosts the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (2-3) on Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.  The Mids lead the series against Tulsa, 7-2 but just 2-2 at home.

The Midshipmen are coming off a tough loss to military academy rivals, Air Force 13-10.  Tulsa fell to Cincinnati, 31-21.

Tulsa is led by quarterback, Davis Brin.  Brin has thrown for 1,555 yards and 12 touchdowns.  He has thrown just 3 interceptions.  Brin is averaging 15.4 yards per completion, which is good for third-best in the country.

Tulsa's receiving leaders are Keylon Stokes who has 37 catches and 3 TDs and JuanCarlos Santana who has reigned in 22 catches 4 TDs. 

Steven Anderson leads the Tulsa running game with 229 yards and 4 TDs.  

The cornerstones of the Golden Hurricane defense is graduate student Bryson Powers who has 47 tackles and Justin Wright who has 38. 

The Midshipmen offense is lead by junior quarterback, Tai Lavatai.  Lavatia leads the team in rushing with 135 yards and 3 TDs.  He has completed 52% of his passes for 515 yards and 2 TDs.  Jayden Umbarger has 8 receptions for 110 yards to lead the receivers.

John Marshall leads the defense with 34 tackles and 2 sacks this season.

Tomorrow's game will be televised on CBS Sports Network and kickoff is scheduled for 3:30.