Navy Loses To Memphis 10-7 In A Defensive Battle
When Navy and Memphis get together points and yards are usually plentiful. Tonight was different, as both defenses played well and held the offenses to 17 combined points. Fullback Nelson Smith had 29 carries for 142 yards but the rest of the offense continued to be inconsistent. Navy (3-5, 3-3 AAC) was 2 for 13 on third down and a lot of those were manageable distance.
The defense used the month off to heal up and make corrections. It showed tonight as they held Memphis (6-2, 4-2 AAC) to 280 yards and got a couple three and outs on short fields. Diego Fagot had 8 tackles for the Mids. The defense also got 5 tackles for loss and forced a key fumble before halftime.
Bijan Nichols missed a 45 yard field goal after the offense had to call all their timeouts to avoid delay of game penalties. Defensive lineman J’arius Warren took the snap on a fake punt and ran for 24 yards. That play set up a Smith 22 yard TD run for the only Navy points of the night.
Brady White was 18 of 32 for 205 yards for Memphis. He kept a couple plays alive which led to key first downs for the Tigers. Navy was held under 300 yards rushing for the 8th straight game. That used to be a rare occurrence in the triple option era. Tyger Goslin got the start at quarterback for Navy. He had pick at the end of the half to cost them points. Xavier Arline came in to try to spark the offense but he dropped a snap and was responsible for the timeout issues on the last drive.
It gets no easier for Navy as 24th ranked Tulsa comes to Annapolis next Saturday for senior day. Game time and TV coverage are TBD.
