I considered skipping my usual Navy football follow-up column in the wake of Saturday’s disappointing 35-0 shutout loss to Tulane. This game was so ugly and so bad for the Midshipmen there did not seem to be any point in making further comment.
However, after much thought, I do believe we need to discuss this devastating defeat and what it means in the grand scheme of things.
First, let’s look at the facts. Navy’s offense was a mess from start to finish and finished with season-lows for points, total yards (113), rushing yards (100) and passing yards (13). Coach Brian Newberry was spot-on describing the offensive performance as “inept.”
Navy did nothing on two possessions to start the game, picking up one first down and having to punt twice from deep in its own territory. The Mids showed some life on their third possession with quarterback Blake Horvath breaking loose on two runs that brought the ball to the Tulane 45-yard line, marking one of only two times the Mids made it into enemy territory. Unfortunately, Horvath got driven to the ground hard by linebacker Tyler Grubbs and had to leave the game.
Backup Braxton Woodson took over under center, but on fourth-and-4, a short pass bounced off the chest of wide receiver Nathan Kent and was intercepted. That pickoff was probably on Woodson, who threw a 100 MPH fastball to a receiver just 5 yards away.
Navy’s only other viable scoring opportunity came on its next possession after a Tulane offsides penalty in a punting situation put the offense back on the field. Navy faced fourth-and-2 at the 35-yard line. Woodson threw a pass over the middle that snipe Brandon Chatman appeared to catch for a first down, but was overturned by replay and became a turnover on downs.
“We got inside the 40 twice and didn’t convert on fourth down. Against a team like that you have to be able to convert in those situations and get points,” Newberry said Monday.
Navy never got past its own 40-yard line on six subsequent possessions and that inability to muster any offense whatsoever made it easy for Tulane to steadily take control. In fact, the Midshipmen only ran 15 offensive plays in the second half, which is mind-boggling.
Naturally, the Navy defense got worn down from spending so much time on the field against a Tulane attack that was content to grind it out on the ground. The Green Wave wound up dominating time of possession, holding the ball for almost 36 minutes.
Let’s take a moment to give full credit to the Tulane defense, which is loaded with talent. Defensive tackle Patrick Jenkins is a big-time NFL prospect, while there are several other defensive players with pro potential.
It’s a unit that is also extremely well-coached. Saturday. That was evident on Navy’s second possession when offensive coordinator Drew Cronic ran a couple misdirection plays and there were defenders right there to make the tackle at the line of scrimmage.
“I thought Tulane had a good [defensive] plan. It wasn’t an elaborate plan. It was pretty straight-forward and basic,” Newberry said. “They executed really, really well and we didn’t on the offensive side of the football.”
Considering Gasparato’s background I figured we would see a lot more Wing-T elements, run-pass option plays and other unique wrinkles. In defense of Cronic, it is impossible to get into any rhythm as a play-caller and set up plays when the offense can’t pick up a first down.
Navy was woeful on third and fourth down, converting on just two of 14 such situations. It all started with getting stuffed on first down with Newberry noting that Navy was off schedule on 12 of 17 second down plays.
“Being in second-and-9 [or worse] is a bad recipe. We’ve got to be better on first-and-10. We have to be a little more patient and take what people give us,” he said.
Navy averaged less than three yards per rushing attempt with 15 carries gaining three yards or less. Those numbers speak to getting dominated at the line of scrimmage and Newberry acknowledged that was the case.
“The thing that you see when you watch film, and it’s been a bit of an issue when we haven’t played well offensively, is simply not maintaining or gaining leverage on our blocks,” Newberry said. “We’ve got to be better fundamentally and take better steps. We have to be able to anticipate what the defense is doing a bit better.”
Which brings us to Woodson, who did not play well in relief of Horvath. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound sophomore looked tentative running the ball and totaled just 24 yards on 13 carries. He was off target throwing and was also victimized by a couple drops in completing just 3 of 10 passes for 13 yards.
Woodson also committed a fumble. Newberry expressed disappointment about the backup’s performance following the game and again on Monday.
“Like I said after the game, Braxton is really talented and is a guy we should be able to win with, but he’s got to take better command of the offense. Things shouldn’t change when he goes in there,” Newberry said. “He’s a sophomore now and has played a lot of snaps, had a lot of practices under his belt.”
Newberry said following Saturday’s game that Horvath has been dealing with a rib injury that also causes back spasms, with both issues being aggravated by the hard tackle in the first quarter. Navy has a bye this weekend, giving Horvath and several other injured players time to heal and get healthy.
Newberry said Monday it was way too early to determine whether Horvath will be available against East Carolina on Nov. 29.
“It’s really a day-to-day deal right now. We’ll evaluate it as we go,” he said. “I don’t want Blake out there if he’s not healthy and confident.”
That sets up the possibility of Woodson making his second career start and the youngster would need to be a lot better than he has been so far this season to give Navy a chance to win on the road against an ECU club that has won three in a row to get bowl eligible.
“I’ve seen Braxton run this offense at a high level in practice. He’s got to go play with confidence and take command of things,” Newberry said. “He’s a talented young man, but at the end of the day you need to have the it factor out on the field and take control of the offense.”
While the offense bears the brunt of the blame, Newberry said Saturday’s embarrassing 35-0 shellacking was an organization-wide failure. He made it clear the coaching staff must accept responsibility as well.
“It simply was not good enough and there was plenty of responsibility passed around. We didn’t play well enough, we didn’t execute well enough as far as the basic fundamentals and techniques of what we’re trying to do,” Newberry said. “There were some adjustments that could have been made on both sides of the football and that’s on us as coaches.”
Perhaps the most disturbing development is that, over the past month, Navy has played two huge games of national importance that were heavily hyped and laid a stinky egg in both. The Midshipmen committed six turnovers, four on offense and two on special teams, in getting routed 51-14 by Notre Dame in a matchup of then-nationally ranked teams.
After a sizzling start to the season that produced a 6-0 record, Navy (7-3) has lost three of its last four. If the Midshipmen are able to turn things around and win out, they could reach double digits for wins for only the sixth time in program history.
“This team has a lot of pride. We’re upset and disappointed, but the only way to get over that is to get back to work and go win the next one,” Newberry said. “There’s a lot to learn from this game all-around. Coaches and players, we’ve all got to be better. It’s all about us and how we respond. We’ve got a good football team. When we do things the right way and execute at a high level I think we can play with anybody.”
Have a news tip? Contact Bill Wagner at bwagner@capgaznews.com, 443-534-0102 and x.com/@BWagner_CapGaz.