Another bad start for Mids
Navy embarrassed in second straight season opener, a rout by Marshall
It wasn’t quite as bad as BYU, but it was close.
For a second straight season opener, the Navy football team was not ready to play and got embarrassed by a formidable opponent.
Sophomore quarterback Grant Wells picked apart the Navy defense from start to finish in leading Marshall to a 49-7 victory over Navy on a sunny, warm Saturday in Annapolis.
An announced crowd of 30,131 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium watched Wells complete 20 of 30 passes for 328 yards with tall, rangy wide receiver Corey Gammage and quick, elusive slot receiver Talik Keaton doing most of the damage.
Gammage was running wide-open all game in collecting seven receptions for 94 yards, while Keaton proved equally difficult to cover in amassing 100 yards on five catches. Tailback Rasheen Ali was the finisher for the Thundering Herd, scoring four touchdowns on short runs.
Last season, Navy was dominated physically on both sides of the ball in a 55-3 beatdown by BYU. Thank goodness Delaware of the Football Championship Subdivision is the season-opening opponent in 2023.
What made this year’s opener frustrating for fans was the fact coach Ken Niumatalolo had repeatedly said that Navy football was back after finishing with a disappointing 3-7 record in 2020. The 14th-year leader said he was confident because he knew the Midshipmen had been properly prepared.
That certainly did not appear the case as the Mids looked overmatched on both sides of the ball by the Thundering Herd. Sophomore Tai Lavatai got the start at quarterback, but classmate Xavier Arline wound up getting more playing time. They led an offense that had its moments but could not sustain drives because of negative plays, mistakes and two turnovers.
Meanwhile, a defense that returned 13 players who started games last season and a ton of overall experience did not even resemble the unit that closed out the 2020 campaign by holding three straight opponents to less than 300 yards.
Defensive coordinator Brian Newberry’s characteristic aggressive style was absent for most of the game as Navy brought very little pressure and only blitzed occasionally. There were many times when no defender penetrated the backfield as Wells stood comfortably in the pocket and waited for receivers to come open.
Navy was just as bad on special teams, having both a field goal and a punt blocked.
Lavatai finished with only 11 rushing yards on 16 attempts largely because he was sacked four times. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Florida native is a better thrower than Arline, but it was not evident on this day as he completed just 1 of 6 passes for 8 yards and an interception.
Arline replaced Lavatai for the final two possessions of the first half. However, Lavatai returned to start the second half and only lasted two series. He suffered an injury during a run by fullback James Harris II and left the game.