Lackluster effort by Mids leaves questions
408 total yards could’ve produced more than 24 points
A win is a win is a win.
That’s pretty much the best you can say about Navy football’s uninspiring 24-0 defeat of overmatched Wagner on Saturday in Annapolis.
If the 2 and the 4 had been reversed, it would have been the result the Midshipmen wanted and the announced 29,798 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium expected.
Wagner is now 1-25 under third-year coach Tom Masella and was predicted to finish last in the Northeast Conference. It is a Football Championship Subdivision program that is not very competitive at that level.
This was a game Navy should have dominated from start to finish and one that should not have been in doubt shortly after halftime. It set up as an opportunity to rest the starters in advance of a Thursday night game at Memphis and give a lot of younger players experience.
That is not at all how it went due largely to a lackluster offensive effort. The Midshipmen amassed 408 total yards but did not score nearly as much as they should have.
First-year offensive coordinator Grant Chesnut has installed a new system and Navy is going through some serious growing pains. As was the case in the season opener, there were more mental and physical errors that caused the offense to sputter against Wagner.
Navy went three-and-out on four possessions and had three others that lasted just five plays. The Mids stalled in the red zone twice and had to settle for field goals, with one being missed and the other getting blocked because the holder mishandled the snap.
Slotback Amin Hassan returned a punt to the Wagner 30-yard line to set up a short field. A holding penalty on first down spoiled that scoring opportunity as the Mids went backward before turning the ball over on downs.
One would think Navy would use its triple-option offense to run roughshod over the Seahawks, but the ground game was surprisingly pedestrian. With three first-time starters along the first line, the Mids were unable to establish the inside running game with starting fullback Daba Fofana being limited to 34 yards on only eight carries.
Starting center Lirion Murtezi sat out the game with a back injury that might be serious enough to sideline him for an extended period of time. He was replaced in the lineup by junior Brent
Self. Classmates Javon Bouton and Trey Cummings also made their first career starts at left guard and right tackle, respectively.
Navy was very vanilla on offense, primarily operating out of the traditional triple-option formation with double slots. Coach Brian Newberry said afterward that was because Wagner showed a different defensive scheme than anticipated. However, I did not think going into the game that Chesnut would use many of the new concepts he’s installed in this game with a crucial conference showdown at Memphis looming Thursday night.
Bottom line, after what we’ve seen through two games there has to be growing concern about the revamped Navy offense. Newberry and Chesnut keep saying it’s a work in progress, but the reality is the unit needs to find its footing starting this Thursday night.
“I think that’s the biggest word — consistency. We know if we do our jobs and execute we can move the ball kind of at will,” Navy starting quarterback Tai Lavatai said afterward. “It’s just a matter of deciding on each drive not to shoot ourselves in the foot and to play with elite effort.”
Navy’s offense got off to a great start Saturday as Lavatai directed a sevenplay, 77-yard touchdown drive. The key play was a 45-yard pass to slotback Anton Hall, who made an impressive catch-and-run off a well executed wheel route.
It made no sense to me that sophomore Blake Horvath took over at quarterback for the next two offensive series. Newberry said afterward there was a plan to play Horvath going into the game because he had performed well in practice the previous two weeks, but the timing and situational awareness for doing so was poor.
Freshman quarterback Braxton Woodson directed the offense for the final two series of the game and displayed tremendous speed and acceleration in taking keepers up the middle for gains of 10 and 11 yards. I have a feeling we’re going to be hearing a lot more from Woodson before the season is over.
Another positive for the offense was the return of sophomore wide receiver Nathan Kent, who missed almost all of August camp with a lower body injury. Kent, a Patriot League champion sprinter for the track and field team, brings an added dimension to the offense with his ability to take the top off the defense.
Kent got open deep for a 35-yard reception that jump-started a huge touchdown drive to close out the first half. Lavatai ran the hurry-up offense to perfection, completing five straight passes in moving the Mids 80 yards in just 43 seconds.
I thought the Navy defense was solid if not spectacular. The Midshipmen pitched a shutout and that’s an impressive feat against any opponent. The visiting Seahawks were limited to 227 total yards, but the truth is that they repeatedly stopped themselves with penalties, turnovers and other miscues.
Give credit to Navy for creating two turnovers in the red zone with inside linebacker Will Harbour forcing a fumble at the 20-yard line and safety Rayuan Lane making an interception in the end zone. However, the reality is that Wagner moved the ball well enough to get into scoring territory and had it come away with points on those two occasions the complexion of this contest could have changed dramatically.
Defensive tackle Clay Cromwell had a terrific game for Navy with eight tackles. The 6-foot-3, 292-pound senior dropped tailback Rickey Spruill for a loss on fourth-and-1.
“Awesome performance. You don’t see a three technique making that many tackles in games,” Newberry said of Cromwell. “I love Clay. He’s one of our toughest dudes. I’m really proud of his performance tonight.”
Cornerback Elias Larry came up big with seven tackles and two pass breakups, while cornerback Mbiti Williams (seven tackles) and outside linebacker JordaQn Sanders (six tackles) and Harbour also played well. Sanders was responsible for knocking Wagner starting quarterback Steven Krajewski out of the game with a hard hit after blitzing off the edge.
In the wake of a 42-3 blowout loss to Notre Dame in Dublin, Newberry, Chesnut and defensive coordinator P.J. Volker all referenced the old college football adage that teams make their most improvement from Week 1 to Week 2.
Now Navy needs to hope it makes tremendous improvement between Week 2 and Week 3 if it hopes to upset Memphis (2-0) on Thursday night at the Liberty Bowl.