Pulling out all the stops
Strong defense enables Mids to overcome mistakes
It’s been a long time since the word “dominant” was used to describe the Navy defense.
However, that was the absolute best adjective to apply to the performance the Midshipmen on that side of the ball put forth Saturday.
Broad-shouldered nose guard Jackson Pittman anchored an impressive effort as Navy held South Florida without a touchdown. Inside linebacker Diego Fagot and outside linebacker Jacob Springer also played starring roles as the Mids rendered the Bulls completely ineffective offensively.
On a day when its offense was mistakeprone, the defense stole the show as the Midshipmen moved closer to becoming bowl-eligible and guaranteeing a winning season.
Quarterback Malcolm Perry rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns as Navy defeated South Florida 35-3 in Annapolis.
Perry electrified the announced crowd of 29,774 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with a 67-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. The 5-foot-9, 190-pound senior sealed the victory with a 21-yard scoring scamper early in the fourth frame as the Midshipmen improved to 5-1 overall, 3-1 in the American Athletic Conference.
“That’s as dominant a defensive performance that I’ve seen in a long time,” Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “We played lights out on defense and really shut them down.”
Backup fullback Jamale Carothers broke loose for a 58-yard touchdown run while slotback CJ Williams tossed a 23-yard scoring pass for Navy, which needs one more win to clinch a bowl berth for the 15th time in the past 17 seasons.
Carothers, a sophomore whose role has expanded dramatically in the last two games, established a career high with 84 rushing yards. The Midshipmen amassed a season-high 434 rushing yards, with the slotback option throw by Williams producing the only passing yardage.
Even though the offense has been solid all season, it has been the impressive play of the defense that has been largely responsible for Navy bouncing back from a disappointing 3-10 campaign.
While the Navy offense turned in an uneven effort on Saturday, the defense was on point the entire game as it limited South Florida (3-4, 1-2) to 264 total yards. The Bulls were determined to run the ball between the tackles and were unable to do so because of stout play from the defensive front of the Midshipmen.
Fagot led the way with 10 tackles (five solo) as Navy held USF to 150 rushing yards. Springer recorded three sacks among his seven tackles as the Midshipmen made the Bulls one-dimensional.
“I thought we prepared well and played well,” Pittman said. “We stopped what they wanted to do and put them in passing situations, which they don’t like to do. After that, it was history.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Jordan McCloud completed just 11 of 23 passes for 50 yards and was under siege all game. Navy notched five sacks and harassed McCloud into tossing an interception.
It marked the first time Navy did not allow a touchdown since a 25-6 victory over Middle Tennessee State in the 2013 Armed Forced Bowl.
“We just executed, to be honest,” Pittman said. “The coaches put us in a great position and everyone was filling their gaps, plugging the holes and doing what we’re supposed to be doing. USF had nowhere to go.”
Despite the lopsided score, it was a rather sloppy performance by the Navy offense. Perry was responsible for three turnovers (two interceptions, fumble), while an inordinate number of penalties and mental mistakes no doubt drove the coaching staff crazy.
“I was happy with what we did on offense, [but] we just have to take care of the ball,” Niumatalolo said. “We had three straight possessions when we turned the ball over.
“I was disappointed we had so many turnovers and penalties. We had some missed assignments. Those are the things I talk to our team about and say: Don’t beat ourselves.”
Navy had two false-start penalties on one series. There also was an illegal shift along with a couple botched plays in which the Midshipmen were not on the same page.
Navy’s defense made sure South Florida did not use those three turnovers to get back into the game. The Bulls were held to a field goal after an interception gave them the ball at the home team’s 16-yard line. An interception by freshman safety Chelen Garnes answered the second pick by the visitors, and USF turned the ball over on downs after recovering the Perry fumble.
“Our defense has been put in bad field position a lot this season and hasn’t flinched,” Niumatalolo said.
First-year defensive coordinator Brian Newberry said last week he did not think that Navy had played well defensively for an entire 60 minutes. Senior outside linebacker and captain Nizaire Cromartie said the Mids would not be happy until they did not give up a single touchdown.
Both of those things happened