Navy Erases 24-Point Deficit, Stuns Tulane 27-24
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jamale Carothers rushed for 125 yards, Daniel Davies kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired, and Navy rallied from a 24-0 third-quarter deficit to beat Tulane 27-24 on Saturday.
Navy (1-1, 1-0 American), which lost its opener 55-3 to BYU, ran just two plays in Tulane territory in the first half and looked in danger of being blown out again late in the second quarter.
Tulane (1-1, 0-1) was threatening to build on its 24-point lead before Cameron Kinley intercepted Tulane quarterback Keon Howard at the Navy 3. The turnover looked far more consequential as the game wore on and Navy stunningly seized control of the game in the second half, when the Midshipmen outgained the Green Wave 291 yards to 82.
In the last seven minutes of the third quarter, the Midshipmen scored 16 points on two short Nelson Smith touchdowns and a safety. They tied it on Dalen Morris' 32-yard touchdown pass to Mychal Cooper, followed by a 2-point conversion early in the fourth quarter.
Tulane looked primed to regain the lead with about five minutes left, but elected to throw a deep pass, which fell incomplete, on fourth-and-3 from the Navy 32.
Navy kept the ball from there, driving in rainy conditions to the Tulane 16 before kicking for the win.
Morris passed just 11 times, completing six for 139 yards and a touchdown. His 44-yard pass to Mark Walker set up Navy's first TD with 6:43 left in the third quarter. Carothers' 48-yard run up the middle set up the second.
Navy's safety came when Evan Fochtman met Tulane's Cameron Carroll in the end zone and drove him backward on a first-down run from the Tulane 1.
Tyjae Spears rushed for 119 yards and Carroll rushed for touchdowns of 3 and 24 yards for Tulane.
Seeking a spark on offense after its lopsided loss a week earlier, Navy started freshman Xavier Arline at quarterback, but he struggled to move the Midshipmen offense. He did not attempt a pass and rushed seven times for 13 yards before being replaced by Morris in the first half.
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