Navy needs two wins to qualify for a bowl As they finished practice with furious 5-yard sprints on Tuesday, the Navy Midshipmen were in unusually high spirits. And why not? They were less than 48 hours from a flight to California with their bowl hopes still alive and their identity intact.
In Saturday’s 24-17 victory over SMU, there were two pieces of compelling evidence that Navy is back.
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On offense, senior quarterback Kriss Proctor attempted two passes — one was incomplete, the other was intercepted. On defense, the Midshipmen surrendered a 16-play, 74-yard drive, culminated by junior David Sperry’s interception in the end zone.
| Up next |
| Navy at San Jose State |
| When » Saturday, 4 p.m. |
| Where » Spartan Stadium, San Jose, Calif. |
The Midshipmen are at their best when they can’t be coerced into employing the forward pass and when their defense frustrates opponents. The SMU game was how Navy likes to play.
After losing four games by a combined eight points, and facing questions about their usually unassailable character, the Mids won on a day when they were outgained through the air 249 yards to 0.
“It reminded me of Notre Dame a couple years ago,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said of a 2009 game in South Bend that the Mids won 23-21 despite surrendering 512 yards. “They moved the ball in the red zone, but we kept them out. The bottom line is points.”
When Navy (4-6) plays Saturday at San Jose State (3-7), the Mids need to win to sustain their hopes for a ninth straight postseason berth. It would set up a season finale against Army (3-7), which would include another bit of incentive — a date in the Military Bowl on Dec.?28 at RFK Stadium.
“If we don’t win, we can’t accomplish our goals. Our season’s over,” senior defensive end Jabaree Tuani said. “We all understand this is our most important game. That’s how it’s gonna be the rest of the season.”
Tuani played Saturday like it was his final game. On his way to being named Independent co-defensive player of the week, Tuani broke up a pass, had a sack and two other tackles for losses, including a critical one that preceded Sperry’s interception.
“[Defensive coordinator Buddy] Green always says, ‘There will always be big plays. But live to play another down,'” Tuani said. “Somebody can break a run, but as long as somebody tackles him before he gets to the end zone, we have another chance to stop them.”
After getting burned by Notre Dame in a 56-14 loss, the Navy defense has risen by finally living up to Green’s mantra — bend but don’t break. Green says there has been no scheme change or magic potion, just players working hard, buying in, reducing mistakes and running to the ball.
“We played a very big, physical team and our guys just kept fighting,” Green said. “When they moved the sticks or made plays, our guys just kept playing hard.”
