Navy visits Tulsa on Saturday in Tulsa, OK. Here are your three keys to a Navy win over Tulsa.
By Matt Zemek
After 2018’s misery, Navy badly needed to make an early-season statement to remind itself that yes, it still is a good program in a good place with a hope-filled future. The Midshipmen made that statement this past weekend against Air Force. They weren’t always on their game – a fourth-quarter collapse threw away three-quarters of very solid work – but Malcolm Perry rescued the game with a ballsy late drive to pull out a win over the Falcons, giving the Midshipmen a chance to lift the Commander In Chief’s Trophy this December.
Army, though, is two months in the distance. For now, Navy can’t allow that Air Force win to become a fleeting moment. That needs to become a building block for the sustained success which has eluded the program the past two years.
Can Navy become a nine-win team this year? It’s possible… but only if AAC West road trips such as this one to Tulsa can be handled successfully. Tulsa isn’t a sexy opponent, but that is precisely part of the point. The Mids need to be able to beat the Tulsas of the world on the road if they want to regain the fun and familiar feeling of being a nine-win program, one of the better programs in the Group of Five and the AAC in particular.
Key 1 – Have your back
The Navy running backs need to have Malcolm Perry’s back in this game. Perry was knocked around by Air Force in a very physical battle. His brief absence from the offensive huddle blunted a Navy drive with the Midshipmen leading 21-9 late in the third quarter. That injury changed the trajectory of the game and created a chain reaction of events which led to Air Force’s 16-0 run and, very nearly, a Navy loss.
Perry has to be healthy for Navy to reach its foremost goals this season. Therefore, this game needs to be a day in which the running backs carry the bulk of the workload.
It is true that option football means the quarterback has to read the defense and make the right decision in terms of keeping or pitching the ball. To an extent, Perry has to make the right decision, and sometimes, that will involve him keeping the ball. Nevertheless, Ivin Jasper needs to create plays in which the running backs do more of the work and reduce the amount of hits Perry takes in this game.
Key 2 – Avoid the big mistake
One could say this about almost any game, but this key is a specific priority for Navy this week. First of all, Tulsa scored last week against SMU on a pick-six and a kickoff recovery for a touchdown. SMU trailed Tulsa 30-9 because it gave away 14 points to the Golden Hurricane. Also, Navy’s Nelson Smith committed a fumble, up 21-12 in the fourth quarter, which enabled Air Force to mount its big comeback. Huge mistakes are how Navy will lose this game. The Midshipmen’s path to victory demands an avoidance of colossal errors.
It’s that simple.
Key 3 – Misdirection defense
Navy’s defense was brilliant for 3.5 quarters last week, but when Air Force mounted its big comeback, Navy’s defense was caught way out of position on misdirection pass plays, chiefly ones which flowed to the right and involved a throwback to the left side of the field. Tulsa surely saw this in film study. Navy has to make the right adjustments.
Saturday’s game kicks off at 7:30 ET. Watch on the ESPNU Network.
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