Everyone involved with the Navy football program takes great pride in being tough to beat at home.
Coming into this season, the Midshipmen had compiled an impressive 53-13 record at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in 12 seasons under coach Ken Niumatalolo. Navy went 6-0 at home on the way to finishing 11-2 in 2019.
That proud tradition has taken a hit this season as the Mids are now 1-4 at home following another disappointing performance.
Freshman quarterback Xavier Arline breathed a little life into the offense, but not nearly enough as Navy was limited to two field goals in a 19-6 loss to No. 22 Tulsa on Saturday in Annapolis, Md.
Arline amassed 60 rushing yards, and the fact that it was the most by a Navy quarterback this season speaks volumes for the team's ongoing offensive struggles. However, no other element of the triple-option was productive as the Midshipmen mustered only 153 total yards.
Fullback Nelson Smith, who has carried the offense for most of the season, was held to 33 yards on 12 carries and the slotbacks were a non-factor as has been the case all season.
Yet another dismal offensive effort wasted a second straight strong outing by the Navy defense, which repeatedly stiffened in its own territory and limited Tulsa to four field goals by Zach Long, who converted from 48, 37, 36 and 25 yards out. That was more than enough against a Navy offense that has now been held to single digits four times this season.
Quarterback Zach Smith threw for 168 yards and a touchdown while running back Corey Taylor II ran for 69 yards for Tulsa (6-1, 6-0), which clinched a berth in the American Athletic Conference championship game.
Meanwhile, Navy (3-6, 3-3) is now assured of just its third losing season since 2003. Most disheartening for the Midshipmen was that this loss snapped a 17-game winning streak on Senior Day.
Navy will enter next Saturday's showdown against archrival Army riding a four-game losing streak.
It was a defensive struggle in the first half with the two teams combining for 188 total yards.
Navy's defense stood tall despite repeatedly being handed a short field. A 15-yard punt by Ben Fee set up Tulsa at the home team's 45-yard line and ultimately led to a 48-yard field goal by Long.
Slotback Myles Fells fumbled at his own 25-yard line and a strong goal-line stand by the defense led to a 22-yard field goal by Long, which gave the Golden Hurricane a 6-0 lead with 3:22 remaining in the first half.
Tulsa had three drives end in punts, while Navy linebacker Diego Fagot brought an abrupt end to another by ripping the ball from the hands of running back Corey Taylor II then recovering the fumble himself.
Navy only managed 14 total yards and one first down on six possessions before finally getting something going late in the first half. Arline jump-started the drive by scrambling for 19 yards into Tulsa territory after tucking the ball on a pass play.
Arline completed a 14-yard pass to wide receiver Mark Walker to give Navy first down at the 11-yard line with nine seconds left. However, Arline was sacked on the subsequent play and the Midshipmen settled for a 34-yard field goal by Nichols that made it 6-3 at halftime.
Navy got the ball to start the second half and put together its best drive of the game. Arline gained 11 yards off a keeper to get things going and the Mids picked up four first downs and advanced to the 15-yard line of the visitors before things stalled.
Nichols came on and booted a 32-yard field goal to tie the score 6-6 at the 7:08 mark of the third quarter. Navy ran 14 plays and took almost eight minutes off the clock.
Facing third-and-13 from his own 34-yard line, Smith delivered a dime — hitting wide receiver Josh Johnson in stride with a long throw down the middle. Four Navy defensive backs were in the area, but Smith dropped the ball over their heads and into the arms of Johnson, who raced untouched into the end zone to complete a 66-yard scoring strike.
A false start penalty on senior offensive lineman Billy Honaker contributed to a three-and-out on the subsequent possession and Navy gave the ball right back. Tulsa put together an 11-play drive that reached the home team's 20-yard line before the Navy defense once again stiffened.
Long kicked his third goal of the game, a 37-yarder, to increase the Tulsa lead to 16-6 with 10:58 remaining in the game. Long added a 36-yard field goal with 2:54 remaining to complete the scoring.
