Navy tried catching No. 15 Rutgers off guard early in its game Friday night by throwing more than usual in its run-heavy triple-option offense. The Scarlet Knights were surprised, but unfazed by the Midshipmen?s offensive adjustments.
Instead, Rutgers scored 17 points off three Navy turnovers, including touchdowns off both first-half interceptions by Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada as the Scarlet Knights (2-0) jumped out to a 24-7 halftime lead en route to a 41-24 victory in front of an announced crowd of 43,514 at Rutgers Stadium.
Scarlet Knights quarterback Mike Teel completed 14 of 19 passes for 266 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, running back Ray Rice had 175 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries and wide receiver Tiquan Underwood had six catches for 104 yards in the win. Navy (1-1) has now lost three straight in the series by a combined score of 106-45.
“We?re not going to survive if we have three turnovers against anybody, especially two in the end zone that took away points from us,” Navy head coach Paul Johnson said.
Navy?s downfall began late in the first half as the Midshipmen ? trailing 17-7 ? advanced to the Rutgers 4 before Scarlet Knight senior safety Ron Girault intercepted Kaheaku-Enhada in the end zone to with 6:08 left in the second quarter. Rutgers then took the ball 80 yards in 3:07, scoring on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Teel to Rice, the first receiving touchdown in his college career of the Heisman Trophy candidate.
Rutgers also took advantage of an inexperienced Navy defense which had even fewer veterans playing after starting senior safety Jeff Deliz and junior inside linebacker Clint Sovie went down with ankle sprains in the first quarter.
“We have a whole football team that?s playing hard together right now,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. “Ray?s a great player and he is certainly doing his part. I thought Navy played very well and we hit some big plays on them. I think Mike did a great job again of running the offense and throwing the ball down the field. I thought our receivers did a great job, Ray did a great job and the line protected well.”
Still, Navy kept the game close as Kaheaku-Enhada capped a seven-play, 67-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to open the second half to pull within 24-14 with 12:19 left in the third quarter; the 19th time in the last 26 games the Midshipmen scored on their opening second half possession.
Navy then received a break when cornerback Ketric Buffin intercepted Teel ? his first in 125 pass attempts ? at the Rutgers 34 on the Scarlet Knights? ensuing possession. However, Kaheaku-Enhada returned the favor two plays later when junior safety Courtney Green intercepted him in the end zone. That interception represented Navy?s first three-interception game since a 50-38 loss in a Nov. 11, 2000 game at Tulane. As a team, the Midshipmen threw four interceptions all of last season.
“We put that [interception] in the end zone and make it 24-21 now we?ve got a game and maybe they panic a little,” Johnson said. “But to their credit, they came out and made a play. We made a poor decision and probably poor play calling on my part. I know we can?t execute, I don?t know why I call it.”
Kaheaku-Enhada completed five of 12 passes for 35 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. He also rushed for 35 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Also for Navy, fullback Eric Kettani had nine carries for 48 yards and safety Wyatt Middleton had a team-high 11 tackles.
“We got the ball moving a little here and there, but for the most part turnovers shut us down,” Kaheaku-Enhada said.
Navy returns to action at 5 p.m. next Saturday when it hosts Ball State at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
