If the Navy football team can successfully dance a little Texas Two-Step, it will be solidly entrenched as a contender for the American Athletic Conference championship.
The Midshipmen face a tough two-week stretch against two of the top teams in the American, both of which reside in the Lone Star State. Navy welcomes Houston to Annapolis Saturday before traveling to Dallas to meet SMU on Halloween night.
Houston is known for its high-powered offense and showed its capability during a 49-31 victory over Tulane Oct. 8 in its season opener. No. 16 SMU was chosen fourth in the AAC preseason media poll and has gotten off to a 5-0 start.
Navy (3-2) sits alone atop the American standings with a 3-0 conference mark after earning narrow victories over Tulane (27-24), Temple (31-29) and East Carolina (27-23). The Midshipmen were out-gained in terms of total yardage in all three AAC games.
“Somehow, we’ve found a way to eke out these close wins,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said after Saturday’s game in Greenville, N.C.
The Midshipmen were blown out 55-3 by BYU in the season opener and routed 40-7 by service academy rival Air Force, but Niumatalolo said beating three AAC opponents has given Navy confidence and “hope.”
Meanwhile, Houston is coming off a disappointing 43-26 loss to No. 12 BYU. The Cougars led 26-14 at one point of the third quarter and were outscored 29-0 the rest of the way.
“[Houston] is probably the most talented team we’ll play this season,” Niumatalolo said Monday during a video conference call. “Obviously, we know how good BYU is. To see what [Houston] was doing to BYU for three quarters was scary.”
Perhaps no program in college football has been affected more by coronavirus cancellations than Houston, which has seen five games postponed or canceled. The Cougars are down to nine contests, having lost non-conference matchups with Rice, Washington State and North Texas.
When the AAC opener versus Memphis was postponed, Houston hastily scheduled a game against in-state rival Baylor. That fill-in affair was canceled a day before kickoff because the Bears had several positive COVID-19 tests.
Only in 2020 could a college football team only have two games under its belt three weeks into October.
“We’re still trying to figure out exactly who we are,” second-year Houston coach Dana Holgorsen said. “I’ll know on the plane on the way home from Navy who we are. I think I’ll have a pretty good at that point. Right now, I don’t.”
Houston is typically loaded on the offensive side of the ball and is averaging 37.5 points and 457 total yards through two games. Quarterback Clayton Tune has thrown for 629 yards and four touchdowns, completing 64% of his passes. He has two dangerous targets in Marquez Stevenson and Keith Corbin.
Stevenson was a first team All-AAC selection last season after leading Houston with 52 receptions for 907 yards and nine touchdowns. The 6-foot, 190-pound speedster has amassed 133 catches, 2,099 yards and 19 touchdowns in his career despite playing in just two games as a freshman and missing the entire 2017 season with an injury.
“This offense is really potent and can make some big plays. They really know how to throw the ball downfield,” Navy inside linebacker Diego Fagot said of Houston. “Their offense is unique, not like any other team we see. They don’t fit the mold of the AAC.”
Holgorsen was disappointed his team could not finish against BYU, which turned around the game with a well-executed onside kick. He described BYU as an experienced, mature team playing its fifth game of the season and felt Houston lost focus.
“For three quarters we were great; for one quarter we were really bad,” said Holgorsen, who was head coach at West Virginia from 2011-18. “I was really happy with our team’s effort and physicality. We just lost our minds a bit. We need to clean some things up and become a smarter, more disciplined football team.”
Holgorsen knows that issue needs to be corrected this week as the Cougars prepare for the Midshipmen and their patented triple-option offense.
“One thing we’re going to focus on this week is being more disciplined. You better be disciplined against these guys,” he said. “How we played last week, the undisciplined nature, was unacceptable. We did too many stupid things.”
Fullback Jamale Carothers rushed for career highs of 188 yards and five touchdowns as Navy beat Houston, 56-41, in a wild shootout at TEDCU Stadium last season. Quarterback Malcolm Perry ran for 146 yards and a score for the Midshipmen, who amassed 554 total yards.
Holgorsen apparently forgot about Carothers when talking about how the Cougars defended the triple-option a year ago.
“We did a decent job against it last year other than the quarterback run. That dude was special, and we couldn’t tackle him,” Holgorsen said.
It appears at this point the AAC race is wide-open. Central Florida, the preseason favorite to capture the championship, has already lost two conference contests. Memphis, the defending champion, was beaten by SMU before rebounding to defeat UCF. Cincinnati, which was picked second in the preseason media poll, is 3-0 with its lone league win coming against struggling South Florida.
“I don’t see anybody being very dominant at this point,” said Holgorsen, adding that he “couldn’t have been more impressed with the level of play in our league last year.”
HOUSTON@NAVY
Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: 1090 AM, 1430 AM
Line: Houston by 11
