Navy's Triple Option Proves Too Powerful For Tulsa

The Golden Hurricane only has one game left and it’s their final chance at bowl eligibility after falling 44-21 to Navy and its high powered offense on Saturday night.

Tulsa looked hopeful on its senior night, holding the Midshipmen’s speedy triple option offense to zero for nine straight minutes. But, a 70-yard break down field from Toneo Gulley gave Navy a 7-0 advantage.

Navy had a chance to up its lead by three just minutes into the second quarter on 4th and 4, but Austin Grebe missed a 32-yard field goal wide-right. Luckily for the Midshipmen, Tulsa’s offense was cold and the entire drive looked sloppy. Dane Evans looked panicky in the pocket after getting sacked, and the punt down field was short and out of bounds. 

Navy soon took advantage of Tulsa’s mishaps, scoring on a 39-yard reception from NCAA record holder Keenan Reynolds to Jamir Tillman to go up 14-0.

At this point, Navy was dominating TU on both sides of the ball. Tulsa’s offensive efforts were failing and the defense couldn’t seem to handle their speed nor stop them. 

Navy went back-to-back for another score when Reynolds rushed it one-yard in, helping his team to a 21-0 lead. 

Tulsa showed some life on the next drive when Zack Langer forced his way into the end zone, cutting the deficit 21-7. 

Going into halftime, the Midshipmen carried a 23-7 lead after a Golden Hurricane safety.

Halftime Stats:

Tulsa

Rushing:

Zack Langer

Number- 8, Gain- 21, Loss- 0, Net- 21, TD- 1, Lg- 5, Avg- 2.6

D’Angelo Brewer

Number- 5, Gain- 17, Loss- 0, Net- 17, TD- 0, Lg- 8, Avg- 3.4

Dane Evans

Number- 5, Gain- 13, Loss- 24, Net- (-)11, TD- 0, Lg- 13, Avg- (-)2.2

TEAM

Number- 1, Gain- 0, Loss- 19, Net- (-)19, TD- 0, Lg- 0, Avg- (-)19

Passing:

Dane Evans 

C-A-I- 13-16-0, Yards- 113, TD- 0, Long- 22, Sack- 3

Receiving:

Connor Floyd

Number- 5, Yards- 23, TD- 0, Long- 11

Keyarris Garrett

Number- 3, Yards- 53, TD- 0, Long- 22

Josh Atkinson

Number- 3, Yards- 19, TD- 0, Long- 10

Justin Hobbs

Number- 1, Yards- 11, TD- 0, Long- 11

Punting:

Dalton Parks

Number- 4, Yards- 152, Avg- 38.0, Long- 48, In20- 2, TB- 0

Punt Returns:

Connor Floyd

Number- 1, Yards- 35, TD- 0, Long- 35

Kick Returns:

Ramadi Warren

Number- 2, Yards- 17, TD- 0, Long- 17

Bishop Louie

Number- 1, Yards- 35, TD- 0, Long- 35

Tackles:

Trent Martin 

UA-A- 3-4, Total- 7, Sacks- 0.0, TFL- 0.0

Jeremy Brady 

UA-A- 3-3, Total- 6, Sacks- 0.0, TFL- 0.0

Jeremy Smith

UA-A- 3-3, Total- 6, Sacks- 0.0, TFL- 0.0

Derrick Luetjen

UA-A- 3-2, Total- 5, Sacks- 0.0, TFL- 0.0

Navy

Rushing:

Toneo Gulley

Number- 1, Gain- 70, Loss- 0, Net- 70, TD- 1, Lg- 70, Avg- 70.0

Keenan Reynolds

Number- 14, Gain- 63, Loss- 7, Net- 56, TD- 1, Lg- 12, Avg- 4.0

Chris Swain

Number- 10, Gain- 52, Loss- 0, Net- 52, TD- 0, Lg- 23, Avg- 5.2

Demond Brown

Number- 3, Gain- 51, Loss- 0, Net- 51, TD- 0, Lg- 32, Avg- 17.0

Passing:

Keenan Reynolds

C-A-I- 1-2--0, Yards- 39, TD- 1, Long- 39, Sack- 1

Receiving:

Jamir Tillman

Number- 1, Yards- 39, TD- 1, Long- 39

Punting:

Alex Barta

Number- 2, Yards- 98, Avg- 49.0, Long- 51, In20- 0, TB- 0

Punt Returns:

Calvin Cass Jr. 

Number- 1, Yards- (-)1, TD- 0, Long- 0

Kick Returns:

Dishan Romine

Number- 1, Yards- 19, TD- 0, Long- 19

Calvin Cass Jr.

Number- 1, Yards- 5, TD- 0, Long- 5

Tackles:

Will Anthony

UA-A- 6-0, Total- 6, Sacks- 2.0, TFL- 3.0

Mike Kelly

UA-A- 4-0, Total- 4, Sacks- 0.0, TFL- 0.0

Lorentez Barbour

UA-A- 2-2, Total- 4, Sacks- 0.0, TFL- 0.0

Daiquan Thomasson

UA-A- 3-0, Total- 3, Sacks- 0.0, TFL- 0.0

Navy opened the third quarter even stronger, returning the kickoff to the eight, scoring easily on the next play to advance the Midshipman lead 30-7. Despite the score, the Golden Hurricane didn’t lay down. Langer punched in another Tulsa TD to make it a 30-14 ball game.

With 2:55 to play, D’Angelo Brewer worked his way 14-yards to tally another TU score.

But the small boost wasn’t enough and Tulsa’s frustration showed. The Midshipman continued to rule, holding onto a 44-21 lead to seize victory.