NCAAF Game Recap - Tulane at Navy
Sat Sep 9, 2017 3:30 PM EDT

Fres
10
Bama
41
F
Okla
31
OSU
16
F
Aub
6
Clem
14
F
Pitt
14
PSU
33
F
Stan
24
USC
42
F
Mont
7
Wash
63
F
Cin
14
Mich
36
F
FlAtl
14
Wisc
31
F
OkSt
44
SoAl
7
F
Chat
10
LSU
45
F
UGA
20
ND
19
F
Lou
47
UNC
35
F
Del
0
VaTec
27
F
UNCC
7
K St
55
F
Boise
44
WaSt
47
F(2OT)
TCU
28
Ark
7
F
InSt
7
Tenn
42
F
SamHu
44
PVAM
31
F
IdSt
13
UtSt
51
F
AlcSt
10
FLInt
17
F
Ohio
21
Purd
44
F
Buff
17
Army
21
F
UT-M
23
Miss
45
F
Iowa
44
IASt
41
F OT
ECU
20
WVU
56
F
Tows
17
MD
63
F
E Ky
16
KY
27
F
NW
17
Duke
41
F
JacSt
10
GATec
37
F
Wake
34
BC
10
F
TxSt
3
Colo
37
F
UAB
31
Ball
51
F
E Il
10
NIU
38
F
Sav
7
App
54
F
Tul
21
Navy
23
F
APSU
10
MiaOH
31
F
How
31
Kent
38
F
Abil
10
ColSt
38
F
SJSU
0
Tex
56
F
Ind
34
UVA
17
F
Vill
13
Temp
16
F
MidTN
30
Syr
23
F
E Mi
16
Rut
13
F
WestMI
14
MSU
28
F
OD
17
UMass
7
F
GWebb
0
Wyo
27
F
AlaAM
0
Vand
42
F
ULLaf
42
Tuls
66
F
C Mi
45
Kans
27
F
UNH
22
GaSo
12
F
Neb
35
Oreg
42
F
Hawaii
23
UCLA
56
F
Web
20
Cal
33
F
Mor
17
Lib
58
F
AlaSt
7
Troy
34
F
Marsh
20
NCSt
37
F
(N/A)
10
JMU
52
F
SD
35
BGSU
27
F
ArkPB
3
Akr
52
F
Toled
37
NEV
24
F
UNLV
44
Idaho
16
F
Nich
14
TxAM
24
F
Sou
0
SMiss
45
F
NorTx
32
SMU
54
F
SCar
31
MIZ
13
F
MissSt
57
LT
21
F
NMS
30
NM
28
F
Rice
31
UTEP
14
F
W Ky
7
Ill
20
F
UTSA
17
Bayl
10
F
MIN
48
OreSt
14
F
Utah
19
BYU
13
F
Hou
19
Ariz
16
F
SDSU
30
AzSt
20
F
MiaFL
ArkSt
Canc
NoCol
Fla
Canc
ULMon
FlaSt
PPD
SoFL
UConn
PPD
Mem
UCF
PPD

Navy 23, Tulane 21

Sep 9, 2017, 3:30 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Tulane (1-1)

0

13

0

8

21

Navy (2-0)

7

7

9

0

23

Abey, defense lead Navy past Tulane 23-21
Sat Sep 9, 2017 8:22 PM

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Zach Abey is still having some growing pains as the starting quarterback for Navy.

The junior is absorbing the nuances of the Midshipmen's signature triple-option offense. He also committed a few costly turnovers.

Still, the Navy coaches are encouraged by his recent strides.

Abey amassed 240 total yards with a touchdown, leading the Midshipmen past Tulane 23-21 in the American Athletic Conference opener Saturday.

"I think we made a lot of mistakes," Abey said. "A lot of that is on me. We made plays when we had to, but we had a lot of missed opportunities. I made a lot of bad decisions."

Abey was coming off a record-setting performance last week against Florida Atlantic when he ran for 235 yards -- the most-ever for a quarterback in the the AAC. He was the difference again with 108 yards on 29 carries. Abey also completed 4 of 12 passes for 132 yards, including a 79-yard touchdown throw to Tyler Carmona, with an interception.

Tulane quarterback Jonathan Banks, a junior college transfer, took a hard hit in the second quarter, suffering an undisclosed injury, and did not return. Sophomore Johnathan Brantley, however, provided a spark off the bench and scored his first career touchdown with a 3-yard run in the second quarter.

"I was surprised but I had to be ready," Brantley said. "That's my job as a backup, to step in if he goes down. I was ready."

The Green Wave (1-1, 0-1) cut the margin to 23-21 on a 1-yard dive by Dontrell Hilliard and a two-point conversion with 12:56 left in the game. Tulane, however, failed to convert a pair of key fourth downs late in the fourth quarter to extend drives.

A penalty for too many players on the field gave Navy a fourth and 1 from the Green Wave's 46 with 1:58 left. Abey converted the first down and the Midshipmen (2-0, 1-0) were able to run out the clock to seal the victory.

"I thought our guys really fought back," Tulane coach Willie Fritz said. "We had some big plays in there that we converted to get back in the ball game, which was great. I'm proud of the guys and their effort, and everything else. But I would have liked to have the opportunity to see what we could have done there at the end. It would have been tough but I would have liked to have that opportunity."

Brantley completed five of eight passes for 58 yards. He also ran for 73 yards on nine carries with the score.

The game was a battle of two teams with a similar offense.

Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo ran the triple-option as a quarterback at Hawaii and was later an assistant under coach Paul Johnson, who ran the same system. Fritz has used the zone option throughout his 24-year coaching career.

On this day, Navy was more successful moving the ball, out-gaining the Green Wave 326 to 262.

Tulane was looking to open the season with two straight wins for the first time since 2002.

"It was a hard-fought win," Niumatalolo said. "We knew it would be coming in. I always said playing those guys is like playing a service academy. We both run the ball. Everything is a grind."

THE TAKEAWAY

Tulane: The Green Wave has looked more comfortable running the zone option under Fritz, who is in his second year. One of the keys is the arrival of Banks, who transferred from Independence Community College in Kansas. While his status for the next game is uncertain, Brantley showed he can be a capable backup.

Navy: The junior Abey has been overall solid running the offense, but he must do a better job protecting the ball. Abey has been involved in all four of the team's turnovers in the opening two games -- two fumbles, an interception and a bad exchange with the center. That's an area the Mids will look to improve over the next several games.

FAMILY AFFAIR

Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo had two sons playing against one another in a NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision game Saturday. Va'a Niumatalolo is a senior linebacker at BYU and his brother Ali'i is a freshman linebacker for Utah. With that game kicking off at 10:15 p.m. ET, the coach would have the opportunity to watch.

UP NEXT

Tulane: The Green Wave travel to No. 5 Oklahoma for the first of two consecutive non-conference games. Tulane is playing the Sooners for the first time in program history.

Navy: The Midshipmen host Cincinnati in their second AAC game on Sept. 23. Navy leads the all-time series 2-0.

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Passing

Tul Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
J. Brantley 8 5 62.5 0 58 24 0 84.4
J. Banks 5 3 60.0 0 13 8 0 64.6
Navy Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
Z. Abey 12 4 33.3 1 132 79 1 68.8

Rushing

Tul Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
J. Brantley 9 73 8.1 42 1
D. Hilliard 15 68 4.5 17 1
Navy Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
Z. Abey 29 108 3.7 54 0
C. High 14 51 3.6 9 1

Receiving

Tul Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
T. Encalade 5 39 7.8 14 0
D. Mooney 1 24 24.0 24 0
Navy Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
T. Carmona 1 79 79.0 79 1
D. Bonner 2 53 26.5 52 0

Fumbles

Navy F FL
Z. Abey 2 1

Returning

Tul KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
S. Badie 3 21.3 0 29 0 0 0
J. Robertson Jr. 0 0 0 1 9.0 0 9
Navy KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
T. Walker 2 19.5 0 29 0 0 0

Punting

Tul Punt Yds Avg LgPu
Z. Block 6 211 35.2 44
Navy Punt Yds Avg LgPu
O. White 5 203 40.6 45

Takeaways

Tul Int Yds InTD
R. Teamer Jr. 0 0 0
P. Nickerson 1 8 0

Team Stats Comparison

Tul Navy
Points For 21 23
Total Yards 262 326
Rushing Yards 191 194
Passing Yards 71 132
Passing Completions / Attempts 8/13 4/12
Turnovers 0 2
Interceptions Thrown 0 1
Fumbles - Lost 0/0 2/1
First Downs 11 15
Penalties - Yards 7/41 0/0
Time Of Possession 37:37 23:23
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 3/14 6/15
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 2/4 1/2
Punts - Average Yards 6/35 5/41

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter Tul Navy
Navy 06:52 TD Chris High 9 yd run (Bennett Moehring kick) 0 7
2nd Quarter Tul Navy
Tul 02:26 TD Roderic Teamer 52 yd fumble return (Coby Neenan kick) 7 7
Tul 10:47 TD Johnathan Brantley 3 yd run (missed kick) 13 7
Navy 11:44 TD Tyler Carmona 79 yd pass from Zach Abey (Bennett Moehring kick) 13 14
3rd Quarter Tul Navy
Navy 06:30 TD Andrew Wood 0 yd run (Bennett Moehring kick) 13 21
Navy 07:49 SF Team safety 13 23
4th Quarter Tul Navy
Tul 02:04 TD Dontrell Hilliard 1 yd run (Charles Jones II 2pt pass from Johnathan Brantley) 21 23

Game Information

Stadium: Jack Stephens Field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland
Attendance: 30,420
Game Time:
Weather: