ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Junior quarterback Jackson Gutierrez rushed for a career-high 232 yards and three touchdowns and threw for another score as Navy overcame four turnovers and a 12-point second-half deficit to defeat Tulsa, 34-26, Saturday afternoon before 30,963 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Gutierrez carried the ball 41 times, the most by a Navy player since Ricky Dobbs had 42 carries against SMU on Oct. 25, 2008, and completed five of seven passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. His 232 rushing yards were the most by a Navy player since Malcolm Perry rushed for 304 yards against Army on Dec. 14, 2019.
Navy (2-3, 1-2 American Conference) rushed for 386 yards and finished with 481 yards of total offense despite losing three fumbles and throwing an interception. Tulsa (3-3, 0-2) did not commit a turnover. The Navy defense allowed just six points on the four Navy turnovers, which was a major reason why the Mids came away with the win.
The Mids trailed 26-14 early in the third quarter before scoring the final 20 points of the game, including two fourth-quarter touchdowns by Gutierrez. Navy held the Golden Hurricane scoreless in the final period while controlling the ball for 13:11 of the quarter. Navy entered play third in the nation in second-half scoring defense.
"It was a great game. Beat a good football team and we were negative-four in the turnover margin and found a way despite that to get it done," said Navy head coach Brian Newberry. "We did what we set out to do offensively, which was run the football. And the only thing that stopped us in the first half was ourselves with the turnovers."
Trailing 26-20 entering the fourth quarter, Navy put together a 14-play, 62-yard drive that consumed 6:43 and ended with Gutierrez scoring from four yards out with 8:30 remaining. Nolan Bartley's extra point gave the Mids a 27-26 lead, their first since the opening quarter.
After the Navy defense forced a three-and-out, the Mids took possession at their own 18-yard line with 7:26 remaining and marched 82 yards in 13 plays, taking 6:16 off the clock. Gutierrez capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown run with 1:10 left to extend Navy's lead to 34-26.
Tulsa moved from its own 25-yard line to the Navy 47 on its final possession before turning the ball over on downs with 25 seconds remaining.
"I think when you look at the game, you talk about defense, I mean the defense played some inspirational football," Gutierrez said. "We turned over the ball four times. I've got to play better; I can't be so loose with the ball."
Navy opened the game with a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by Gutierrez's career-long 56-yard scoring run just 2:18 into the contest.
Tulsa answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive capped by Sevion Morrison's one-yard touchdown run with 7:18 remaining in the first quarter.
The Golden Hurricane took a 14-7 lead with 1:39 left in the opening period when wide receiver Oran Singleton connected with David Wells Jr. on a 10-yard touchdown pass.The ball was batted in the air, but Wells Jr. was able to come down with the deflection and give Tulsa the lead.
Tulsa extended its advantage to 20-7 in the second quarter on field goals of 30 and 24 yards by Owen Carey. Navy lost three fumbles in the opening half, including two inside the Tulsa 15-yard line.
The Mids regained momentum just before halftime when Gutierrez connected with freshman wide receiver Truman Brasfield on a 58-yard touchdown pass with 17 seconds remaining, cutting Tulsa's lead to 20-14.
The five-play, 72-yard scoring drive took just 55 seconds, Navy's quickest touchdown drive of the season.
"Jackson made a nice throw and another great play by Brasfield to get us in the end zone and give us some momentum going into the half," Newberry said. "That was huge, especially knowing that they had the ball coming out in the second half."
Brasfield, who caught a 68-yard touchdown pass at Air Force last week, became the first Navy player since Ryan Read in 1998 to catch touchdown passes of 50 yards or longer in consecutive games. Read caught scoring passes from Brian Broadwater of 54 yards against Colgate and 78 yards against Boston College in consecutive games that season.
Tulsa opened the second half with a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive, capped by Baylor Hayes' three-yard touchdown pass to Singleton with 10:23 remaining in the third quarter. The two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Golden Hurricane ahead 26-14.
Navy answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Charles Robinson's seven-yard touchdown run with 5:07 remaining in the third quarter. The touchdown was the first rushing score of Robinson's collegiate career. Bartley's extra-point attempt was unsuccessful, leaving the Mids trailing 26-20.
Tulsa threatened to extend its lead on the ensuing possession, but Carey missed a 47-yard field goal attempt. Gutierrez was intercepted on Navy's next possession, but the defense forced a punt to set up the Mids' go-ahead scoring drive.
Michael Barrow added a career-high 107 rushing yards on 14 carries, averaging 7.6 yards per attempt. Gutierrez and Barrow became Navy's first pair of 100-yard rushers in the same game since Alex Tecza and Braxton Woodson accomplished the feat against South Florida on Nov. 15, 2025.
Gutierrez accounted for 327 yards of total offense and four of Navy's five touchdowns. He became the 10th different Navy quarterback since 2000 to rush for at least 200 yards in a game, the 19th such performance by a Navy quarterback during that span.
The Navy offensive line did not allow a sack, and the Mids did not punt in a game for the first time since their victory over Florida Atlantic on Oct. 25, 2025.
Defensively, senior linebacker Coleman Cauley led Navy with 10 tackles, while senior safety Giuseppe Sessi and sophomore cornerback Cam Robinson added eight tackles apiece. Navy limited Tulsa to 98 rushing yards on 28 carries.
Hayes completed 20 of 35 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown for Tulsa, while Singleton caught five passes for 81 yards and a touchdown and also threw a touchdown pass. Javon Ross led the Golden Hurricane with seven receptions for 90 yards.
"We couldn't stop them," Tulsa head coach Tre Lamb said. "The two biggest differences in this game were that we couldn't run the ball and they could."
Navy finished with 24 first downs, converted eight of 11 third-down opportunities and held the ball for 34:31, including nearly the entire fourth quarter.
The victory was Navy's fourth consecutive over Tulsa and improved the Mids' all-time record against the Golden Hurricane to 10-2. Navy has won eight consecutive home games and is 12-1 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium since the start of the 2024 campaign.
"Just really, really proud of our team," Newberry said. "It's great to get a win, but I think the thing I'm more proud of is just the way that they responded."
Navy will be back on the road for the fourth time in five games and for the third late night game as they travel to San Antonio to take on a very good UTSA (5-1, 2-0 in the American) team. Kickoff is set for 8 PM (ET), 7 PM (CT) and will be televised by ESPNU. Since 2000, UTSA is 36-5 (.878) at home, including a 26-1 (.963) mark against conference opponents (Conference USA and the American Conference). Since joining the American Conference in 2023, UTSA owns a 12-1 (.923) record at home against conference opponents.
