ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Junior quarterback
Jackson Gutierrez rushed for 228 yards and three touchdowns and threw for another score, but Navy could not overcome two non-offensive touchdowns by North Texas in a 49-39 Homecoming loss Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
The loss snapped Navy's eight-game home winning streak and dropped the Midshipmen to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the American Conference. North Texas improved to 5-2 overall and remained unbeaten in conference play at 3-0.
Despite trailing by as many as 18 points, Navy battled back to within three at 42-39 on
Michael Barrow's 4-yard touchdown run with 10:49 remaining. However, North Texas running back Jahiem White broke free for a 59-yard touchdown run just 1:11 later to provide the final margin.
Navy rolled up 506 yards of total offense, including 363 on the ground, and held a commanding 37:31 to 22:29 advantage in time of possession. The Midshipmen also recorded 30 first downs compared to 20 for North Texas, but a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown by Dalton Carnes and a 63-yard fumble return for a score by Zakye Barker proved to be the difference.
"We did some really good things offensively, but the difference in the game was the 14 points scored on non-offensive touchdowns," said Navy head coach
Brian Newberry. "The fumble, we were driving the football. The punt return, they went double gunners and we worked on it in practice several times during the week but didn't execute it."
North Texas head coach Neal Brown called the victory a "three-phase win" after the Mean Green scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams.
"Huge win for our program, and I mean that for our program, not just our team," Brown said. "Because I think this is a program win, and I think people may assume that we weren't going to be right back in the title hunt just because we had all the turnover in the offseason, but we called this a reload from the get-go, and we really planned to be right here in the hunt."
Gutierrez carried the ball 26 times for 228 yards and three touchdowns while completing seven of his 10 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown. His 361 yards of total offense marked the second time this season he has surpassed 300 yards.
Gutierrez, who rushed for 232 yards against Tulsa on Oct. 10, became the seventh different Navy player to record multiple 200-yard rushing games in his career. His two 200-yard performances this season are tied for the second most in a single season in school history behind Malcolm Perry, who had three in 2019.
Gutierrez also became the first Navy player to rush for at least 200 yards and pass for at least 100 yards in the same game since
Blake Horvath accomplished the feat against Memphis on Sept. 21, 2024.
Barrow added 92 yards rushing on a career-high 21 carries and scored two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. Sophomore tight end
Merrick Barlow caught two passes for 64 yards, including a 41-yard reception that marked his first collegiate catch.
North Texas quarterback Tayven Jackson completed 17 of 23 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns, while wide receiver Justin Stevenson caught eight passes for 209 yards and two scores. White rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns.
North Texas jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Stevenson with 10:05 remaining in the first quarter.
Navy answered with an 11-play, 61-yard drive that ended with
Nolan Bartley's 31-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3.
The Mean Green extended their advantage to 14-3 on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Kyle Koch with 26 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Gutierrez brought Navy back within four at 14-10 on an 18-yard touchdown run with 11:28 remaining in the first half, but North Texas answered just 1:23 later on a short touchdown run by White to make the score 21-10.
North Texas then delivered one of the game's biggest plays when Carnes returned a
Jacob Carlson punt 76 yards for a touchdown with 4:22 remaining in the half, giving the Mean Green a 28-10 advantage.
Navy responded with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that was capped by Gutierrez's 1-yard scoring run with 11 seconds remaining, cutting the North Texas lead to 28-17 at halftime.
The Mean Green scored 21 offensive points on just 20 plays in the opening half and added the punt return touchdown despite Navy controlling the football for more than 21 minutes.
Navy received the second-half kickoff and was driving into North Texas territory when the Mean Green delivered another devastating blow.
Brayden Knox forced a fumble by
Stefan Egbe and Barker recovered the loose ball and raced 63 yards for a touchdown to extend the North Texas lead to 35-17 with 7:55 remaining in the third quarter.
Gutierrez answered with a 43-yard touchdown run, his third rushing score of the afternoon, and then connected with
Jake Norris for a successful two-point conversion to pull Navy within 35-25.
North Texas responded with a 53-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Stevenson to push its lead back to 17 points at 42-25 with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter.
Navy refused to go away.
Senior cornerback Ira Oniha intercepted Jackson with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter, giving the Midshipmen the ball near midfield.
Gutierrez took advantage of the turnover, connecting with Barlow for a 23-yard gain before finding Barrow on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds remaining in the quarter to cut the deficit to 42-32.
The touchdown reception was the first of Barrow's collegiate career.
After forcing a North Texas punt early in the fourth quarter, Navy marched 83 yards in seven plays, with Barrow scoring on a 4-yard run to bring the Midshipmen within three at 42-39 with 10:49 remaining.
The momentum was short-lived, however, as White broke loose for a 59-yard touchdown run on North Texas' ensuing possession to make the score 49-39 with 9:38 remaining.
Navy was unable to score on its next possession, and the Mean Green maintained possession for the final 6:32 to secure the victory.
"One of the best things about our team and how we function is that we don't flinch," Gutierrez said. "I just think we don't need to put ourselves in positions to persevere as much. I think if we go out and play good football, and execute play in and play out, we won't have to be in those positions where we're down two scores."
Barrow said Navy's ability to fight back showed what the team is capable of accomplishing, but acknowledged that slow starts have been a recurring problem.
"We can play good football. We see that," Barrow said. "I think we had a slow start and that's been the case this season, unfortunately. If we can fix that, I think a lot of games will be a lot closer and we'll come out on top. I think we played hard, fought well and gave ourselves a chance."
North Texas' 49 points were the most allowed by Navy since a 49-10 loss at Notre Dame last season, while the Mean Green's 477 yards of total offense were the most surrendered by the Midshipmen this year.
The two non-offensive touchdowns are believed to be the first Navy has allowed in the same game since Oct. 14, 2000, when Notre Dame's Tony Driver returned two fumbles for touchdowns.
Carnes' 76-yard punt return was the first against Navy since Houston's Marcus Jones returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown on Sept. 25, 2021.
Stevenson's 209 receiving yards were the most by a Navy opponent since Louisiana Tech's Trent Taylor had 233 yards in the 2016 Armed Forces Bowl.
Defensively,
Coleman Cauley and
Aiden Lyczek led Navy with nine tackles apiece, while
Will Miller and
MarcAnthony Parker each added eight.
Nolan McCamy finished with seven tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a 9-yard sack.
"I told the guys afterwards, I'm proud of the way they fight and I'm proud of their effort," Newberry said. "We just have to execute better and we've got to do a better job as a staff. It starts with me and making sure we have a great defensive plan and making sure our guys can execute what we're doing."
Senior safety
Giuseppe Sessi said the Midshipmen must remain committed to one another despite the disappointing results.
"It's pretty frustrating. Everyone is frustrated," Sessi said. "My message, and some of the seniors' messages, is we have six games left, if we're lucky. We're playing for pride at this point. We are playing for the love of the game and for the love of our brothers. It starts in practice and just move forward."
Navy will take on fourth-ranked Notre Dame (6-1) next Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Kickoff is set for 12 noon and the game will be broadcast nationally on ABC or ESPN.
