Report Card: Navy vs. Rutgers

Rutgers defeated Navy 41-24 on Friday. GoMids's analyzes every element of the Navy's performance and assigns a grade to each area.

Navy 24

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Rutgers 41

AREA	GRADE	COMMENTS
PASSING OFFENSE	F	Again, Navy doesn't do this much. Two interceptions in the end zone were killers; three total interceptions. Must be more efficient passing when forced to do so against the big boys.
RUSHING OFFENSE	C+	Other teams would get an 'A' for 254 yards rushing but this is Navy. We are the best at rushing the ball in the country. Needed to get more run production to have a shot at winning and avoid needing to pass. Fullback Eric Kettani looked solid.
PASSING DEFENSE	D	Rutgers Mike Teel picked Navy's young secondary apart to the tune of 266 yards and 3 touchdowns. Ketric Buffin had a nice interception to kill one Rutgers drive.
RUSHING DEFENSE	D	Rutgers all-everything tailback Ray Rice gained 181 yards in 37 carries. Rutgers finished with 216 yards rushing. Wyatt Middleton finished with 11 tackles for Navy.
SPECIAL TEAMS	B	Matt Harmon made a 34-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Greg Veteto kicked averaged just 28.5 yards on two punts. Navy finished with 215 total yards on kickoff returns.
COACHING	B-	Paul Johnson and his staff made the best of a tough situation in a hostile environment against a strong opponent.
OVERALL GRADE	C-	Losing aways stinks but it's interesting to contemplate what might have happened if those two interceptions hadn't have been thrown into the endzone. A big improvement over last year's game with Rutgers.