Navy's dynamic quarterback spent three years buried on the depth chart, but has more than proved his worth to the Midshipmen as a senior
by Dick Weiss
It's never too late to become a breakout star in college football.
Navy quarterback Will Worth is this year's Cinderella man in college football. During his first three years, the Midshipmen's 6-1, 210-pound senior quarterback had been a third-stringer behind record-setting Keenan Reynolds and Tago Smith and was scheduled to be the holder on field goals and extra points.
Worth got an unexpected chance to start after Reynolds graduated and Smith tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the season-opener. And he is making the most of it, becoming a revelation for a fun-to-watch Navy team that took a giant step forward Saturday when it outlasted dangerous Tulsa, 42-40, before a sellout Senior Day crowd of 36,397 at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in a wild shootout that propelled the Midshipmen (7-2, 5-1) into first place in The American's West Division.
Worth ran for 122 yards in 26 carries with three touchdowns out of the Midshipmen's efficient option offense that gave Navy just enough breathing room. Worth, who had run for 304 yards and completed 20 of 33 passes for 347 yards in his previous two games against USF and Notre Dame, had his fifth consecutive 100 yard rushing day against Tulsa He also completed 6 of 8 passes for 111 yards and another score and helped Navy run out the clock on its last possession after the Golden Hurricane pulled within two points with 5:30 to play.
Navy had no choice.
Tulsa's quarterback Dane Evans, who set a career passing record at this tradition-rich program, threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers. "That kid had a cannon," Niumatololo admitted. The Golden Hurricane (7-3, 4-2), which finished with 576 yards of total offense, has the coaching and firepower to score on any possession.
The American has become a showcase for some of the rising stars and great offensive minds in the sport and the game itself was a tribute to the high-scoring offenses created by Niumatololo and Tulsa's second year coach Philip Montgomery. Great quarterback play and games with more than a thousand yards of total offense have become the hallmark of the conference. Later Saturday night, USF's exciting quarterback Quinton Flowers threw for two touchdowns and ran for three more as the Bulls outlasted dangerous Memphis, 49-42, on the road.
The only way Navy, which piled up 501 yards of total offense, was going to win this shootout against Tulsa was by outscoring the Golden Hurricane.
"It was a great football game. Sometimes I wish I was in the stands, watching it," Niumatololo said. "These games are not good for the heart.
"I'm just proud of our guys. They found a way to make enough plays against a really good team that was running for 250, throwing for 250 and scoring a ton of points. We had a hard time trying to stop those guys. It's hard to play defense these days. There are so many good teams that spread you out. Everybody's got speed. Everybody's got size. The schemes people play now, they spread you for side to side. It's hard to play defense. That's pretty much college football these days. We found a way to get enough first downs. We just keep fighting. It's who we are."
Worth, the son of a former Navy helicopter pilot stationed at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida, has become an elite quarterback over the course of this special season.
"Every week he keeps coming and doing great things," Niumatololo said. "He's a tough, physical kid, a great leader. The things he says to our players in the locker room, the things he says on the sidelines. It's easy to follow him because even when he wasn't starting, he always worked hard, one of the first guys in the locker room, always ran hard. He never complained or sulked. Guys knew he was a guy of great character. So when it became his turn, there's was no problem following him. And he's doing a great job leading the program."
Worth had his latest magical moment when he took off for a 44-yard touchdown run to give Navy a 42-33 lead with 7:58 to play. It was his ninth consecutive game with a touchdown and matched former quarterback Chris McCoy for second longest streak in school history. Then, Worth led the Mids to three critical first downs -- including one when he powered his way to a first down in a fourth-and-1 situation at his own 49-yard line with 1:45 remaining -- on the final possession as Navy secured the victory by chewing up the clock, taking advantage of the fact Tulsa had used its final timeout with 2:34 to play.
"Our goal was not to give them back the ball," Niumatololo said. "Everything was four-down territory. Anything short, we were going for it. Those guys are so explosive. Just like last week against Notre Dame, I had no intentions of giving them the ball back, either. One guy kept saying, 'Punt the ball.' I just waved him off to the side."
"That's our comfort zone," Worth said. "Run down the clock and keep the ball out of their hands. The O-line killed it. Did a great job at the end. I think our unconventional offense really helps us with these games that want to score fast. We just continue to run the ball, throw them off pace and help our defense by just running it down their throats. It's one of the things we just like to do, run down the clock and run the football. And it's been working out well for us."
Navy rushed for 408 yards against Tulsa.
"It's not something magical," said Navy senior slotback Dishan Romine, who scored his first touchdown of the season on a 41-yard run in the first quarter. "It comes from repetition and hard work. We run the ball hard on Saturday's because we practice it."
"You have to be a tough person to play in this offense," slot back Darryl Bonner added. "It's a hard-nosed offense and it goes right at you."
Ironically, in a game that featured so many offensive fireworks, Navy came up with a huge defensive play that decided this game. After Evans scored on a 1-yard run to complete a 10-play, 74 yard drive and pull within 35-33, with 10:34 to play, Montgomery opted to go for two and the tie. But Navy linebacker Micah Thomas stuffed Evans on a quarterback keeper inches short of the goal line.
"I was just out there playing for my brothers," Thomas said. "On the two-point play, I saw the puller. The previous play for the touchdown, they ran the quarterback and I knew they were going to try to flow with the back. As soon as I looked at him (Evans) I knew he was going to keep it."
"In our conference," he added, "we have teams like Houston, Tulsa, Memphis, South Florida. They love to spread the ball, get their guys in space. As a defensive player, I hate seeing 40 on the scoreboard. We gave up 500 yards. They put their players in position to succeed. But we scored more. We won."
This is the second straight year in which Navy has finished undefeated at home. They have won 15 straight games here, which is now the longest streak in the nation on the heels of Clemson's loss to Pittsburgh later Saturday. The Midshipmen have not lost at home on Senior Day since 2002. But no game between contenders in this league is easy.
"I thought it was a heck of a college football game," Montgomery said. "Two teams playing at a high level. Both of them executing really well. I thought we did what we had to do. Came up a little bit short and ran out of a little time."
Navy made such a wise decision when the Mids shelved their independent status to become part of The American, where November conference games mean so much more for contenders. The Midshipmen accepted an invitation to play in the 2016 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, but Navy could still earn a spot in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl that would preempt that agreement.
Navy is one of six teams in The American that would be more than competitive on any Jan. 1 stage. And if the call should come for the Midshipmen to play in a New Year's Six game, there's no question that Navy would show its Worth.