Blake Watson rushed for 169 yards and a touchdown, and Memphis overcame two turnovers in the final six minutes to beat Navy 28-24 on Thursday night in an American Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
Memphis (3-0, 1-0) beat Navy (1-2, 0-1) for the fifth straight time.
Watson had two 69-yard runs in the second half. The first led to Seth Henigan’s 3-yard sneak for a 28-21 lead with 14:22 left in the fourth quarter. The second long run gave Memphis a first-and-goal with 6:07 remaining, but Watson later fumbled it into the end zone and Navy’s Justin Reed recovered it.
Memphis got it back with 4:03 left after recovering a fumble near midfield. But the Tigers turned it over again to give Navy another chance with 2:04 left.
Navy marched down the field to the Memphis 15. On fourth-and-6, Tai Lavatai competed a pass to Jayden Umbarger. The call on the field was a first down, but it was overturned after a review.
Alex Tecza carried it 15 times for 163 yards and a touchdown for Navy. Lavatai was 10-of-19 passing for 133 yards and a touchdown.
Tecza tied it at 7-all on a 75-yard touchdown. It was the first offensive touchdown allowed by Memphis this season.
