Annapolis, Maryland – The Mean Green of North Texas (5-2, 3-0) scored five TDs of over 45 yards against Navy. Not only on offense, but the defense and special teams scored on long returns as well. The Midshipmen (2-5, 1-4) threatened to keep the game close into the fourth. However, UNT’s offense scored as needed throughout the game. Especially after their defense took back the Navy momentum surging in the third period.
After that momentum shift, the trio of QB Tayven Jackson, WR Justin Stevenson and RB Jahiem White continued their offensive onslaught to maintain the lead. Navy had no answers to stop Stevenson (8 caches, 209 yards and 2 TDs) in their secondary. White continued to slip tackles and burst through holes on his 20 carries for 174 yards and two scores. He also garnered four receptions for 58 yards.
Guitterez shines, but Midshipmen power game missing in action
Navy QB Jackson Guitterez impressed with his running and passing skills to keep the Mids in the game though they trailed the entire time. His 26 carries for 228 yards and three touchdowns along with seven pass completions for 133 yards and a TD kept the Mids posing a comeback even after the key turning point. Noticeably, this game demonstrated a major weapon missing from Navy’s offensive arsenal.
They just don’t have big powerful fullbacks to churn out those tough yards up the middle and to control the clock in Navy’s favor. Past teams of former academy head coaches Paul Johnson and Ken Niumatatolo recruited them successfully over the years. For needed yardage in short yardage situations, Guttierrez got stopped cold up the middle almost every time.
North Texas off to a fast start
In the first period, the Mean Green scored on a 45-yard scoring play from Jackson to Stevenson. He beat the secondary deep for a diving, fingertip catch into the end zone. Navy’s Nolan Bartley connected with WR Kyle Koch over the middle in the end zone from the four. The Mean Green led 14-3 going into the second quarter.
Navy continued scoring on its next possession. Guitterez capped a 75-yard drive on a draw play. He twisted and turned to the left for an 18-yard TD run. North Texas came right back. They put the Navy defense on its heels with White taking it in from three after a 78-yard drive.
North Texas scouts saw something
The next touchdown came on a strategy never seen before. The Mids set up to punt from their 27. Suddenly, Mean Green WR Dalton Carnes, wheeled around from his up position a few yards beyond the line of scrimmage. He raced down the right sideline as if he had started the play out of position. HC Neal Brown’s staff must’ve had Navy well-scouted to pull this off. Navy’s punter saw the open field down the right sideline and punted in that direction.
To the far left, the lone deep return man moved as if to catch the ball to his right. Navy’s punt teamers all ran toward him. However, Carnes sped fast enough to catch the punt on the right. With it, he raced down field along the sideline picking up a wall of blockers and returning the ball all the way for a 76-yard touchdown. Never witnessed anything like it. UNT led 28-10.
Give Navy credit
They didn’t fold up after the humiliating trickery. Guitterez scored again at the end of a 75-yard drive with a one-yard run with 11 seconds to go in the second. They showed they could sustain a drive and still score quickly to trail, 28-17, at halftime.
Momentum shifts
Starting the second half from the 25, UNT’s drive was thwarted by a sack. They punted, and Navy took over on its 20. USNA had its running game going. They looked to close the score to get at least within eight. With a first and ten at UNT’s 39, on a run up the middle, the ball popped forward into the arms of LB Zakye Barker. He took one sidestep to his right and raced 63 yards with a clear field ahead for a touchdown. The Mean Green pulled ahead, 35-17. The play killed the momentum Navy gathered up until that point.
Undeterred, Guitterez ran right on his next possession. He broke a tackle and romped 43 yards for a TD. A two-point conversion was successful. Navy trailed, 35-25. However, UNT’s offense just continued to dominate the Navy defense. They came right back as Jackson connected with Stevenson once again racing past the secondary for a 53-yard TD.
Navy tried to continue its march again to go for a first down on a fourth and three at UNT’s 27. Once again, HC Brian Newberry called on Guiterrez going up the middle. Once again, the Mean Green front stopped him right there. UNT took over on downs.
Still some fight, as usual, in the Navy
On the very next play, the Mids finally put some pressure on Jackson. His hurried throw was intercepted by CB Ira Oniha. Four plays later, Guitterez completed a fifteen-yard TD pass to slot back Michael Barrow (21 carries for 92 yards, 1TD; 1 reception for 15-yard TD) to make the score, 42-32, entering the final period. The Mids still threatened on offense.
The Naval Academy defense made another stand to force North Texas to punt. Guitterez called signals from the 17 to start. Two completions, a pass interference against UNT and a diversified running game took the Midshipmen to the Mean Green four. Guttierez optioned to Barrow from there to close the gap, 42-39. Still 10:49 left to play. Navy came within striking distance.
North Texas comes up with another big play
Three plays later, White burst through a hole in the right side and raced 53 yards up the field unscathed to score again. The Mean Green led, 49-39. Navy’s next possession resulted in a punt at the 50. On a third and 15 from the 12 after a sack by Navy DE Aiden Lyczek, Jackson went to Stevenson for a first down.
After that, it was mostly White on the ground getting to the Navy 20 for a first down. The Midshipmen ran out of time-outs. North Texas triumphed over Navy, 49-39. In the end, the big play for the Mean Green came on Barker’ s fumble return. It created at least a 10-point swing. Despite Navy’s comeback efforts, the Mean Green scored enough with quick strikes to keep its distance to claim a hard-fought victory.
North Texas runs out the clock on its final possession of the game to clinch the victory, 49-39.Week Nine action challenges ahead for both teams
Navy entertains No. 5 Notre Dame (6-1) at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts in its tradition of continuing the nation’s longest, intersectional, continuous “rivalry.” This Thursday, North Texas will host Florida Atlantic (5-2, 2-1) in Denton seeking a critical win in the American Athletic Conference. This will be a shoot-out with FAU QB Caden Veltkamp. He shows up with 2,084 passing yards and 18 TD passes. North Texas’s Tayden Jackson totals 2,173 passing yards and 18 TDs. Great matchup! FAU defeated Navy, 38-30, so this should be a close battle to the end.
We at Collegefootballfan.com have a Tuesday night Conference USA contest when Delaware (3-4, 1-2) visits Western Kentucky (3-4, 2-1) in Bowling Green. UD is on an upswing with QB Nick Minicucci back in action (preview here). Kennesaw at Middle Tennessee is now tentative based on World Series play. We are Brewers’ fans based on our affiliation as Nashville Sounds ticket holders! As the AAA team of Milwaukee, we’ve watched Brice Turang, Sal Frelick, Jacob Misiorowski and others on their way up.
Our Week Nine this Saturday to a first-time venue
We travel to No. 20 Boise State (6-1, 3-0) this weekend for our first game there ever. It also marks our first “PAC-12” game since USC vs UCLA in 2017. Even my wife, St. Laurie, exclaimed that she “always wanted to see a game on the blue field!” So, we’re going to Albertsons Stadium. We will be meeting up with some friends we made at Texas State on our annual visits to San Marcos in recent years there.
The Bobcats (4-3, 2-1) can put points up on the board. As a matter of fact, they defeated North Texas this season, 49-35. They also defeated Colorado State, 66-27, under HC GJ Kinne in his fourth season. Bobcat QB Brad Jackson has thrown for 1,606 passing yards and nine TD passes. He’s also run for 382 yards and five scores. Their rushing attack also features Torrance Burgess (889 yards, 7.5 yards per carry, and 5 TDs) and Davian Jackson (315 yards and 5 TDs) for a very potent offense.
We figure to see another close game on our 2026 journey
QB Maddux Madsen leads Boise with 1,445 passing yards and 14 TDs, but no INTs. RB Dylan Riley leads the ground game with 963 yards and 8 TDs. Both teams have defeated Utah State in PAC-12 play. Both have close “points for” and “points against” numbers in conference play thus far. BSU has scored 106 and allowed 59. TXST has scored 115 and allowed 75.
Different conference opponents, otherwise, but Boise dominates at home and TXST slipped on the road at San Diego State, 31-29. The Broncos are favored by 11.5 points. We think the Bobcats will keep it closer than that with their potent offense in their first meeting as PAC-12 opponents. We anticipate a fun game once again despite some precipitation in this week’s forecast. Saint Laurie may not like that!
Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 750 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Capture some memories
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
Written and edited by Steve Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America and Author of Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and The Ugly.
