PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Navy was looking for its best start in seven seasons last night, but the Midshipmen wasted a highly productive show of offense, broke down on special teams and ran into a bigger, faster Rutgers team it could not stop.
Freshman halfback Justise Hairston rushed 31 times for 161 yards and four touchdowns, and Rutgers blocked two field goals, one of which it returned for a touchdown, as the Scarlet Knights rolled to a 48-27 victory before 32,282 at Rutgers Stadium.
Navy fell to 2-2 despite producing 490 total yards, including a combined 229 yards rushing from fullback Kyle Eckel and Eric Roberts. Problem was, the Midshipmen's previously solid defense cracked, its special teams flopped and its offense wasted valuable time in the red zone. Navy also committed a season-high four turnovers.
Rutgers, off to its first 3-1 start since 1993, turned the game in its favor by blocking back-to-back field-goal attempts, both of which came after Navy had driven inside the Scarlet Knights' 10.
The first came at the end of the first half and preserved a 21-14 Rutgers lead. The second was devastating to Navy, which had opened the second half with its first long drive of the game by marching 74 yards.
But Jarvis Johnson blocked a 23-yard try by Navy kicker Geoff Blumenfeld, and Brandon Haw scooped up the loose ball in stride and ran 88 yards for a touchdown that gave Rutgers a 28-14 lead with 10:39 left in the third quarter.
To its credit, Navy responded by closing the gap to 28-21 with a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 1-yard run by Eckel. But the Midshipmen could not contend with the speed and power of Rutgers' offense, which rolled up 404 yards and converted 10 of 13 attempts on third down.
Rutgers backup halfback Clarence Pittman added 75 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Quarterback Ryan Hart completed 14 of 21 passes for 140 yards.
"It was disappointing," Navy coach Paul Johnson said. "We're our own worst enemy. We gave away some scoring opportunities, but I think you've got to give [Rutgers] some credit, too. They were converting at a pretty high rate on their side. You want to talk about momentum swings. There were all kinds of them."
Navy is kicking itself today about them. Besides the disastrous blocked field goal, there was the false-start penalty against the Midshipmen on a first-and-goal at the Rutgers 2 late in the first half, when Navy was driving to tie the game at 21. The drive stalled and the half ended with Blumenfeld's first failed attempt.
