HOUSTON - - For all of the euphoria felt by Navy's players after last week's heart-stopping overtime victory over Air Force, those on the offensive side of the ball also felt frustration. The Midshipmen struggled to move the ball against a rival that is intimately familiar with their triple-option offense, and it bothered them.
They won't have that feeling after overwhelming Rice in a 63-14 victory Saturday.
Navy's offense held the ball for 40 minutes, 36 seconds; scored touchdowns on nine of its 11 possessions; and amassed 537 yards, its highest total since the 2008 season opener against Football Championship Subdivision opponent Towson.
Junior quarterback Ricky Dobbs ran for 104 yards and scored four touchdowns. His backup, sophomore Kriss Proctor - who was making his college debut - scored three TDs and rushed for 82 yards.
"I guess they really don't know how to defend the triple option," said sophomore slotback Marcus Curry, who rushed for 85 yards and one touchdown. "We were going out there executing and trying to make a statement this game. It hurt our pride last week because we didn't really move the ball. Here we go this week, and we moved the ball every play. ... We needed it."
Navy went into the game as an 11-point favorite, but coach Ken Niumatalolo worried throughout the week that the Midshipmen were going to suffer a letdown after the 16-13 overtime victory over the Falcons.
The Midshipmen last played Rice in 2005, a 41-9 Navy win - and the Owls lost their first five games in 2009 by a combined 203-85. Only an announced 15,096 watched the game at 47,000-seat Rice Stadium.
"It took so much out of us last week, the emotional, the physical toll. That was a huge game," Niumatalolo said. "We talked about it all week: Don't let down, and continue to play hard. You never know how the kids are going to respond. I thought it was a great team win."
The Midshipmen were dominant on both sides of the ball, as they won their third straight game and improved to 4-2. Navy blocked a field-goal attempt, stuffed the Owls on fourth down deep in their own territory and intercepted two passes.
Navy jumped on Rice (0-6) from the start. The Owls' first five possessions ended in a blocked field-goal try (by safety Wyatt Middleton), a punt, another punt, a turnover on downs and an interception (the first of cornerback Kevin Edwards' career). The Midshipmen's first five ended: touchdown (Dobbs), touchdown (Dobbs), touchdown (Dobbs), touchdown (fullback Vince Murray), touchdown (Curry). With 2:44 left in the first half, Navy led 35-0 and had outgained the Owls 282 yards to 46.
