Memphis Tigers vs Navy Midshipmen Match Player Stats On Oct 22, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Oct 22, 2016

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Quarterback Will Worth ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns and threw for two more scores as No. 24 Navy rushed for a season-high 447 yards to defeat Memphis 42-28 in an American Athletic Conference West Division matchup on Saturday.

Navy (5-1, 4-0) took sole possession of first place in the division as Memphis (5-2, 2-1) was the only other unbeaten team. The Midshipmen have won two straight.

Navy finished with 532 yards of total offense, powered mostly by the ground game. Worth threw the ball only four times the entire game, but completed three.

The Midshipmen moved the ball on the ground thanks to their hard-to-stop triple option, and Worth led the way. He ran for one touchdown in the first half as Navy took a 21-14 lead at the break.

Worth ran for a 4-yard score on the first drive of the second half that gave Navy a 28-14 lead -- the last of the team's 21 unanswered points.

Memphis quarterback Riley Ferguson (25-for-40, 333 yards, two touchdowns) sliced the lead to seven with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Hurd on the next drive. Worth threw an 18-yard scoring pass to Tyler Carmona on the quarter's final play.

That came on fourth-and-4 when the Tigers called time-out with two seconds left so that Navy would have to try a field goal going into a stiff wind if it wanted to kick. Instead, the Midshipmen crossed them up and took a 35-21 lead.

Memphis' Patrick Taylor ran for a 7-yard touchdown on the following drive and made it 35-28. Bennett Moehring of Navy clanked a 32-yard field goal attempt off the left upright with 5:40 remaining.

The Tigers committed a key turnover when Roderick Proctor fumbled after catching a pass at the Memphis 43. Navy's Tyler Sayles recovered, and Worth scored five plays later on a 1-yard run with 2:01 left to lock it up.

The scoring started quickly. Ferguson threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Miller on the first Memphis drive, and Shawn White tied the game for Navy on its first drive with his 4-yard touchdown run.

Tony Pollard answered on the next play with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 14-7 Memphis lead. Navy tied it on the ensuing drive when Worth threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jamir Tillman with 42 seconds left in the quarter.

Worth fumbled at the 1-yard line and the ball hit the pylon, so it was a touchback. After that, Navy stopped the Tigers on fourth-and-goal from 1-yard line to keep the game tied.

Worth gave Navy its 21-14 halftime lead on a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:19 left. The quarterback ran for 119 yards as the Midshipmen compiled 243 yards on the ground in the first half alone.

NOTES: Navy QB Will Worth has scored a touchdown in each game this season. Worth set a career high in rushing yardage before halftime, and his three rushing touchdowns were a career-high. ... Navy's previous best in rushing as a team was 427 yards in its season-opening victory over Fordham. ... This was the first time Memphis played at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium and just the third time the Tigers went against one of the major service academies. ... Despite the loss, Memphis still gained 431 yards of total offense and made 24 first downs.