HOUSTON – Jamale Carothers rushed for career highs of 188 yards and five touchdowns, Malcolm Perry ran for 146 yards and a touchdown and No. 24 Navy beat Houston 56-41 on Saturday night.
Carothers scored on runs of 8, 17, 19, 29 and 75 yards, and CJ Williams and Tyreek King-El also rushed for touchdowns for Navy (9-2, 7-1 American). The Midshipmen ran for 447 yards and Navy outgained Houston (4-8, 2-6) 554-527.
Perry, who also threw for 107 yards, set a school record with his ninth 100-yard rushing game this season and tied a school record with his eighth consecutive 100-yard rushing game.
Houston’s Clayton Tune threw for 393 yards, a career-high four touchdowns and four interceptions and rushed for 61 yards.
Marquez Stevenson had eight catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns, and Tre’von Bradley caught three passes for 99 yards and a touchdown for Houston.
Courtney Lark had a 26-yard touchdown reception, and Patrick Carr had a 5-yard touchdown rushing touchdown for Houston.
After Houston closed to 35-34 with 5:48 left in the third, Carothers upped the lead to eight with a 29-yard rushing touchdown with 2 minutes remaining and, after Kevin Brennan intercepted Tune’s pass in the end zone, King-El capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes left to increase the lead to 49-34.
THE TAKEAWAY
Navy: The Midshipmen went 5 for 10 on third downs and were 1 for 3 on fourth downs and were stopped twice inside their own 30. Navy forced five turnovers and converted it into 21 points.
Houston: The Cougars played well again, but the five turnovers were costly. Houston went 4 for 10 on third downs and 3 for 3 on fourth downs. The Cougars went 0-6 against ranked teams this season.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Navy should move up in the poll following the win.
UP NEXT
Navy plays Army in Philadelphia on Dec. 14.
Houston’s season is over.