Temple had been on a streak lately. And Navy had been on one as well–just the other way. And while it looked like Navy was going to turn around their season, Temple had other plans. The Midshipmen led on the scoreboard for most of the game until the score was tied at 17 going into the 4th quarter. They looked to score the go ahead touchdown with a fantastic Malcolm Perry run and in fact got it into the end zone when the play was called back for a questionable call against the Midshipmen for an illegal block to the back.
With the game tied, Temple played the clock well and was able to score one final time for a final score of 24-17 and sending the Midshipmen to their corner to sing the Blue and Gold first. The Midshipmen failed to get to .500 with a rare home loss. It was just the third time in four seasons that Navy suffered a setback on its own turf.
While there are still a bunch of games left to play before determining bowl eligibility, the Mids will have a tough time to make it work..most of which are on the road. Next week they face Houston (5-1) at home, then it is off to San Diego to battle Notre Dame (#5) at a home game played in San Diego. Beyond that, they face Cincinnati (6-0), UCF (6-0), Tulsa (1-5) at home on November 17th, and Tulane (2-4) before playing a strong Army team (4-2) in Philadelphia on December 8th.
Yesterday’s game also honored the 1963 Cotton Bowl team which was celebrating their 55th reunion. Roger Staubach was on hand and once again, he got a chance to put the ball in the end zone at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium!
Images of the game ©2018 Glenn Miller | Glenn A. Miller Photography for Eye On Annapolis
