Navy Post-Game Conference Quotes

Despite Rutgers' early lead, Navy fought back and early in the fourth quarter the game's outcome was very much in doubt. Navy's Head Football Coach Paul Johnson and the Midshipmen commented on the result versus # 15/16 Rutgers.

Navy Head Coach Paul Johnson:
"Anytime you make as many mistakes as we did, you are not going to have a chance to beat a decent football team. We made a lot of mistakes and we are not going to survive if we turn the ball over against anybody. In the red zone, that took away points from us."

"We had a lot of missed assignments and missed coverage on defense. Funny thing about the game, if we punch it in [in] the second quarter we have a chance to go in at halftime down 17-14 and we would get the ball first in the second half. As poorly as we played. we are in pretty good shape. They had too many skilled guys for us to handle."

My thought process in the second half was if we needed to get them in a one score game. The thing that turned it was the interception. If we put that one in the endzone and make it 24-21, now we got a game and maybe they panic a little. To their credit, they came back out and made a play and we made a poor decision. Probably poor play call on my part."

Jr. QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada:
Last year, we didn't play, it wasn't a normal Navy team. This year, we tried to get out there and like coach said, keep the scheme and try to run our offense. And we got the ball moving a little bit here and there but turnovers shut us down. I made some really poor decisions today."

Sr. LB Irv Spencer:
Rice is a great, great running back. Everything the paper said about him is true. I just believe we just got bad breaks down. (Clint) Sovie getting hurt early. (Jeff) Deliz getting hurt early. It did bother us a little bit, and having another center linebacker in who wasn't used to making the calls. But, we all have to pick each other up and keep playing. And we tried to, we did. We will be ok though."

On Rutgers' 53-yard pass play to Kenny Britt:
It was a good play on their part. They caught us sleeping. We were looking for run, run, run. And then they pop one deep. That's football, it's a game of inches. A game of big plays. You give up big plays, you give up turnovers, and that's the result usually."

On playing the Scarlet Knight's defense:
They are a physical team. They are going to run the ball down, run the ball in your face. I know I gut cut a few times. You have to be able to play off blocks, stay on your feet, make tackles, stay in position. As my coach always says, they didn't reinvent the wheel. Everything they did, we saw. We just didn't make the plays when we needed to."