Navy nearly pulled off a stunning second-half comeback Saturday night, rallying from a 31-point deficit behind backup quarterback Jackson Gutierrez before falling to Florida Atlantic, 38-30, at Flagler Credit Union Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida.
How It Happened
Florida Atlantic needed just 42 seconds to take the lead, with quarterback Caden Veltkamp connecting with Easton Messer on a 76-yard touchdown on the Owls’ second play from scrimmage. Navy answered immediately, tying the game at 7-7 when starting quarterback Braxton Woodson capped a three-play drive with a 48-yard touchdown run. But FAU pulled away from there. Veltkamp found Messer again for a 36-yard score to make it 14-7, then threw two more touchdown passes — to Kelby Valsin and Dom Henry — before a 60-yard Collin Rogers field goal on the final play of the half sent the Owls to the locker room up 31-7, Navy’s largest halftime deficit since trailing Notre Dame by the same margin in 2024.
Navy’s situation worsened in the third quarter when Woodson left the game with an ankle injury after rushing for 96 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. FAU extended the lead to 38-7 on a Veltkamp touchdown pass to Antonio Johnson with 2:39 left in the third, capping a 16-play, 80-yard drive.
From there, Navy mounted one of the more dramatic comebacks in recent program history. Gutierrez — who had entered the night with just two career passing attempts and no passing yards — threw the first touchdown pass of his career, a 64-yard strike to sophomore tight end Jordan Collins, cutting the deficit to 38-14. In the fourth quarter, Gutierrez led an 11-play, 85-yard drive capped by an 8-yard touchdown pass to Charles Robinson, his first collegiate score, making it 38-20. After a failed onside kick, Navy’s defense forced a bad snap on a punt for a safety, trimming the margin to 38-22. Gutierrez then broke off a career-long 49-yard touchdown run and hit Vic Listorti for a two-point conversion, pulling Navy within 38-30 with 1:46 remaining. FAU recovered Navy’s final onside-kick attempt and ran out the clock.
Navy outscored FAU 16-0 in the fourth quarter and held the Owls to minus-27 yards of total offense in the period.
Inside the Box Score
Despite the loss, Navy dominated on the ground, out-rushing FAU 246-42 and averaging 6.8 yards per carry. FAU’s 386 passing yards and five touchdown passes from Veltkamp were the most thrown against Navy by an opponent since Houston’s Clayton Tune threw five touchdown passes in 2022, and the Owls finished with a 428-393 edge in total offense. Messer led all receivers with eight catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns; Valsin added eight catches for 115 yards and a score.
Navy
Gutierrez completed 6 of 12 passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns while rushing seven times for 75 yards and a third score. Woodson finished 3 of 11 passing for 47 yards before his injury. Defensively, sophomore linebacker Christian Johnson led Navy with a career-high 11 tackles, while MarcAnthony Parker and Giuseppe Sessi each added nine. Parker, Aiden Lyczek and Griffen Willis each recorded a sack as Navy limited FAU to just 42 rushing yards on 44 attempts.
The loss was Navy’s first in four all-time meetings with Florida Atlantic and drops the Midshipmen to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in the American Conference, after opening the season with a 506-yard rushing performance in a win over Towson.
