Due to concerns about possible coronavirus infections and subsequent contact tracing, coach Ken Niumatalolo decided to avoid live contact during August training camp. That proved a major mistake as Navy was not ready to play tackle football and got manhandled on both sides of the ball during a 55-3 beatdown at the hands of BYU on Labor Day.
Niumatalolo elected to implement live hitting during practice in the wake of that embarrassing loss. However, the pad ready problem persisted during the first half of the Tulane game as Navy fell behind 24-0.
Fortunately for the Midshipmen, something clicked in that department down in New Orleans and a true football team emerged from the locker room following intermission.