Is this the week where Tulsa finally performs an exorcism on the Navy home curse?

Well, it may not actually be a curse, since it hasn't gone on for very long. But still, the performances of home teams in the Tulsa-Navy series have been bizarre, to say the least.

Tulsa has played well on the road against Navy teams that have mostly been good, but at home, TU really couldn't play any worse if it tried.

None of Tulsa's four home games against Navy have been close, and only one of the games has been remotely competitive, a 31-21 loss in 2017 in a game that wasn't really that close.

Tulsa (3-4, 2-1 AAC) has a good chance to defeat struggling Navy (1-6, 1-4) Friday night at 6:30 p.m. at H.A. Chapman Stadium in a game where TU is favored by a shocking 11 points.

If the Golden Hurricane is going to continue to resurrect its season and have a winning record this year, beating Navy is essential. TU is on a two-game winning streak with impressive wins at home against Memphis and a comeback win in Tampa at South Florida.

The bye week for Tulsa last week couldn't come at a better time, especially since TU has to face a triple-option offense that it mostly sees only once a year. Getting an extra week to prepare could be critical. Add that to the fact that it is a short week game with the game on Friday, and the extra week was really needed.

"The bye week came at a pretty good time. We've been pretty beat up," said Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery. "I think it definitely helps to have the bye week beforehand. I think every coach would probably say that if you are playing Navy, Air Force, Army or any of those guys (teams who run an option offense).

"Just having extra days defensively to prepare for what they do is to our advantage. Now we've got to go out and execute."

Navy has only won once in its last 11 games, losing its last five games in an uncharacteristic 3-7 season in 2020 after going 11-2 in 2019. The Midshipmen's only win this season came on Oct. 2 in a 34-30 comeback home win against UCF. Navy has lost its last three games.

But make no mistake. Although struggling, Navy is no pushover. The Midshipmen are coming off a 27-20 home loss to No. 2 Cincinnati last week. They lost 35-17 the previous week at Memphis, and 31-24 on Oct. 9 at No. 24 SMU.

"If you look at their record you are going to think one thing, but if you turn on the tape or turn on the TV and look at what they do, they've played extremely well," Montgomery said.

Sophomore Tai Lavatai is Navy's new quarterback this year, although he has split time with the quarterback Tulsa faced last year - Xavier Arline. Lavatai was Navy's only QB in its win over UCF.

The 6-2, 210-pound Lavatai is not as good of a runner as Arline, but he is capable. And Lavatai is a better passer. Navy hasn't passed much this season, but when Lavatai has passed, he has been effective.

Lavatai was 11 of 15 for 116 yards and two touchdowns while being intercepted once against Cincy. He ran 21 times for 22 yards in the game. With no more than seven passing attempts in any other game, Lavatai has completed 21 of 36 for 273 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

On the ground, Lavatai has 178 yards on 99 carries for a 1.8 yards per carry average. By comparison, Arline has 166 yards on 56 carries for a 3.0 average. Arline is 5 of 15 for 109 yards passing.

When healthy, Lavatai has mostly been the quarterback. He started the first week, a 49-7 home loss to Marshall, but missed the next two games due to injury. He has been the starter since returning.

While Lavatai was injured, Arline played well in a 28-20 loss at Houston, his last start, where he was 3 of 6 for 83 yards passing while rushing 19 times for 64 yards. Lavatai's best two rushing games were 21 for 57 yards and 2 TD's against UCF and 23 for 54 yards at SMU.

As usual with the Mids, stopping the fullback is the key to stopping Navy's offense, because with so much attention to defending the option pitch, it often leaves the middle open. Fullbacks Isaac Ruoss and James Harris are leading Navy in rushing with 388 and 273 yards, respectively, with both averaging around 4 yards per carry.

In Navy's flexbone, slotbacks Carlinos Acie and Chance Warren have gotten most of the carries, with Acie rushing for 207 yards on a 6.1 average, and Warren gaining 116 yards for a 4.8 average.

The UCF game was a typical Navy win harking back to its successful tradition it has built up in coach Ken Niumatalolo's 15 years since taking over in 2007 where he has gone 102-73.

Against UCF, Navy rushed 76 times for 348 yards and a 4.6 average, while Lavatai completed 2 of 4 passes for 58 yards.

That is the type of Navy performance Tulsa is used to seeing when Navy travels to Tulsa. Although it gets worse than that. Besides the 2017 game, Tulsa lost 29-0 at home in 2004, 44-21 in 2017 and 45-17 in 2019.

Tulsa's 19-6 win over Navy in Annapolis in 2020 was a hard-fought game where the then freshman Arline played decently and Tulsa didn't put that game away until late. TU outgained the Midshipmen 296-153, while holding Navy to 126 yards on 53 carries for a 2.4 average.

Tulsa's other win in the series came in a 24-23 overtime game in 2006 where Tulsa blocked a Navy extra point in overtime. Other road games include the Golden Hurricane losing a controversial 42-40 game in 2017 and a 37-29 loss in 2019.

For Tulsa to defeat Navy, Tulsa's offense has to be efficient and take advantage of scoring opportunities against a Navy team that limits opponents' possessions in games due to its ground control offense.

Quarterback Davis Brin needs to bring his A game and limit his mistakes. Brin has been brilliant at times this season, but has made some costly turnovers. Brin is averaging 275.7 yards passing per game with 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

In this Navy game in particular, with less possessions likely, TU can't afford to waste an offensive series. Interceptions are killers.

Even with the history of the series in Tulsa, it still would be shocking if this isn't a hard-fought game that is close.

A win puts TU at .500 and gives it momentum heading into its road game at Cincy. A loss could be devastating, and would make finishing over .500 in the regular season extremely difficult.