ANNAPOLIS -- Navy exposed the South Carolina run defense, but the Gamecocks played a perfect game to sink the Mids. Navy rushed for an incredible 523 yards but made a few costly mistakes in the loss.

"The best thing about this game," the USC coach said, "is we won it and it's in our rearview mirror

Yes, South Carolina won (now ranked #6 in the polls), finishing with a solid fourth quarter. But it was clear from the faces on the sideline that this game didn't go quite as expected.

"We had some uncharacteristic mistakes that we don't normally have, and against a team like South Carolina you can't do that," Navy coach Alex Rivas said. "We knew coming into the game we had to play perfect and couldn't make turnovers or give up any big plays."