Navy (1-2 SU, 1-2 ATS) meets Air Force (3-1 SU, 3-1 ATS) on Saturday at 12pmET from Falcon Stadium. The winner of this game will have an edge on the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy.
Last season, the Falcons crushed the Mids 23-2 from Annapolis. They've covered five of the last six meetings.
Navy is coming off their first win of the season, which was a dramatic 23-20 double-overtime victory over AAC foes East Carolina at home. Air Force is coming off a 48-20 home win over Nevada as a 24-point favorite last Friday.
The Mids looked like a basement team in the American Athletic Conference in their first two games. They lost their first game at home 14-7 to FCS Delaware and their second game was a blowout to Memphis again at home (37-13) as a 4.5-point dog. So it's understandable to think that they were going to beat ECU as a 16-point home dog with a team that has struggled to move the ball and finish drives.
Vincent Terrell** Jr.#GoNavy | #RollGoats https://t.co/L1yXAGsa0m
— Navy Football (@NavyFB) September 25, 2022
However, Navy didn't beat the Pirates the way they would normally beat a team with very long drives and a lot of fullback dive plays. Mids' quarterback Tai Lavatai took the air, completing 7 of 10 passes for 152 yards. That included a 65-yard TD strike to Vincent Terrell Jr. in the fourth quarter. The Mids also got a lift from backup kicker Daniel Davies, who made three field goal, including two in both overtime periods. He was filling in for injured kicker Bijan Nichols.
The key for Navy in most games is to control the clock and they did that with 37:02 of possession time to 22:58. They lost just one fumble, which had been a huge problem in the first two games and forced two turnovers. Defensively, while they allowed 267 passing yards they gave up just 103 rushing yards. Navy committed just one penalty for five yards, which is not a surprise considering they are first in the least penalties committed per game (Air Force is third). 3;
The key for the Mids is the play of Lavatai. He's not the best running QB the Mids have ever had, but he's big at 6-2, 220 and has 386 passing yards with two TDs, which isn't bad for an option QB. If he can hit a few big plays in the passing game, that will help the runing game led by Marquel Haywood (149 yards).