Navy (3-5 SU, 4-4 ATS, 3-3 AAC) travels to Cincinnati (6-2 SU, 2-5-1 ATS, 3-1 AAC) to take on the Bearcats on Saturday at 4pmET.
Last season, the Bearcats beat the Midshipmen 27-20 on the road as a 28.5-point favorite.
Cincinnati is coming off a 25-21 loss at UCF last week as a 2.5-point dog, while Navy needed overtime to beat Temple (27-20) as a 14.5-point favorite.
Xavier Arline can do it all. From lacrosse to option quarterback, the 5-9 playmaker has just one rushing TD this season, but it was a big one. He rushed for a 23-yard touchdown in overtime to give Navy a 27-20 overtime win over Temple from Annapolis last week. Navy had a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter, but the Owls scored 10 straight points down the stretch to force overtime.
Unfortunately for Navy, Arline took the place of starting QB Tai Lavatai (309yds rushing 5 TDs, 787 yds passing 5 TDs) who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter. That was a devastating injury for the Mids, considering Lavatai was finally getting a hold of the offense and his size (6-2, 220) made him a tough option quarterback to take down. He was also becoming a serviceable passer which is important in the run-first offense.
“Just proud of our kids and happy for our seniors — hard-fought win,” head coach Ken Niumatalolo said after the game on PressBoxonline.com. “I’m just proud of our guys, just fighting in that kind of situation. It shows the resolve, the grit, and the type of young men that we have.”
The question is whether Arline (104 yds rushing) can run the offense the rest of the way and get the bowl eligible or at least and most importantly, beat Army. Navy averages 244.5 yards per game on the ground. Daba Fofana leads the way with 488 rushing yards. They allow 364.4 yards per game on 272 yards passing (115th) and 92.4 rushing yards (8th).