A spot in the American Athletic Conference championship game on Dec. 6 is likely hanging in the balance when Navy hosts No. 25 Tulane in Annapolis, Md., on Saturday afternoon.
Two of the conference’s stars in running back Makhi Hughes of Tulane (8-2, 6-0) and quarterback Blake Horvath of Navy (7-2, 5-1) bring broad appeal to a matchup intensified by Tulane edging the likes of Arizona State and Iowa State to give the AAC two teams in the second set of College Football Playoff rankings revealed Tuesday.
As it stands, Tulane (second) and Navy (third) behind No. 24 Army (9-0, 7-0). Navy will face Army in their annual matchup to close the regular season on Dec. 14, but it is designated as a non-conference game and hits after the CFP bracket is announced six days earlier.
The Midshipmen call Horvath’s number repeatedly, and he has delivered 870 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns with 1,154 yards passing and 11 scores.
Count Tulane coach Jon Sumrall among Horvath’s fans.
“He’s unbelievable. The kid is very athletic, can beat you with his legs, throws it really good. Great anticipation and awareness. I think he’s extremely tough,” Sumrall said.
As if Navy’s average of 259.1 yards rushing per game (fifth in FBS) isn’t impressive enough, a dangerous passing game only heightens the threat, Sumrall said.
Eight of Horvath’s passing touchdowns have covered at least 31 yards, including two that went for 70-plus.
“How comfortable they are throwing the ball down the field and doing it with consistency is unique,” Sumrall said. “A lot of times, three-back-option type teams want to go 3-4 yards a play, grind it out. (Navy doesn’t) have a problem doing that, but they have probably more explosive ability throwing the ball down the field than most teams do.”
Horvath has been playing through a thumb injury he sustained against Charlotte on Oct. 19 and was held to 50 percent passing with no touchdowns in consecutive losses to Notre Dame (51-14 score) and Rice (24-10). He did have 129 yards rushing and a score against the Fighting Irish.
Navy ended the skid with a 28-7 win over South Florida in Tampa last week.
Regarding the effect of Horvath’s injury on his team’s offense, Navy coach Brian Newberry said the plan “really hasn’t changed throughout the course of the year. He’s got to be running the football for us. There’s times where we may do a little more of that than others, but he’s run it very effectively, and so for us to be hitting on all cylinders, he’s got to carry the football for us.”
On defense, Navy gets to deal with Hughes, who is fourth in the FBS with 1,209 yards rushing.
Newberry called Hughes “as good of a back as there is,” saying he combines bruising power and elusiveness.
“He’s both. He’s really athletic, he’s big, he’s physical, he breaks tackles, he makes the cuts. He’s just a total package at running back. Catches it out of the backfield as well,” Newberry said.
The mere threat Hughes poses also sets up Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah, who has thrown for 2,059 yards and 16 touchdowns this season.
“Their team is going to establish that first and foremost, but (then) the play action off of the running game,” Newberry said. “The quarterback is a very good player, throws it well, sees the field very well, smart … is athletic enough to beat you with his feet, so there’s lots of challenges with these guys.”
Navy cornerback Dashaun Peele has proved to be a weapon as well. The senior has four of the team’s 13 interceptions, and he returned two for touchdowns — covering 61 and 84 yards – in a 51-17 blowout of Charlotte.
