Blake Horvath leads No. 22 Navy to 35-13 victory over short-handed Cincinnati in Liberty Bowl

Alex Tecza rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown for Navy, which finished the season on a four-game winning streak, including a 17-16 victory over Army in its most important game of the year. Eli Heidenreich ran for 62 yards and had five receptions for 64 yards.

The Midshipmen last won 11 games in 2019. Navy went 10-3 in 2024, coach Brian Newberry's second season, and its 21 wins are the most in a two-season span in program history.

“Two seasons. The most wins in Navy football history within two years,” Newberry said. “We’ve played football around here for a long, long time, and that’s a credit to these guys.”

Cincinnati (7-6) was missing several key players, including quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who threw for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns this season, and its leading tackler, linebacker Jake Golday. The absences of Sorsby — who will be highly sought-after in the transfer portal — and running backs Tawee Walker and Evan Pryor left the Bearcats without their top three rushers.

“You'd love to have all the guys that we had as a part of our team throughout the whole season,” Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield said.

Manny Covey rushed for 78 yards for Cincinnati. Senior receiver Cyrus Allen had a 4-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter — his 13th scoring catch of the season, tying a school record.

With a wet field and overcast conditions, both teams relied on rushing in the first half, but didn't have much to show for it. Navy had 160 yards of offense by halftime, compared to only 118 for the Bearcats.

“It was hard to get any kind of rhythm in the first half,” Satterfield said.

Bearcats quarterback Brady Lichtenberg said the conditions led to problems in the passing game.

“It seemed like right when we ran on the field, the weather started getting a lot worse,” Lichtenberg said. “The rain was coming down a lot harder. The ball felt a little heavier.”

Horvath connected with Luke Hutchison late in the first half for a 30-yard touchdown that put the Midshipmen ahead 14-7. On Navy's opening drive of the second half, Horvath's 13-yard pass to Heidenreich stretched the lead to 21-7.

Coleman Cauley closed out the scoring for Navy by returning an interception 5 yards for a touchdown. It was the first pick-6 in a bowl game for Navy.

“I just jumped the route,” Coleman said. “I wasn't going down, I was getting to the end zone.”

The takeaway

Navy: The Midshipmen relied on their running game to churn out yardage, with an occasional big play thrown in. Navy tested Cincinnati's young secondary, even though Horvath missed receivers a few times.

Cincinnati: Opt-outs left the Bearcats with an inexperienced squad. Along with Lichtenberg, Samaj Jones saw action at quarterback. Cincinnati finished with 239 yards of offense and a dozen first downs.

Up next

Navy: While the Midshipmen don't have to worry about losing players to the transfer portal, they do have to replace some key seniors, including Horvath, Tecza and Heidenreich, plus defensive standouts like Landon Robinson.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats improved upon last season, even though they dropped last five games after reaching No. 17 in the AP poll. Satterfield is set to get to work immediately on replenishing the roster. “We're looking for guys with character. Guys that are going to do things right,” he said. “The guys we're bringing in, if they don't have that, they're not going to be here.”

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football