ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy and Tulane are in contention for the West Division title in the American Athletic Conference but both schools harbor other lofty goals entering Saturday afternoon's matchup at Annapolis, Md. The host Midshipmen are seeking to become bowl eligible for the 15th time in 17 years while the Green Wave are bidding to earn consecutive bowl bids for the first time since 1979-80.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network. LINE: Navy -3
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Navy ran its winning streak to three and improved to 4-0 at home while remaining a half-game behind nationally ranked SMU in the West with a dominating 35-3 victory over South Florida last week. "I've been in this stadium for 22 years, man, and that was as dominant as a defensive performance against a really good team that I've seen in a really long time," coach Ken Niumatalolo said after Navy held an FBS opponent to its lowest point total in 10 years. Tulane, which squeezed out a 29-28 win over the Midshipmen last season, had a four-game winning streak halted in a 47-17 thumping at Memphis last week. "We did not play one of our better ball games," coach Willie Fritz said. "It was disappointing, but luckily we have another game to play this week. We have to drop that one and move on. Navy is a great ball club; they are 5-1."
ABOUT TULANE (5-2, 2-1 AAC)
Tulane had averaged nearly 47 points in the previous four games before the drubbing by Memphis in which Justin McMillan was limited to 187 yards passing and intercepted three times, but the senior quarterback accounted for four touchdowns in last season's win over Navy. Darius Bradwell was injured against Army on Oct. 5 and backfield mate Corey Dauphine, averaging 10.5 yards per carry, was hurt at Memphis but Fritz said he is hopeful both players will be available Saturday. The Green Wave held the Midshipmen to a season-low 117 yards rushing in 2018.
ABOUT NAVY (5-1, 3-1)
Junior linebacker Jacob Springer was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Week following his dominating performance against South Florida, registering a career-high three sacks and a season-high seven tackles, including three for losses, while also forcing a fumble. Quarterback Malcolm Perry had another huge game, rushing for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns to become the fourth player in school history to eclipse 3,000 rushing yards for his career. Navy already has accumulated 17 sacks for the season -- seven more than the team total from a year ago.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Perry is averaging 14.0 points per game, second in the country to Wisconsin RB Jonathan Taylor.
2. Tulane has rushed for at least 250 yards in six of its eight games.
3. Navy leads the nation in rushing by a wide margin, averaging 345.0 yards.
PREDICTION: Navy 27, Tulane 23