Tulane Could Catch Major Break With Navy Midshipmen Star Battling Injury
The Tulane Green Wave knows the task that lies ahead entering Week 12 of the 2024 college football season.
Riding a seven-game winning streak and with an 8-2 record, they earned the No. 25 spot in both the AP Top 25 and College Football Playoff rankings. They also can clinch a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game with a victory over the Navy Midshipmen.
Head coach Jon Sumrall has done a wonderful job all year keeping his team level-headed and even-keeled regardless of how they are performing on the field.
Coming off a 52-6 thrashing of the Temple Owls, which followed up a 34-3 blowout of the Charlotte 49ers, that kind of mindset is needed.
There is still work remaining to do, as a loss against Navy would certainly complicate their outlook. Should they be defeated, the Midshipmen would own the tiebreaker and Tulane would have to hope someone else trips them up before the end of the regular season.
Winning on the road is never an easy thing to do, and things will certainly be tough facing the unique triple-option offense that Navy runs, however, the Green Wave could be catching quite a break this weekend.
Navy quarterback Blake Horvath is currently nursing a thumb injury and it is unknown if he will be healthy enough to play against Tulane.
It is something that he has been fighting through since it was injured against Charlotte back on October 19.
“I haven’t talked to him today, but I got a decent report from the training staff this morning,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said Monday, via Guerry Smith of NOLA.com. “He’s a tough kid. He’s gotten banged up a little bit, but he’s in pretty good shape.”
Horvath’s production has taken a major hit since the injury occurred.
The team has lost their only two games of the season against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Rice Owls, since their 51-17 win over Charlotte.
In the three contests since, he is completing only 51.1% of his passes, going 23-of-45 for 266 yards with only one touchdown and three interceptions. Prior to that, through six games, he completed 46-of-72 passes for 888 yards and 10 touchdowns with only one interception.
His passes haven’t been as crisp in the weeks following the injury, which has sapped some of the offensive production and efficiency.
The Navy head coach, Brian Newberry, was asked if this would impact their game plan, but he played things close to the chest, not to give anything away to the Green Wave.
“Our plan really hasn't changed throughout the course of the year,” he said. “He's got to be able to run the ball for us. There are times where we may do a little bit more of that than others, but he's run it pretty effectively, so for us to be hitting on all cylinders, he's got to carry the ball for us."
Even if Horvath isn’t as successful throwing the ball as earlier in the season, Tulane cannot take Navy lightly. Their rushing attack is a potent one and if they are not disciplined in their assignments, things can get out of hand Saturday in Annapolis rather quickly.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.