Navy Midshipmen Quarterback Ranked Among Top 20 in Latest Power Rankings

The Navy Midshipmen have had a spectacular season, and their quarterback has been a big part of that success.

Oct 5, 2024; Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA; Navy Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath (11) runs the ball in the first quarter against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Navy Midshipmen began the season with one of the best starts in the history of their program when they jumped out to a 6-0 record overall with a 4-0 record in conference play.

They have since dropped two games in as many weeks, the first coming in a blowout at the hands of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the second coming against the Rice Owls as the Mids struggled to get back on their feet after the loss the previous week.

Junior quarterback Blake Horvath has been a big part of the team's success this season, though his production has tailed off over the last two losses.

Even with the downward trend of his on-field performance of late, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report still ranks the junior highly, placing Horvath 16th in the latest iteration of his quarterback power rankings after having him 14th in last week's,

"After a 6-0 start to the season, Navy has now lost back-to-back games, and Horvath completed just 10-of-21 pass attempts for 120 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions in Saturday's loss to Rice," writes Reuter, "he still made an impact with his legs, tallying 64 rushing yards and a touchdown, but it was not enough in a 24-10 loss."

Horvath has been yet another in a long line of dual-threat quarterbacks that Navy has deployed, and this year he has really showcased his ability to beat teams through the air and on the ground.

Horvath has thrown for 1,096 yards this year with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions on 63 of 106 passing while adding 814 yards on the ground with 12 rushing touchdowns on 109 carries.

The junior has shown a propensity for explosiveness, making opposing defenses pay if they key in too heavily on one aspect of his game.

Horvath carries an average of 10.3 yards per passing attempt while adding 7.5 average yards per rush.

The quarterback has struggled to get things going through the air over the last two weeks, throwing a combined three interceptions over 34 attempts, though only one came against the Fighting Irish.

The schedule does not get much easier for the Midshipmen down the stretch with contests against the Tulane Green Wave and the annual rivalry game against the Army Black Knights on the horizon, and Navy will need Horvath to get back to the levels of production he provided them earlier in the year in order for them to be successful in those games.

Regardless of how the rest of the 2024 campaign goes, the Mids are bowl-eligible for the first time since 2019, and Blake Horvath has been a big part of that success.