Navy Midshipmen Can Exploit One Key Weakness in Tulane Green Wave Defense

The Navy Midshipmen have the perfect opportunity to exploit the Tulane Green Wave's biggest weakness this weekend

Oct 19, 2024; Annapolis, Maryland, USA; Navy Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath (11) rushes for extra yardage against the Charlotte 49ers during the second half at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. / Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

The Navy Midshipmen will face a surging Tulane Green Wave team this weekend in a massive American Athletic Conference game and they may have a leg up on their opponent.

To no one's surprise, the run game has been the Midshipmen's calling card this season. They have the fifth-best rushing attack in the country with 259.1 yards per game.

The offense also picks up an impressive 5.58 yards per rush. It is a deadly mixture of both volume and efficiency.

In previewing the massive game, Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus pointed out the advantage Navy has over the Green Wave in this regard.

The analysis pointed toward a rather basic metric — yards before contact.

The Midshipmen average 2.7 yards yards before contact per attempt, fifth in the FBS. Their run-blocking is ranked No. 15 in FBS. PFF's analysis indicated this was due to the nature of Navy's triple-option offense, which requires defenses to maintain assignment discipline and can lead to delays in recognizing who has the football.

Per PFF's analysis, that gives Navy an edge over Tulane:

The Green Wave allow 5.4 yards per carry, just 104th among FBS schools. A total of 1.9 of those yards come before contact, which stands 96th in that same group. Tulane will need to be very disciplined in its approach to the Midshipmen’s triple-option attack this week or it could end up being a long day for the Green Wave.

Both games that Tulane has lost this season have been largely in part because of mobile quarterbacks. Given Navy's option attack, in which the quarterback triggers everything, that seems to be a solid strategy to take the Green Wave down.

The Kansas State Wildcats handed Tulane its first loss and their quarterback, Avery Johnson, rushed eight times for 40 yards. It wasn't massive, but it had an impact.

Next week, Jackson Arnold and the Oklahoma Sooners did real damage. Arnold rushed 14 times for 97 yards and two trips to the end zone.

Tulane hasn't loss since then, but it also hasn't faced a rushing offense like Navy's this season.

Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath is dealing with a thumb injury, but he is looking to play. He won't be at 100%, though.

This could be a big game for halfback Eli Heidenreich, who leads the team in yards after contact per rush. Horvath and Alex Tecza, the team's main rushers, also excel in that area.