Navy Midshipmen (0-1) vs Air Force Falcons (1-0)
Game Info: Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 3:30 pm (Jack Stephens Field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium)
Betting Odds: Navy Midshipmen +6 -- Over/Under: 40.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Air Force Falcons will travel to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to take on the Navy Midshipmen this Saturday afternoon in College Football action.
The Air Force Falcons opened their 2021 with a victory after defeating the FCS Lafayette Leopards, 3-14, this past Saturday. Air Force dominated Lafayette on both ends of the field and had no trouble securing the victory after going into halftime with a 28-7 lead. Air Force outgained Lafayette by a 420-286 margin while also winning the turnover battle by a 1-0 margin. Air Force is known for their triple-option rushing attack which had plenty of success against Lafayette as they piled up 370 rushing yards (5.5 yds/carry) & 5 TD’s. Offensively, Air Force was led by QB Haaziq Daniels who completed 3 of 5 passes for 50 yards, while rushing for 72 yards & 3 TD’s on 19 carries. Also contributing to Air Force’s triple-option rushing attack were Brad Roberts (25 car, 11 yards), Micah Davis (4 car, 101 yards, 2 TD; 2 rec, 27 yards), & Omar Fattah (5 car, 18 yards).
Defensively, Air Force held Lafayette to just 12 first downs and did a great job slowing down the Leopards rushing attack as Lafayette had just 43 rushing yards on 24 carries (1.8 yds/carry). Leading the way for the Falcons defense was Zion Kelly (6 tackles, 1 TFL), Caleb Humphrey (5 tackles, 1 sack, 1.5 TFL), & Corvan Taylor (1 tackle, 1 INT).
The Navy Midshipmen dropped to 0-1 on the season after being defeated by the Marshall Thundering Herd by a 49-7 margin this past Saturday. Navy was outplayed by Marshall on both ends of the field and could not fight back after the Thundering Herd took a 28-0 lead early in the 3rd quarter. Navy did win the turnover battle by a 3-2 margin, however, was outgained by Marshall by a 464-398 margin in the loss. Similar to Air Force, Navy is led by their option rushing attack that piled up 337 rushing yards & 1 TD against the Thundering Herd. Leading the way for the Midshipmen was QB Xavier Arline who completed 2 of 3 passes for 26 yards while rushing for 76 yards & 1 TD on 16 carries. Also pitching in to the Navy rushing attack was James Harris II (11 car, 80 yards), Isaac Ruoss (15 rec, 63 yards), & Tai Lavatai (16 car, 18 yards).
Defensively, Navy didn’t have many answers for Marshall as GB Grant Wells passed for 333 yards while the Thundering Herd ground game rushed for 6 TD’s. Leading the way for the Midshipmen defense was Kevin Brennan (6 tackles, 1 INT, 1 fumble recovery) & Mitchell West (8 tackles).
The Falcons are 14-3 ATS in their last 17 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. AAC opponents. The Midshipmen are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 non-conference games.
I was concerned about Navy last week going into their matchup against Marshall as they didn’t look much improved from the team that went just 3-7 the year before and it looks like the concerns were warranted after a less than stellar performance against the Thundering Herd. Air Force still has a solid rushing attack but the major difference between these two teams as that the Falcons defense is far superior to Navy’s. I expect this game to be closer than the 40-7 victory Air Force had last season, however, I still think the Falcons do enough to cover this mid-range spread. Good Luck!
Brett’s Pick Air Force Falcons -7
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Follow Brett Nault on Twitter @BrettCU05