In some ways, the Cincinnati game went precisely how Navy hoped it would go. It was a low-scoring affair. The Bearcats were limited to four possessions in each half. The Mids committed only one penalty and held Cincinnati to 55 rushing yards. Navy’s defense had more tackles for loss (6) than their opponents, who led the country in that category.

Unfortunately, Navy fell short in the only thing that matters, falling 20-10 to the back-to-back defending American Athletic Conference champions. The Mids ran for only 176 yards. Both teams crossed the other’s 30-yard line four times, but only one turned those drives into points. The loss dropped the Mids to 3-6 (3-4 AAC).

After the game, I kept thinking, “they are who we thought they were.” Most of what we talked about in the preview we saw in the game. Cincinnati indeed lined up in a 4-4 and used a scraping inside linebacker. The Mids, as predicted, responded by running midline. Navy also did many of the same things as Kennesaw State, often lining up a slotback behind the fullback so as not to let the defense key in on the direction of the play.