Running back Alex Tecza broke through the seam of the USF defense for a 76-yard touchdown. Eli Heidenreich, the Pittsburgh native’s teammate at Mt. Lebanon High School, made a one-handed catch that he turned into an 82-yard reception, the Midshipmen’s longest in 15 years, according to the ESPN broadcast.
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Backup quarterback Braxton Woodson replaced starter Blake Horvath, who was in and out of the second half with an apparent lower leg injury, and ran for two touchdowns, the second a 64-yarder late in the fourth quarter.
Those big plays gave USF a taste of its own medicine. What Navy did on defense, namely an interception and turnover on consecutive second-quarter plays, helped the Mids (8-2, 6-1 American) defeat the Bulls (7-3, 4-2) and win the inside court in the College Football Playoff’s final automatic bid with a 41-38 victory.
The Navy remains at the top of the American table with its latest victory. USF entered the matchup as the highest-ranked Group of Five team in the CFP standings.
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Since the five highest-ranked conference champions have an automatic bid to the 12-team playoffs, regardless of where or if they place in the Top 25, the American is primed to have a CFP team.
Right now, Navy is looking for the role, although it still has to beat Memphis on Nov. 27 and then win the U.S. championship. North Texas and Tulane are also competing for a spot in the title game.
James Madison can’t be overlooked in the Sun Belt either.
USF, on the other hand, is now on the outside looking in during a season that began with back-to-back wins over then-ranked Boise State and Florida.
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Navy went into halftime with a 24-9 lead, especially after stopping a handoff on fourth-and-1 in which Bulls offensive lineman Cole Skinner received the ball before being stopped at the line.
Nose guard Landon Robinson played a role in breaking down the trenches on that play, and he applied interior pressure early in the quarter, forcing a Byrum Brown interception that cornerback Phillip Hamilton caught and returned to set up a field goal.
In a first half where the teams combined for a total of 542 yards, midshipmen Tecza and Heidenreich starred. Heidenreich’s one-handed problem stole the show.
In the second half, the Bulls staged a furious comeback.
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Brown completed 23 of 32 passes with 308 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 pick. He also recorded 136 rushing yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns.
The dual-threat’s two rushing touchdowns, the second being a 60-yarder, made the game 27-24.
The first of Woodson’s pair of rushing touchdowns gave Navy a chance to breathe until USF came back with more trickery. This time, a double pass resulted in running back Nykahi Davenport putting enough on a 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jeremiah Koger.
Responding to Woodson’s next score, Brown threw a screen pass to receiver Mudia Reuben, who matched a juke while on his 41-yard mission to the end zone. A two-point conversion made up for a missed extra point on the Bulls’ previous possession.
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The Midshipmen used up all but one second of the remaining clock, and USF’s final hook-and-ladder play was far from a miracle.
Navy snapped its two-game losing streak with a win on Senior Day that returns the Mids to the CFP conversation, which no longer includes USF.