Navy didn’t want to simply end a losing streak against Air Force. It wanted to swing the pendulum back its way with authority.
In a 34-7 blowout of the Falcons in front of a sellout crowd at Falcon Stadium on Saturday, the Midshipmen did just that.
“We talked about making a statement today,” Midshipmen coach Brian Newberry said. “Not just winning the game but making a statement. I thought we did that. It’s indicative of the direction of our program right now. I’m really happy we did it the way we did today — pretty convincingly.”
The Navy Midshipmen took on the Air Force Falcons on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo. Navy Midshipmen routed Air Force Falcons 34-7 in front of a sell-out crowd. (The Gazette, Arthur H. Trickett-Wile)
It was Navy’s first win in Colorado Springs since 2012 and their first win in the series since 2019, as the Falcons had won four in a row and outscored the Midshipmen 93-26 in the process. Navy had also lost back-to-back games, and six of eight overall, to Army.
In an electric late-morning, early afternoon setting in front of 39,411 (the first sellout since Army visited in 2011) and a national television audience, all of that changed.
Navy (5-0) outgained Air Force 463-273, with quarterback Blake Horvath throwing for 134 yards and running for 113 and two scores.
The Midshipmen had averaged just 9.5 points in the past four trips here. Last year, in Annapolis, Navy gained just 124 yards against Air Force. On Saturday, they sped past that number in the first quarter.
“These seniors haven’t beaten [ Air Force] so it was honestly for them,” Horvath said “We just wanted to prove who we are. I think it was just a gritty win.”
The Falcons (1-4), on the other hand, have lost four in a row, eight of their last 10 dating back to an 8-0 start to last season and are out of the running for the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy.
“We all know how big this game is to us and the people who came before us as well,” said Air Force receiver Tre Roberson, who scored his team’s lone touchdown on a 45-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Quentin Hayes – who replaced starter John Busha in the second quarter.
The game started out looking like a typical Air Force/ Navy matchup when both teams went three-and-out on their first possessions.
But then Navy marched 87 yards in 10 plays. Then it turned an Air Force interception into a 41-yard scoring drive, highlighted by a 34-yard Nathan Kent touchdown on a fourth-down reverse call two plays after a fumble recovered by Air Force was overturned by replay.
Air Force briefly got back into it when Hayes entered. The sophomore completed 5-of-6 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown and ran for 17 yards – a total that was hurt by 19 negative yards.
“I feel like it was a spark that we needed in that moment,” Roberson said.
But Navy snuffed it out before that spark turned into a flame.
That has been a recurring theme for Air Force – signs of life and positive stretches overwhelmed by struggles. The team had ridden high, averaging 10 wins over its past four seasons. Now, it’s finding itself on the opposite side of that as it goes through a season with an inexperienced roster. Three players made their first starts on Saturday, bringing the total to 30 this season. That's 10 more than any other team in the nation.
It's part of that swinging pendulum that left Air Force watching a service academy rival sing second on its home field for just the second time in the past 12 years.
“Back to the drawing board,” safety Camby Goff said. “Come in on Monday, lift, meet, review the film and realize that we’re on to next week. Day by day. On to the Lobos.”
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