Navy Football Preview 2025: Can the Magical Midshipmen Do THAT Again?

Miami Herald

12-05-2025

Nothing is ever a given when it comes to service academy football.It usually takes something magical - combined with an easy schedule - to have a great season. Navy had a little of both last year with the offense playing great, the defense surviving and advancing, and with ten wins - including victories over Air Force, Army, USF, Memphis, and a bowl win over Oklahoma - in a special run.
The best part about it was that Navy wasn't perfect. It didn't dominate on the ground, the defense struggled to get off the field, and yet the team kept finding ways to win. It wasn't always magic - Navy was for real.Now do it again.There are no transfers to fill in the gaps, and the hope is for all the new guys built up through the system to come through when called upon. But 2025 Navy has the quarterback, and it has the offensive interior, defensive tackles, and the schedule to flirt with another ten-win season.
Navy Midshipmen Preview 2025: Offense
X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN- When this works, the Navy offense is tremendous. It was sixth in the nation in rushing, third in yards per completion, and it kept the mistakes to a minimum.The difference between the ten-win run last year and the four straight losing seasons was the play on the line. There are new parts, but Ben Purvis is one of the AAC's best guards, and Hoke Smith and Cam Nichols round out a fantastic interior. The tackles, though, are iffy - more on that in a moment.
- Blake Horvath became a force. The senior quarterback ran for over 1,200 yards with 17 scores, and threw 13 touchdown passes and just four picks. Sophomore Braxton Woodson is a capable backup with a little experience.- The backfield is loaded. Wide receiver Nathan Kent averaged over 22 yards per catch on his ten grabs, but the running backs - primarily slotback Eli Heidenreich - did most of the receiving work. Horvath led the team in rushing, but fullback Alex Tecza and Heidenreich are back after combining for over 1,000 yards.
Navy Midshipmen Preview 2025: Defense
- The defense wasn't quite as strong as it was over the previous few seasons, but it didn't have to be with the offense so much better. It'll be good, but it's missing some massive pieces, especially in the secondary.Rayuan Lane is an NFL-caliber safety drafted by Jacksonville, and Dashaun Peele was one of the AAC's best corners - they're both gone. This bunch will take a step back, but there's just enough experience overall to be okay if the pass rush is a bit better.
- The Midshipmen will manufacture plays behind the line. The combination of the outside linebacker rotation and production from the interior - Landon Robinson is among the league's top nose tackles and Griffen Willis should be in for a big year - will get the job done.- Linebacker isn't an issue, but it's a tad green on the starting side with top tacklers Colin Ramos and Kyle Jacob gone. As always the Navy linebackers are built like safeties, but 223-pound Job Grant brings the size in the middle.
Navy Midshipmen Key to the Season
Complete passes.In over 25 years of doing these previews, "complete passes" - or something to do with the air show - was the almost always the key to the season. Last year's strong Navy team ran worse than the mediocre 2023 version, but the difference was Blake Horvath's passing.The Midshipmen went 3-2 in 2023 when they completed more than 50% of their passes, and 2-5 when they didn't. Last year they went 9-0 when hitting more than half of their throws.
Navy Midshipmen Key Player
Luke Molden, OT Sr.Navy is great on the inside of the line, way thin on the outside. The next-man-up thing continues with Molden, a 6-4, 275-pound senior who has yet to see any starting time. Now it's his job to work at one of the two tackle spots.
Navy Midshipmen Key Game
USF, Nov. 15The schedule is so light and breezy that 8-0 is possible, 7-1 is likely, 6-2 - at least - is a must. The brick wall will once again come with a November 8 reality check at Notre Dame, and going to Memphis a few weeks later is a problem. Beat USF at home in between the Irish and Tigers, and another monster season should still be on the table.- 2025 Navy Midshipmen Schedule Breakdown
Navy Midshipmen Top 10 Players
1. Blake Horvath, QB Sr.2. Landon Robinson, NT Sr.3. Ben Purvis, OG Sr.4. Eli Heidenreich, RB Sr.5. Alex Tecza, FB Sr.6. Luke Pirris, EDGE Sr.7. Jaxson Campbell, S Sr.8. Brandon Chatman, RB Sr.9. Griffen Willis, DT Jr.10. Hoke Smith, OG Jr.
Navy Midshipmen 2024 Fun Stats
- Rushing TDs: Navy 38, Opponents 17- 4th Down Conversions: Navy 15-of-24 (63%), Opponents 18-of-37 (49%)- Sacks: Navy 29 for 163 yards, Opponents 11 for 59 yards
Navy Midshipmen 2025 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen
Good team, great offense, EASY schedule - this has to be another great year with a bowl game the least of the expectations.Air Force and maybe at North Texas - that's it for any expected speed-bumps before dealing with Notre Dame, but the offensive line has to be good on the outside, there can't be any major injuries on either line, and the hype will be on to be in the American Athletic Conference title chase until the end.
But there's a concern. Air Force will likely be better, USF will be dangerous, and Army, Notre Dame, and Memphis are all games away from Annapolis. It'll still be a strong season, even if it's not quite another ten-win run.Set The Navy Midshipmen Win Total At … 7.5Likely Wins: Rice, UAB, VMI50/50 Games: Air Force, Army, Florida Atlantic, at Memphis, at North Texas, at Temple, at Tulsa, USFLikely Losses: at Notre Dame
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