MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Blake Horvath threw a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for a score to lead No. 22 Navy to its 11th victory of the season, 35-13 over short-handed Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl on Friday.
Horvath scored on a 2-yard run and had scoring passes of 30 and 13 yards. The senior QB, who helped open up the passing game this season for the run-heavy Midshipmen (11-2), finished 9 of 15 for 108 yards.
Alex Tecza rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown for Navy, which finished the season on a four-game winning streak, including a 17-16 victory over Army in its most important game of the year. Eli Heidenreich ran for 62 yards and had five receptions for 64 yards.
Cincinnati (7-6) was missing several key players, including quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who threw for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns this season, and its leading tackler, linebacker Jake Golday. The absences of Sorsby and running backs Tawee Walker and Evan Pryor left the Bearcats without their top three rushers.
Manny Covey rushed for 78 yards for Cincinnati. Senior receiver Cyrus Allen had a 4-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. It was his 13th scoring catch of the season, tying a school record.
With a wet field and overcast conditions, both teams relied on rushing in the first half but didn’t have much to show for it. Navy had 160 yards of offense by halftime, compared to only 118 for the Bearcats.
Horvath connected with Luke Hutchison late in the first half for a 30-yard touchdown that put the Midshipmen ahead 14-7. On Navy’s opening drive of the second half, Horvath’s 13-yard pass to Heidenreich stretched the lead to 21-7.
Coleman Cauley closed out the scoring for Navy by returning an interception 5 yards for a touchdown.
