Behind 161 total yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Blake Horvath, the No. 25-ranked Midshipmen rolled past Cincinnati 35-13 in the Liberty Bowl on Friday, Jan. 2 at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis.
Stream the Liberty Bowl live with Fubo (free trial)
The win capped off an 11-2 season for Navy, tying program record for victories in a season.
Eli Heidenreich had 126 total yards (64 receiving, 62 rushing) and a touchdown in the win, with Alex Tecza, Heidenreich’s teammate and fellow Pittsburgh native, adding a team-high 80 rushing yards and a touchdown. Defensively, the Midshipmen were led by linebacker Coleman Cauley, who had a team-high 10 tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown.
Playing without star quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who is in the transfer portal, Cincinnati managed just 239 yards and 4.1 yards per play. The Bearcats were whistled for nine penalties for 76 yards. After a 7-1 start, Cincinnati rose as high as No. 16 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, but dropped its final five games, four of which were decided by multiple scores. Cincinnati is now 1-12 in games after November under third-year coach Scott Satterfield, who is 15-22 at the school.
USA TODAY Sports provided live updates, scores and highlights of the game. Here are the highlights:
Navy vs Cincinnati score
This section will be updated throughout the game.
Navy vs Cincinnati updates
This section will be updated throughout the game.
FINAL: Navy 35, Cincinnati 13
Navy seals win over Cincinnati with pick six
Whatever hopes Cincinnati had of a comeback win have been extinguished. After getting pinned back at their own 2-yard line, the Bearcats turn the ball over, with Navy’s Coleman Cauley intercepting a Brady Lichtenberg short pass up the middle and returning it five yards for a touchdown.
The Midshipmen lead 35-13 with 2:54 left. Cauley has a team-high 10 tackles for Navy, including seven solo tackles.
Cyrus Allen TD catch gets Cincinnati within two scores
It’s not over at the Liberty Bowl, at least not yet. Cincinnati responds to Navy’s touchdown drive by getting up the field relatively quickly, going 75 yards in 3:08 and eight plays. The Bearcats hit paydirt, too, with Brady Lichtenberg hitting Cyrus Allen for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 6:52 remaining.
Cincinnati fails to get the two-point conversion, making the score 28-13. The touchdown catch was Allen’s 13th of the season, tying a program single-season record.
Alex Tecza TD pushes Navy lead to 21
The rout is officially on.
Navy pushes its lead over 28-7 over Cincinnati with 10 minutes remaining after a 3-yard Alex Tecza touchdown run punctuating a 14-play, 56-yard drive that eats 7:44 off the clock.
End of third quarter: Navy 21, Cincinnati 7
We’ve got only 15 minutes left in Memphis, with Navy leading by 14. The Midshipmen will have a third-and-1 at the Cincinnati 33 when the fourth quarter begins.
Cincinnati stopped on fourth down
Cincinnati gets excellent starting field position after a 22-yard Manny Covey punt return gets the Bearcats to the Navy 48-yard line, but Cincinnati is unable to capitalize. The Bearcats lined up for a fourth-and-1 from the Navy 39, but a false start penalty pushes them back five yards. On fourth-and-6, Samaj Jones finds a wide-open Noah Jennings across the middle. What would have been a big gain, however, is dropped, allowing the Midshipmen to take over at their own 43 with 2:44 left in the third quarter.
Navy fumbles ball back to Cincinnati
Two plays after Cincinnati coughed the ball up, it gets it right back. Blake Horvath fumbles a quarterback keeper up the middle on a first-and-10 from the Bearcats’ 38-yard line. Cincinnati’s Jonathan Thompson pounces on top of it, giving his team possession at its own 34 with nine minutes left in the third quarter.
Cincinnati fumble gives Navy the ball back
Cincinnati gets a 36-yard run from Manny Covey on its first play of its first drive of the second half. Two plays later, though, the Bearcats give the ball away, with an errant pitch on a trick play that Navy falls on top of at the Cincinnati 48-yard line.
Blake Horvath extends Navy lead with second TD pass
Navy gets the second half off to a strong start, doubling its lead with an eight-play, 75-yard drive that ends with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Blake Horvath to Eli Heidenreich, his fellow offensive star for the Midshipmen.
Navy originally mishandled the snap on the extra point, but Cincinnati was offsides. The Midshipmen make their second attempt, increasing their lead to 21-7 with 10:15 left in the third quarter.
Horvath has three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in his final college game.
Halftime: Navy 14, Cincinnati 7
Navy will take a 14-7 lead over Cincinnati into the locker room after Blake Horvath’s touchdown pass late in the second quarter.
The Midshipmen will receive the opening kickoff of the second half and should have good starting field position after a personal foul penalty from Bearcats running back Manny Covey on the final play of the first half for slapping a Navy player in the back of his helmet. That will move the opening kickoff back 15 yards.
Blake Horvath TD puts Navy ahead of Cincinnati
For the second time in the past three possessions, a Navy drive ends in the end zone.
Blake Horvath finishes off a methodical 11-play, 80-yard drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Luke Hutchison over the middle to give the Midshipmen a 14-7 lead with 40 seconds left in the half.
The pass came two plays after a successful fourth-and-1 conversion from the Cincinnati 36-yard line.
Marqavious Saboor ejected for targeting
As Navy tries to mount a go-ahead drive before halftime, we’ve got an ejection, with Cincinnati’s Marqavious Saboor booted for targeting after going head-first into Charles Robinson of the Midshipmen while bringing him down at the end of an 11-yard reception.
Cincinnati forces Navy punt
Cincinnati follows up its touchdown drive with a defensive stand, forcing a Navy punt on the ensuing possession. A 45-yard Midshipmen punt is returned 22 yards by Manny Covey to the Cincinnati 31-yard line, where the Bearcats will take over with 7:23 left in the first half.
Samaj Jones TD run ties it up between Cincinnati and Navy
Two teams that struggled to get a first down early in the game now can’t stop scoring.
Cincinnati responds to Navy’s touchdown with a scoring drive of its own, going 75 yards in 17 plays. Freshman quarterback Samaj Jones finishes it off, scrambling up the middle for 6-yard touchdown run, helped by a final push from his offensive line.
Cincinnati’s longest drive of the season was made possible by a pair of fourth-down conversions, including one from the Bearcats’ own 34-yard line.
We’ve got a tie game with 9:47 left in the second quarter.
End of first quarter: Navy 7, Cincinnati 0
Navy will take a 7-0 lead into the second quarter, though Cincinnati’s starting to find its rhythm offensively, with a third-and-4 at the Navy 42-yard line.
Blake Horvath TD run gives Navy lead over Cincinnati
At last, we have not just a first down, but points.
Navy finds its footing on its third drive of the game, going 63 yards in seven plays. It’s finished off by quarterback Blake Horvath, who plows into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Midshipmen a 7-0 lead with 3:19 left in the first quarter.
Cincinnati, Navy trade punts again
Four possessions, four three-and-outs.
Cincinnati and Navy have combined for 10 total yards between their first four drives as we remain scoreless in Memphis.
Cincinnati, Navy go three-and-out
In a downpour, neither Cincinnati nor Navy is able to get much of anything going on its respective first drives. The Bearcats fail to pick up a yard on the opening possession and punt, but the Midshipmen give it back after a three-and-out of their own.
Cincinnati’s got the ball back at its own 32-yard line after a 9-yard punt return.
Liberty Bowl weather
It’s a less-than-idyllic day in Memphis, with rain projected for much of Friday’s Liberty Bowl between Navy and Cincinnati. The temperature for the contest won’t be getting above 49 degrees.
College bowl games today
The Liberty Bowl is the second of four bowl games being played on Friday, Jan. 2, which marks the end of bowl season outside of the remaining College Football Playoff games and all-star exhibitions like the East-West Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl.
Here’s a list of today’s bowl games:
Armed Forces Bowl: Texas State vs. Rice
Liberty Bowl: No. 25 Navy vs. Cincinnati, 4:30 p.m. ET
Holiday Bowl: No. 20 Arizona vs. SMU, 8 p.m. ET
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State, 8 p.m. ET
Where is the Liberty Bowl being played?
The Liberty Bowl is being played at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, the longtime home of the event.
The game has been held in Memphis every year since 1965. It previously took place in Philadelphia from 1959-63 and Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1964.
What time does Navy vs Cincinnati start?
Date: Friday, Jan. 2
Time: 4:30 p.m. ET, 3:30 p.m. CT
Where: Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (Memphis, Tennessee)
Navy and Cincinnati are set to kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. local time) on Friday, Jan. 2 in the Liberty Bowl inside Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis.
What TV channel is Navy vs Cincinnati on today?
TV channel: ESPN
Streaming options: Watch ESPN | Fubo (free trial)
ESPN will broadcast the Liberty Bowl between Navy and Cincinnati on Jan. 2. Mike Monaco and Kirk Morrison will call the game from the booth, with Dawn Davenport on the sidelines.
Streaming options for the game include the ESPN app (with a TV login) and Fubo, which carries ESPN and offers a free trial to new subscribers.
Stream the Liberty Bowl live with Fubo (free trial)
Navy vs Cincinnati predictions in Liberty Bowl
Here’s who experts within the USA TODAY Sports Network picked to win the Liberty Bowl:
Navy 34, Cincinnati 17: These are two teams heading in opposite directions, with the stronger finisher of the group (Navy) entering the matchup with something close to a full arsenal of its best players. Horvath will finish off his senior season with a fitting exclamation mark while a productive Cincinnati offense will struggle to move the ball as effectively without Sorsby. — Craig Meyer, USA TODAY
Navy vs Cincinnati odds, spread for Liberty Bowl
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, Jan. 2
Spread: Navy -7.5
Over/under: 56.5
Moneyline: Navy (-300) | Cincinnati (+240)
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.