The Navy Midshipmen host UCF on Saturday. Here is your first look at the Knights.
SEASON SO FAR (5-0, 3-0 AAC)
| Date | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 08/31/2017 | FIU | W 61-17 |
| 09/23/2017 | at Maryland | W 38-10 |
| 09/30/2017 | Memphis | W 40-13 |
| 10/07/2017 | at Cincinnati | W 51-23 |
| 10/14/2017 | East Carolina | W 63-21 |
STAT COMPARISON
| NAVY OFF PPG | 35.5 | 50.6 | UCF OFF PPG |
| NAVY DEF PPG | 28.0 | 16.8 | UCF DEF PPG |
| NAVY TOTAL OFF | 479.3 | 547.2 | UCF TOTAL OFF |
| NAVY PASSING OFF | 81.8 | 321.8 | UCF PASSING OFF |
| NAVY RUSHING OFF | 397.5 | 225.4 | UCF RUSHING OFF |
| NAVY TOTAL DEF | 398.2 | 333.2 | UCF TOTAL DEF |
| NAVY PASSING DEF | 235.5 | 223.0 | UCF PASSING DEF |
| NAVY RUSHING DEF | 162.7 | 110.2 | UCF RUSHING DEF |
| NAVY TO MARGIN | -0.83 | 1.60 | UCF TO MARGIN |
| NAVY MASSEY COMP& | 36 | 11 | UCF MASSEY COMP |
& The Massey Composite Ratings are compiled from 98 different college football ratings and rankings.
INJURIES AND SUSPENSIONS
| Date | Pos | Player | Injury | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/15/17 | OL | Tyler Hudanick | Knee | ? Saturday vs. Navy |
| 09/25/17 | RB | Jawon Hamilton | Leg | out for season |
| 09/05/17 | LB | Dedrion Bacote | Leg | out indefinitely |
Source: donbest.com
CHALLENGES
Last week we called Memphis Navy’s toughest opponent so far of the season. Now there’s a new toughest one: Central Florida. Of the remaining Navy opponents, only Notre Dame could have a shot at replacing UCF as the Mid’s toughest opponent. The Knights have simply brutalized opponents so far this season winning every contest by an average score of 51-17. UCF is a team that runs a balanced offense and sports a ferocious defense that creates turnovers and stops opponent’s drives. What’s really worrisome is that the team that just tagged Navy with its first loss was defeated by UCF by a margin of 27 points. Navy will need a Herculean effort to beat UCF. The good news is they get to play this game in Annapolis, where the Mids have a strong home-field advantage. UCF doesn’t appear to have faced an option team in the past couple years so that might be a big plus for Navy’s chances of pulling an upset.
Saturday’s game with UCF kicks off at 3:30 pm ET and can be seen on the CBS Sports Network.
