GAME 9: Navy (2-6, 1-3 American) at Cincinnati (7-1, 3-1 American)
When	Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018 | 3:30 pm (ET)
Location	Cincinnati, Ohio | Nippert Stadium
Television	ESPNU (Roy Philpott and Tom Ramsey)
Live Video Stream	WatchESPN
Listen	Navy Football Radio Network (Pete Medhurst, Tom O'Brien, Joe Miller, Tim Murray) - WBAL (1090 AM; Baltimore) | WNAV (1430 AM, 99.9 FM; Annapolis) | WFED (1500 AM, 104.5 FM; Western Fairfax / Loudon) | WFED (820 AM, 94.3 FM; Frederick) | WBQH (1050 AM, 93.5 FM; Washington, DC / Northern Virginia) | ESPN/XEPE (1700 AM; San Diego) | WXTG (102.1 FM; Virginia Beach, Va.) | WJXL 1010 AM, 92.5 FM (Jacksonville, Fla.) | Satellite Radio (Sirius Ch. 135 Cincinnati broadcast / XM Ch. 383)
Live Stats	Navy Athletics
Game Notes	Navy | Cincinnati | AAC
Season Statistics	Navy | Cincinnati | AAC
Social Media	@NavyAthletics | Facebook | Instagram

Setting the Stage
•    Navy and Cincinnati will meet for the fourth time in series history and for the second time as members of the American Athletic Conference when they square off on Saturday afternoon at Nippert Stadium (40,000). Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Roy Philpott and Tom Ramsey on the call.
•    Navy leads the all-time series, 3-0, including a 42-32 victory last year in Annapolis. This will be Navy's first trip to Cincinnati. The last time the Mids played in the state of Ohio was 2013 when Navy lost to Kareem Hunt and Toledo, 45-44, in double overtime.
•    Navy needs to win its final five games to qualify for a bowl for the seventh consecutive year. Navy has gone to a bowl game in 14 of the last 15 years. The only time the Mids did not go to a bowl game during that time period was in 2011 when they finished 5-7.  Navy started 2-6 that year before finishing the year 3-1 which included a 27-21 victory over Army.
•    Cincinnati enters Saturday's game with a 3-1 conference mark and is tied with USF for third place in the East Division.  Cincinnati will play host to USF next week. UCF and Temple, who play each other on Thursday night, lead the East at 4-0.
•    Navy enters Saturday's game with a 1-3 league mark and in fourth place in the West Division (Navy owns the tiebreaker over Memphis). The Mids are just one game out of second place (SMU and Tulane are both 2-2).    
•    Navy has lost five consecutive games for the first time since 2011 when the Mids dropped six in a row. The Mids have lost nine straight games away from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.  
•    The Navy Football Insider Show will air on Thursday at 7:00 pm on WBAL Radio (1090 AM) with host Joe Miller. Pete Medhurst will also contribute to the broadcast.
•    The Navy Football Tailgate Show on WNAV Radio 1430 AM / 99.9 FM will air at 1:30 pm (ET) on Saturday with Wylie Baker and Bill Lusby.
•    The Navy Football Pregame Show with Tim Murray, Pete Medhurst, Tom O'Brien and Joe Miller will get underway at 2:30 pm (ET) on the Navy Radio Network, followed by game action beginning at 3:30 pm (ET) with Medhurst, O'Brien and Miller on the call on the Navy Radio Network.   
•    Following the contest, Medhurst, O'Brien, Miller and Murray will recap the day's events in a 30-minute postgame show.

Scouting Cincinnati
•    Cincinnati enters Saturday's game with a 7-1 record, which includes a 3-1 mark in the AAC East Division.  
•    The Bearcats have gone into overtime in back-to-back weeks, losing at Temple, 24-17, and winning at SMU, 26-20. Cincinnati also owns wins over UCLA (26-17), Miami of Ohio (21-0), Alabama A&M (63-7), Ohio (34-30), UConn (49-7) and Tulane (37-21).
•    Cincinnati is led by running back Michael Warren II and a stingy defense that has given up the sixth-fewest first downs in the country.
•    Warren II has rushed for 863 yards and 12 touchdowns on 163 carries, while quarterback Desmond Ridder is also a threat in the running game with 371 yards and four touchdowns on 101 carries. Warren's 12 rushing touchdowns rank fourth nationally, while his 107.9 rushing yards per game is the 13th-best average in the country.
•     As a team, Cincinnati is the 19th-best rushing team in the country (232.3).
•    Ridder is coming off his best game as a passer, completing 33 of his 50 attempts for 352 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions against SMU.  
•    Kahlil Lewis, who had 12 catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns against SMU, leads the Bearcats in receiving with 31 catches for 343 yards and three touchdowns.
•    Perry Young leads a stout Cincinnati defense with 41 tackles, while Bryan Wright has 39 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss and three sacks. James Wiggins had an 86-yard interception return for a touchdown last week in overtime to beat SMU. He also had an inteception at the 10-yard line earlier this year to preserve Cincinnati's win over Ohio.
•    Cincinnati is 23rd in the country against the pass (186.4), 12th against the run (102.9), ninth in total defense (289.3) and ninth in scoring defense (15.8).The Bearcats are fourth in the country in third down defense (.266) and ninth in fourth down defense (.267).
•    The Bearcats are second in the nation in net punting (43.88) and 19th in time of possession (32:39). Punter James Smith is averaging 46.4 yards per punt, which ranks sixth.

Mids Face Daunting Schedule
•    Navy is in the midst of playing four opponents (Houston, Notre Dame, Cincinnati and UCF) that are a combined 29-2 (.935) on the year. Of the four remaining undefeated teams, Navy plays two of them (lost to Notre Dame in San Diego, at UCF on Nov. 10)
•    Houston, which is ranked 17th in both polls, is 7-1 with its only blemish a 63-49 loss at Texas Tech.
•    Notre Dame, ranked third in the country in both polls, is 8-0.
•    Cincinnati, receiving votes in both polls, is 7-1.
•    UCF, ranked ninth in both polls, is 7-0 and has the nation's longest winning streak at 20 games.

Causing Turnovers
•    Navy has forced at least one turnover in 46 of its last 54 games. During that 54-game span, the Mids have forced 87 turnovers (41 interceptions and 46 fumble recoveries).
•    The Mids caused five turnovers in its 51-21 win over Lehigh (three interceptions and two fumbles). It is the first time the Mids have forced five or more turnovers in a game since Sept. 10, 2011, when Navy forced five against Western Kentucky in a 40-14 win.
•    The defense has forced 17 turnovers in its eight games this fall after forcing just 16 turnovers in 13 games last year.  The 17 forced turnovers are tied for the 13th most in the country. 

Navy Defense Coming Up with Fumbles
•    The Navy defense has posted 10 fumble recoveries this season which is tied for the second most in the country. Senior defensive ends Jarvis Polu and Josh Webb and freshman corner Michael McMorris lead the way with two recoveries each, while senior linebacker Hudson Sullivan, senior linebacker Taylor Heflin, junior outside linebacker Walter Little and senior safety Juan Hailey have one each.
•     The two fumble recoveries by Polu, Webb and McMorris are tied for the 12th most in the country (11 players lead with three), while Sean Williams' five forced fumbles is tied with Alex Lee of Kentucky for the most in the country.
•    The Mids recovered just nine fumbles in 13 games last year.

Mids Consistently Among Nation's Top Rushing Teams
•    Over the last 17 years, Navy has consistently been one of the top rushing teams in the country, never finishing lower than sixth.  
•    The Mids kicked off the trend in 2002 when they finished third in the country in rushing, averaging 270.8 yds/gm.
•    In 2003, Navy led the nation averaging a then school-record 323.2 yds/gm.
•    In 2005, Navy led the country in rushing for the second time in three years, averaging 318.7 yds/gm.
•    Navy finished the 2006 campaign averaging a nation's-best and then school-record 327.0 yds/gm.  
•    The Mids rushed for a school-record 348.8 yds/gm in 2007, becoming the first team in NCAA history to lead the nation in rushing three-consecutive years.     
•    In 2008, Navy led the country in rushing for an unprecedented fourth straight year, averaging 292.4 yds/gm.
•    The Mids finished No. 2 in the country in 2013, averaging 325.4 yards per game.
•    Navy finished No. 2 in the country in 2014, rushing for 338.1 yards per game.  It was the Mids' best rushing effort since 2007 when they set the school record.
•    In 2015, Navy finished No. 2 in the country, averaging 326.7 yards per game. Georgia Southern, coached by current Tulane coach Willie Fritz, led the country in 2015 averaging a whopping 363.0 yards per game.
•    The Mids finished 2016 ranked No. 4, rushing for 310.9 yards per game.
•    Navy averaged a school-record 351.4 rushing yards per game in 2017, which was the second most in the country.
•    The Mids are third in the country in rushing average this season, averaging 307.3 yards per game. Navy last led the nation in rushing back in 2008.

Mids Perfect in the Red Zone
•    The Navy offense is a perfect 25-for-25 in the red zone this year, scoring 21 touchdowns and kicking four field goals.
•    Navy is one of three teams that is perfect in the red zone in 2018. The Mids' 21 touchdowns are the most among those three teams, aa his the 25 attempts.