Football | 12/22/2024 11:11:00 AM
ANNAPOLIS, Md.—The Navy Football team (9-3) had six players named All-East by the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Junior fullback Alex Tecza and senior offensive tackle Connor McMahon were named on the offense side of the ball, junior nose guard Landon Robinson, senior linebacker Colin Ramos and senior corner Dashaun Peele were honored on defense, while senior punter Riley Riethman was selected to special teams.
The six players were the most of any team. Army, James Madison, Syracuse and Rutgers had four players each, Penn State and Temple had three players each, while UConn had two.
Tecza has rushed for 491 yards and seven touchdowns on just 96 carries this year (5.1 yards per carry), while catching 11 passes for 199 yards (19.1 yards per catch) and two touchdowns.
McMahon led an offensive line that was third in the nation in tackles for a loss allowed (3.33) and sixth for fewest sacks allowed (0.92). Pro Football Focus ranked McMahon as the 11th best tackle and the best pass blocking tackle in the FBS.
The Navy offense scored 174 more points in 2024 than it did in 2023 and enter the Oklahoma game seventh in the country in rushing offense (249.3 yards per game).
Robinson recorded an impressive 56 tackles at nose guard this season, including five tackles for a loss and four sacks. He dominated the line of scrimmage in the Army-Navy game, recording a career-high 13 tackles, 0.5 tackles for a loss and forcing a fumble as the Navy defense shut down the top rushing offense in the country. Robinson also ran 29 yards on a fake punt in the fourth quarter that took away what little hope Army still had of winning the game.
Ramos has been a tackling machine for the Mids, recording 117 stops, eight tackles for a loss and three sacks. He is the first Navy player to have back-to-back seasons of 100 or more tackles since Ross Pospisil in 2008-09. Ramos has recorded 315 tackles in his career and needs 13 tackles against Oklahoma to tie Clint Bruce ('97) and Marc Firlie ('87) for fifth on Navy's all-time tackles list.
Peele has had a sensational season for the Mids with five interceptions, which are tied for the third most in the FBS. He has also recorded 40 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks to go along with four pass breakups. Peele became the first player in school history to return two interceptions for a touchdown in the same game as he achieved that feat in Navy's 51-17 win over Charlotte. His 10 career interceptions are tied with Sean Andrews ('98) and Gene Ford ('76) for the fifth most in school history, while he needs one interception against Oklahoma to tie Ford for fifth in interceptions in a season.
The Navy defense enters the Oklahoma game fourth in the FBS in interceptions with 17 and fourth in red zone defense (.707 scoring percentage).
Riethman is averaging a school record 45.7 yards per punt this year, which is the sixth-best mark in the FBS, and holds the school record for career punting average at 44.4. Riethman ranks first, second and fifth on Navy's single-season list and stands first, third and fourth (twice) on the single-game list.
Navy will travel to Fort Worth, Texas on Monday to continue preparations for the Oklahoma Sooners (6-6) in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Friday, Dec. 27. Kickoff is set for 12 noon (ET), 11:00 AM (CT) at Amon G. Carter Stadium (46,000) on the campus of TCU. The game will be televised by ESPN and broadcast by the Navy Radio Network and by Bowl Radio.
This will be the second meeting between the Mids and the Sooners and the first since 1965 when Navy won 10-0 in Norman. A win would give the Mids a 10-win season for just the sixth time in school history joining the teams from 1905 (10-1-1), 2004 (10-2), 2009 (10-4), 2015 (11-2) and 2019 (11-2).
Friday's game against Oklahoma will mark the first time that Navy has played a team from the SEC in a bowl game since 1954 (1955 Sugar Bowl) when the Team Named Desire shutout Ole Miss 21-0.
Navy last beat a team from the SEC in 2004 when the Mids knocked off Jay Cutler and the Vanderbilt Commodores 29-26. Navy also defeated Missouri 35-13 in the 2009 Texas Bowl, but the Tigers were in the Big 12 at the time.
