ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Senior quarterback Blake Horvath rushed for 174 yards and a career-high tying four touchdowns, senior snipe Brandon Chatman rushed for a career-high 141 yards, while junior linebacker Coleman Cauley recorded a career-high nine tackles, forced a fumble that he recovered and intercepted a pass in his first-career start to lead Navy (7-0, 5-0) to a 42-32 victory over Florida Atlantic (3-5, 2-3) in front of 32,175 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
 
The win was the 10th-straight for Navy dating back to last year, which ties the school record for consecutive wins. The Mids also won 10-straight games in 1959-60, 1917-18 and 1910-11.
 
"Thrilled to get a win as always," said Navy head football coach Brian Newberry. "10 straight wins tie a school record. We have been playing football here for a long time and we are really proud of our guys for finding ways to win. I thought we played really well at times. I thought defensively for three and a half quarters, we played really well. I think a big storyline was the three turnovers we forced that led to 21 points.
 
The 7-0 start is tied for the second-best start in school history and the best since the 1978 team also started 7-0.  Navy also started 7-0 in 1960, 1934 and 1926. The school record is 9-0 in 1926.  That team won a share of the national championship with Stanford and Alabama.
 
"I thought we were really opportunistic on defense," said Newberry. "I thought we had some guys who really played well. Coleman Cauley stood out in his first start at linebacker – nine tackles, a forced fumble that I thought was the play of the game. We call that an E.A.T. play – effort, attitude, and toughness. It was a huge play in the game. He recovered the one he forced. He is a guy who has worked his tail off. He got the opportunity to start and made the most of it. Adam Klenk made huge plays when he was in there. We have to find ways to get him on the field more. He finished with two sacks and a forced fumble. Offensively, Brandon Chatman really played his tail off tonight. Pound for pound, he is probably the toughest kid on our football team. He is just a competitor. I am really proud of him. Blake did his thing and played really well. Really proud of our players. It's a really special group of young men. They just keep finding ways to win."
 
FAU jumped out to a 7-0 lead as the Owls took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards on 10 plays with quarterback Caden Veltkamp hitting Jayshon Platt with a 43-yard touchdown pass to give the Owls the early lead.
 
Navy would answer right back with a 72-yard drive on eight plays, quarterback Blake Horvath scored from seven yards out to tie the game at seven.
 
Klenk, who also had a monster game for the Mids, would create the first turnover of the day on the next FAU possession as he came around the left end and stripped Veltkamp of the football at the Owls' 23. The fumble was recovered by MarcAnthony Parker and the Mids were back in business.  It was the second consecutive game that Klenk caused a fumble. He finished the game with five tackles, two sakcs, 2.5 tackles for a loss, a forced fumble and intercepted a two-point conversion.
 
"We talk about going 1-0 and 'see a little, see a lot.' That is pretty much how I try to conduct myself during the game," said Klenk. "Get the call, read my key, and then go play. The plays just happen to come to me today."
 
Three plays after the caused turnover, the Mids were in the end zone as Navy lined up backup quarterback Braxton Woodson at snipe, Horvath handed him the ball and Woodson took it around left end untouched for a 16-yard touchdown to give the Mids a 14-7 lead.
 
"I have said it all season. It doesn't matter who has the ball in our offense – Braxton Woodson, Alex Tecza, Eli Heidenreich, Nathan Kent, Brandon Chatman, Cody Howard. There is a lot of talent and a lot of guys who can get the ball," said Horvath. "Any given week, we are feeding the hot hand. Obviously, today, it was Brandon Chatman. There is no "oh wow." We all knew this was possible. We have so many hands and mouths to feed that different guys are going to eat on different weeks."
 
The Owls would move the ball into the red zone on their next possession, but the defense stiffened and FAU was forced to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Garrison Smith to cut the lead to four at 14-10.
 
Navy would make it 21-10 on the ensuing possession as Horvath scored his second touchdown of the day from seven yards with 11:45 left in the second quarter.
 
FAU moved the ball back in the red zone again on its next possession, but the Navy defense held FAU to another field goal, this one from 38 yards out to make the score 21-13.
 
FAU got the ball right back after Navy center Cam Nichols was pushed back into Horvath on the snap, causing a fumble that the Owls recovered at the Navy 34, but once again the Navy defense held strong and forced a punt that was downed at the Navy three with 5:29 left in the half.
 
The Mids quickly moved down the field and had the ball first and goal at the five with 34 seconds left in the half, but could not score as Horvath gained two yards on first down, Heidenreich gained two yards on second down and then Tecza was dropped for a loss of one on third down.  Navy elected to go for it on fourth down but came up short as Horvath hit Chatman on an out route that FAU defensive back Dillon Williams played perfectly, dropping Chatman at the one to end the half.
 
Navy got the ball to start the second half and, after moving into FAU territory, failed again to get a first down on fourth and short, turning the ball back to the Owls at its own 42.
 
Once again, the Navy defense stood tall as Klenk batted down a Veltkamp pass on third down, forcing a 49-yard field goal from Smith, who missed it wide right. 
 
The Mids turned it over on downs for the third time in the game on the next possession as the Owls sent the house on a fourth-and-two play from the FAU 19 that forced Horvath to throw the ball up for grabs in the end zone to Joshua Guerin. Damarius McGhee knocked the pass down in the end zone to give the ball back to FAU.
 
Navy would get the ball right back on the very next play as Cauley hustled downfield on a completed pass to Dom Henry and knocked the ball out and recovered it, giving Navy the ball at the FAU 41.
 
"It was a surreal moment," said Cauley. "It is something you dream about when you are a kid. Making a big play in a big moment. It is a testament to the work we do at the linebacker position."
 
Three plays later, running back Alex Tecza scored from the one to make it 28-13. 
 
Cauley would intercept Veltkamp on FAU's next possession at the FAU 41 and Horvath scored from 19 yards out to make the score 35-13. 
 
Horvath scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the day on a 31-yard run with 5:36 left to make it 42-19 and the Owls would score two meaningless touchdowns in the final two minutes to make the score much closer than it was.
 
Navy piled up 503 yards of total offense, including 397 yards on the ground. 
 
Navy and Tulane (3-0) are the only two teams that remain unbeaten in the American Conference, but there are five teams with just one loss, including North Texas (7-1, 3-1), who the Mids play next Saturday at 12 noon ET, 11:00 AM  CT in Denton. That game will be televised by ESPN2 or ESPNU and broadcast on the Navy Radio Network.