#22/25 Navy (10-2, 7-1 American) vs. Cincinnati (7-5, 5-4 Big 12)
When	Friday, Jan. 2, 2026 | 4:30 pm (ET) / 3:30 pm (CT)
Location	Memphis, Tenn. | Simmons Bank, Liberty Stadium
Television	ESPN (Mike Monaco, Kirk Morrison, Dawn Davenport)
Live Video Stream	WatchESPN
Listen	Navy Football Radio Network (Joe Miller, Mike James, Keith Mills, Scott Wykoff) WBAL 1090 AM / 101.5 FM (Baltimore) | WFED 1500 AM (Washington, D.C.) | WFED 104.5 FM (Western Fairfax / Loudon, Va.) | WNAV 1430 AM (Annapolis) | KWFN 97.3 FM (San Diego) | WGH 1310 AM / 100.9 FM (Norfolk, Va.) | WJGM 105.7 FM (Jacksonville, Fla.) | KIKI 990 AM (Honolulu, Hawai'i) | Satellite: Sirius 106 or 202 depending on the radio, SXM App 964 | Apps: Audacy (WNAV and KWFN) and TuneIn (WBAL) National Radio: ESPN (Chris Carlin, Rocky Boiman, Marion Crowder)
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	Navy | Cincinnati | AAC
Season Statistics	Navy | Cincinnati | AAC
Social Media	@NavyAthletics | @NavyFB | Facebook | Instagram

Opening Kick
•    #22 / #25 Navy (10-2) and Cincinnati (7-5) will meet in the 67th AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Friday, Jan. 2 at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (capacity approximately 44,000 during renovations) in Memphis, Tenn. Kickoff is set for 4:30 pm (ET), 3:30 pm local time and the game will be televised by ESPN, ESPN Radio and the Navy Radio Network.
•    The AutoZone Liberty Bowl Football Classic is the 7th-oldest college bowl game and is one of the most tradition-rich and patriotic bowl games in America. It was founded in Philadelphia in 1959 and the inaugural game featured a match-up between Penn State and Alabama. That game began a tradition of great stars, exciting football and was the first of 66 thrilling chapters in the history of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Football Classic. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl has enjoyed many highlights through the years. The Bowl has hosted all-time great coaches such as Paul "Bear" Bryant, Lou Holtz, Tom Osborne, Steve Spurrier and Bill Snyder. The Bowl's history also includes 4 Heisman Trophy winners (Ernie Davis, Terry Baker, Doug Flutie and Bo Jackson) and other stars such as Archie Manning and Donovan McNabb.
•    This marks Navy's 26th bowl appearance (13-11-1 all-time) and the 3rd time it has appeared in the Liberty Bowl. The Mids defeated Kansas State 20-17 in the 2019 Liberty Bowl and lost to Ohio State 31-28 in the 1981 Liberty Bowl. Overall, the Mids have won 3-straight bowl games and 6 of the last 7. Last year, the Mids shocked Oklahoma 21-20 in the Armed Forces Bowl.
•     Navy is 2-4 all-time in bowl games against teams who are current members of the Big 12 Conference. The Mids beat BYU 23-16 in the inaugural Holiday Bowl in 1978, lost to Houston 35-0 in the 1980 Garden State Bowl, lost to Texas Tech 38-14 in the 2003 Houston Bowl, lost to Utah 35-32 in the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl, lost to Arizona State 62-28 in the 2012 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl and beat Kansas State in the 2019 Liberty Bowl.
•     This will be the 7th meeting between Navy and Cincinnati with both teams winning 3 times. The last meeting was in 2022, which was then an American Conference game, with the Bearcats winning 20-10 in Cincinnati. Cincinnati owns a 3-game winning streak against Navy. The Mids' last win came in 2017, knocking off the Bearcats 42-32 in Annapolis.
•    Navy is coming off a thrilling 17-16 win over Army on Dec. 13 to win the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy, which is presented annually to the winner of the football competition among the three major service academies (Navy, Air Force and Army) and is named in honor of the President of the United States. The Mids will visit the White House in the spring to officially accept the trophy.
•    Navy has won the CIC Trophy in back-to-back years and has won it 13 times in the last 23 years. The Mids are 32-15 (.681) against Army and Air Force over the last 47 games. Navy won the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy in back-to-back years for the first time since 2012-13.
•    Navy finished in a 3-way tie for the American Conference regular-season title with North Texas and Tulane, but did not play in the championship game due to Tulane being ranked in the CFP rankings and North Texas beating Navy head-to-head. 
•    Navy is ranked 22nd in the latest Associated Press Poll and 25th in the AFCA Coaches Poll. Navy is 1 of 3 teams from the American Conference ranked, as Tulane (#20/#17) and North Texas (#25/#23) are also ranked in both polls. This is the 1st time Navy has been ranked in the Associated Press Poll since last year when the Mids were ranked for 2 weeks before losing to Notre Dame. The #22 ranking is the highest for Navy since being ranked 20th in the final AP poll in 2019, a season that saw the Mids tie the school record with 11 wins and defeat Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl. 
•    The Navy Football Strength of Record (ESPN metric) is 19th in the country. That is the best in the American Conference and ahead of such Autonomy 4 teams as Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, LSU, Tennessee, Arizona, Georgia Tech, Washington, Arizona State, Houston, Virginia, Louisville, TCU, Iowa State, Pitt, SMU and NC State.
•    Navy defeated #24 USF on Senior Day in Annapolis 41-38. It was Navy's 3rd win over a ranked opponent in the last 2 years. Last year, Navy defeated #19 / #22 Army (31-13) and RV / #22 Memphis (56-44).
•    It is the first time Navy has beaten 3 ranked opponents over a 2-year span since 1957-58 when the Mids beat #5 / #5 Notre Dame (20-6) and #10 / #9 Army (14-0) in 1957 and #8 / #7 Rice (20-7) and #14 / #12 Michigan (20-14) in 1958.
•    Navy's 2 losses this season have come against teams with a combined record of 21-4 (North Texas is 11-2, Notre Dame is 10-2). Blake Horvath (Sr. / QB) did not play in the Notre Dame game due to an injury. 
•    Navy held Memphis to 17 points on Thanksgiving night in a 28-17 road win. It was the 1st time Memphis had been held to fewer than 20 points in 52 games. 
•    Navy finished 6-0 at home this year. It is just the 6th time in school history Navy has gone undefeated at home in years it has played 5 or more home games. The Mids also completed the season undefeated at home in 2019 (6-0), 2015 (7-0), 2013 (5-0), 2004 (6-0) and 1981 (5-0). Navy is now 13-3 (.813) at home under Brian Newberry.
•    Navy's Class of 2026 has put together a 29-20 (.592) record, including a 21-11 (.656) mark in the American. The 21 conference wins are the most of any other class (Navy joined the American in 2015).
•    The 29 wins are the most by a senior class since the Class of 2020 posted a 30-23 (.566) mark, including a 20-12 (.625) record in the American. The Mids can tie the mark with a win over Cincinnati in the bowl game. 
•    Navy has produced back-to-back 10-win seasons for the 1st time school history. The Mids need 1 more win to tie the school record for wins in a season (11 in 2019 and 2015).
•    Navy's 20 wins over the last 2 years are the most since 2015-16 when Navy also won 20 games and are the most wins in school history over a 2-year span. The Mids can break that record with a win over Cincinnati.
•    Navy has won 78-consecutive games at home when leading after 3 quarters, the nation's longest streak. The last time Navy lost at home when leading after 3 quarters was Oct. 23, 1999, when the Mids led Akron 29-13 and lost 35-29.
•    Navy started the year playing 4 of its first-5 at home. The Mids will finish the season with 5 of their final-6 games played away from Annapolis (including the bowl game). 
•    Navy owns a 758-605-57 (.554) record over 145 seasons. The 758 wins are the 22nd most in the FBS and the most of any team not in the Autonomy 4. 
•    Brian Newberry started his head coaching career at Navy with a 20-10 record, which is the best 30-game start by a Navy head coach since Wayne Hardin went 20-9-1 from 1959-61. Ken Niumatalolo, the winningest head coach in school history, started his first-30 games at Navy with a 19-11 record. Newberry is currently 25-12 (.676) as a head coach.
•    Navy has 3 coaches on its coaching staff that grew up in Cincinnati: defensive coordinator / linebackers coach P.J. Volker, special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach Ricky Brown and snipes coach David Cole. Brown spent one year at the University of Cincinnati as a quality control coach in 2022.  
•    Navy has 15 players on its roster from the state of Ohio, including co-captains Blake Horvath (Hilliard) and Landon Robinson (Fairlawn). The Mids have 6 players from Cincinnati or the surrounding suburbs.
•    The Mids lead the FBS in rushing, averaging 289.3 yards per game. 
•    Navy's 39 rushing touchdowns are 2nd in the FBS behind North Texas (45). 
•    Navy is 4th in the FBS in rushing yards per carry, averaging 5.85 yards per carry. Utah is 1st (6.11) and Liberty Bowl opponent Cincinnati is tied with Oregon for 2nd (5.90).
•    Navy is 2nd in the country in passing yards per completion, averaging 16.3 yards per catch. Air Force is 1st at 17.96.
•    Navy has had a nation's-best 10 offensive plays go for 60 yards or more.
•    The Mids have had 4 plays of 70 yards or more, which is tied for the 5th most in the country. 
•    The Mids have had 13 plays of 50 yards or more, which is tied for the 6th most in the FBS.
•    Navy has given up just 3.25 tackles for loss per game, which is tied with Cincinnati for the fewest in the country. 
•    The Mids are tied for the 3rd in the country for fewest sacks allowed (9). Navy's offensive line was on the Midseason Watch List for the Joe Moore Award, which is given to the nation's best offensive line. Army is 1st with 6 sacks allowed, while Cincinnati is 2nd with 7.
•    Navy's 22 first-time starters this year are the 4th most in the country.
•    Dating back to the 2023 season, Navy is 20-4 when Blake Horvath starts at quarterback.
•    Horvath was informed on Nov. 21 by the Heisman Trophy Trust that he was a potential Heisman Trophy finalist.
•    Horvath was also named a semifinalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year award and the Davey O'Brien Quarterback of the Year.
•    Horvath was named the ECAC Offensive Player of the Year.
•    Horvath was also a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, also known as the Academic Heisman. The 16 finalists each received an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. Horvath carries a 3.69 grade-point average and earned a perfect 4.0 in both semesters of his junior year. He is the 11th Navy player to be named a finalist and the 1st since Cameron Kinley in 2020. 
•    Horvath is the 1st Navy quarterback in school history to have 1,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing  in back-to-back seasons. He is the 1st player to do it in the FBS since both Lamar Jackson (Louisville) and Quinton Flowers (USF) did it in 2016 and 2017.
•    Horvath's 162.5-career pass efficiency rating is the highest of any quarterback in Service Academy history with 150 or more attempts. Dating back to 1956, he is 1 of just 45 quarterbacks in the FBS to have a career passing efficiency of 162.0 or better with 275 or more passing attempts. Horvath is tied for 40th on that list.  
•    Horvath's average of 7.7 yards of total offense per play (5,487 yds on 716 plays) over his career is the 3rd-best mark in school history. Shun White holds the record at 8.9 (2005-08).
•    Horvath is averaging 16.7 yards per completion in his career (174 comp / 2,909 yds), which is the 4th-best average in school history. The record is 18.8 set by Ricky Dobbs (2008-10).
•    Horvath's .588 career completion percentage is second only to Roger Staubach on the Navy career list.
•    Horvath has thrown just 10 interceptions in 296-career attempts for an interception percentage of .034 per attempt. That is the 4th-best mark in school history. The Navy record is .017 set by Keenan Reynolds, who threw just 8 interceptions in 462-career attempts.
•    Horvath's 25-career passing touchdowns are tied for the 4th most in school history. He is just 1 away from tying for third.
•    Horvath's 5,485 yards of career total offense is just 13 yards behind Jim Kubiak for 5th all-time at Navy, 181 yards behind Alton Grizzard for 4th, 185 yards behind Malcolm Perry for 3rd and 202 yards behind Chris McCoy for 2nd.
•    Horvath is averaging 7.7 yards of total offense per play in his career, that is the third best average in school history.
•    Horvath has been responsible for 342 points in his career, the 4th most in school history. Keenan Reynods is 1st with 528.
•    Horvath has rushed for 100 or more yards 7 times this year. If he can rush for over 100 yards against Cincinnati it would tie for the 2nd-most 100-yard rushing games in a season in school history. Malcolm Perry (2019) holds the record with 11. 
•    Horvath has rushed for over 100 yards 13 times in his career. If he can do it again against Cincinnati in the bowl game, he would tie Eddie Meyers (1978-81) for the 5th-most 100-yard rushing games in a career with 14.
•    Horvath's 469 yards of total offense (130 yds rush, 339 yds pass) in Navy's win against Air Force broke the school record. The previous record was 428 yards set by Will Worth in a loss at USF in 2016. Horvath is the 1st quarterback in the FBS to throw for 330 yards or more with 3 or more touchdowns and rush for 130 or more yards with 1 or more touchdowns in a game since LSU's Jayden Daniels against Florida in 2023. It's only been done 17 times in the last 30 years.
•    Horvath and Malcolm Perry (2016-19) are the only players in school history to have multiple runs of 90 yards or more in a career. 
•    Horvath's 15 rushing touchdowns this fall are tied for the 4th most for a quarterback in the FBS.
•    Horvath is averaging 104.3 rushing yards per game this year, ranks 1st among quarterbacks and 9th overall in the FBS.
•    Horvath is averaging 16.7 yards per completion in 2025, the 4th-best average in school history. It would lead the FBS if he had enough attempts to qualify.
•    Horvath's 2,619 yards of total offense in 2025 are the 2nd most in school history. 
•    Horvath's .607 completion percentage in 2025 is the 4th-best mark in school history. 
•    Horvath's 1,472 passing yards this year are the 6th most in school history. He needs just 66 yards against Cincinnati to move into 4th.
•    Horvath is averaging 10.2 yards per pass attempt this year, which is tied for the 4th-best mark in school history.
•    Eli Heidenreich (Sr. / Snipe) was invited to the East-West Shrine Game on Oct. 29. He is the 35th Navy football player to be selected and the first since linebacker Diego Fagot in 2021, who earned defensive MVP honors. Heidenreich is Navy's 1st offensive player to be selected since Malcolm Perry in 2019 and the 1st non-quarterback since wide receiver Brandon Turner in 2012. Heidenreich will be joined by Landon Robinson (Sr. / NG), giving Navy two players in the East-West Shrine Game for the 1st time since 1957.
•    Heidenreich's 15-career receiving touchdowns are the most in school history. 
•    Heidenreich's 6 touchdown catches last year tied the single-season record. Heidenreich enters the Cincinnati game with 5 touchdown catches this year.
•    Heidenreich's 1,930-career receiving yards are the most in school history. 
•    Heidenreich's 877 receiving yards this year are the most in school history.
•    Heidenreich needs just 5 catches against Cincinnati to tie for the 5th-most catches in a single season in school history.
•    Heidenreich's 104 career catches are the 4th most in school history. With 5 catches against Cincinnati, he would move into 2nd.
•    Heidenreich had a career-high 8 catches for a school-record 243 yards and a school-record tying 3 touchdown catches in Navy's win over Air Force. He is the 1st Navy player in school history to surpass 200 yards receiving in a game. The previous record was 194 yards by Cory Schemm in the 1996 Aloha Bowl against Cal.  
•    Either Heidenreich or Alex Tecza (Sr. / RB), Navy's dynamic duo from Pittsburgh who grew up as childhood friends, have scored a touchdown for Navy in 27 of their 35-career games (they have scored in the same game 8 times, including the first-3 games in 2025). Heidenreich has 22-career touchdowns (7 rush, 15 rec), while Tecza has 25 (22 rush, 3 rec). Remarkably, they each scored the same number of touchdowns as high school teammates (29).  Both made their 1st-career start at Memphis in 2023. 
•    Heidenreich is graded as the best running back in the FBS with a grade of 93.1 by Pro Football Focus (PFF has Heidenreich listed as a fullback, which he is most definitely not) and his receiving grade of 94.9 is the best of any running back or wide receiver. Tecza is ranked as the 9th-best receiver in the backfield by PFF with a grade of 80.7.
•    Robinson was named 1 of 7 semifinalists for the Outland Trophy. He was 1 of only 2 defensive linemen to be named.
•    Robinson has been named a First-Team All-American by USA Today, Sports Illustrated, the Associated Press and the Football Writers Association of America. He was named a Second-Team All-American by the Walter Camp Foundation and the Sporting News.
•    Robinson, who was also named the American Conference Defensive Player of the Year and the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year, has recorded 58 tackles, a team-high 8.5 tackles for a loss, a team-high 6.5 sacks and a team-high 7 hurries for the Mids this season.
•    Robinson recently was selected to play in the East-West Shrine Game along with his teammate Eli Heidenreich. It marks the first time since 1957 that Navy has had 2 players invited to the East-West Shrine Game.
•    Pro Football Focus ranks Robinson the 5th-best pass-rushing interior defensive lineman by PFF with a grade of 85.6.
•    Braxton Woodson's (Jr. / QB) 180 yards rushing on 7 carries against VMI are the most yards rushing on 7 carries or less in an FBS game since LSU's Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for 188 yards on 6 carries against Arkansas on Nov. 23, 2019 in a 56-20 LSU win. Woodson came off the bench in the 3rd quarter against USF and led Navy on 2 scoring drives to seal the upset win. Woodson finished with 103 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns on 9 carries. He had touchdown runs of 20 and 64 yards.
•    Jackson Gutierrez (So. / QB-RB) is listed on the depth chart at 2 different positions. He is the only player in the FBS to be listed on the 3-deep depth chart at quarterback and another position. 
•    Ira Oniha (Jr. / CB) broke up 3 passes in Navy's win over Tulsa, which is tied for the 2nd most at Navy in the last 20 years. He also had 3 PBUs against Temple. 
•    Malcolm Johnson (Fr. / OT) became the first freshman to start on the offensive line at Navy against FAU since Duncan Cave started at center against SMU in 1997. Johnson was named the ECAC Rookie of the Year.
•    Nathan Kirkwood (Sr. / PK) has made 114 career extra-points which are the 2nd most in school history. Bennett Moehring (2016-18) holds the record with 141.
•    Kirkwood's 48 extra-points this season puts him just 3 behind Sloan for 5th in single-season PATs.
•    Kirkwood's 54-onsecutive extra-points made dating back to last year is the 3rd-longest streak in school history. He needs 3 more to pass Bijan Nichols for 2nd.
•    If Kirkwood makes all of his PAT attempts against Cincinnati, he will be just the 8th kicker in school history to be perfect on PATs for the year (min. 25 attempts).
•    Kirkwood's 177-career points are just 7 behind Nick Sloan for 5th on Navy's career points list for kickers.
•    Jacob Carlson (So. / P) has been impressive for Navy in his 1st year on the job. Carlson is averaging 44.6 yards per punt, which is the 4th-best punting average in school history and just off the record of 45.7 set by Riley Riethman set in 2024.

Broadcast Coverage
•    ESPN will carry the AutoZone Liberty Bowl game with Mike Monaco (pxp), Kirk Morrison (color) and Dawn Davenport (sideline) on the call.
•    ESPN Radio will have the national radio call with Chris Carlin (pxp), Rocky Boiman (color) and Marion Crowder (sideline).
•    Scott Wykoff will host a Navy Insider Bowl Preview show on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 7:00 pm on WBAL Radio (1090 AM), while Tim Nolan will host the Navy Sports Magazine Bowl Show on Wednesday, Jan. 1 at 6:00 pm on WNAV (1430 AM).
•    Wykoff will also host a Navy Inside Pregame Show on WBAL from 2:00-3:30 PM (ET) on game day.
•    The Navy Football Pregame Show with Joe Miller, Mike James, Keith Mills and Wykoff will get underway at 3:30 pm on the Navy Radio Network, followed by game action beginning at 4:30 pm. 
•    Following the contest, Miller, James, Mills and Wykoff will recap the day's events in a 30-minute postgame show.
•    WNAV (1430 AM) launched unprecedented coverage of Navy football with the debut of Navy Game Day in 2025.
•     Expanding upon an aggressive Navy-related programming lineup; WNAV has added the Sing Second Sports Podcast followed by an encore airing of the Navy Sports Magazine 5 hours prior to kickoff. The Anchors Aweigh and Navy Football Podcasts will air 4 and 3 hours prior to kickoff, respectively.
•    The WNAV Navy Tailgate Show will bring fans a live program from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium 2 hours prior to kickoff for each home game and from the studio when the Mids are on the road.