Week 6: Navy at Air Force

While Navy clearly has established a winning trend in this series, the only certainty about this week's matchup is there will not be a lot of passing.

Navy attempted only four passes in its upset of Wake Forest last week and Air Force failed to complete a pass in its most recent victory, at Houston. The Falcons did record 138 yards on seven completions in a loss to Utah, but that was a desperate strategy stemming from Utah's domination of the line of scrimmage.

So Air Force should return to its traditional approach and both teams should have success running the ball. The biggest question is how momentum will play into this game. The Midshipmen are rolling after wins over Rutgers and Wake Forest, while Air Force is reeling after being held to 53 rushing yards against Utah. That was a shock, after the Falcons averaged 358 rushing yards in their first three victories.

There's also the recent history of five consecutive Navy victories in the rivalry, directly resulting in ownership of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, considering the state of Army's program.

The Falcons had last week off to regroup, and coach Troy Calhoun believes his offense will learn from a performance that was not entirely the responsibility of Utah's defense. Navy intercepted four passes against Wake Forest but has not faced a run-oriented team this season, so this will be a different test for its defense.

On the other side, AFA will have to deal with Navy's option game, which did not suffer in the absence of its starting quarterback against Wake Forest. Kaipo-Noa Keheaku-Enhada injured his hamstring in the second quarter (he's questionable for this week), but Jarod Bryant filled in nicely. It helped that fullback Eric Kettani rushed for 175 yards on 19 carries, accounting for two-thirds of the Mids' 292 rushing yards.

Things to watch

It would not be surprising to have these teams rank 1-2 in the country in rushing by the end of the season, but they're only second and sixth at the moment. Navy is averaging 335 yards, ranking behind Oklahoma State, and Air Force is averaging 281 yards.

Even after their flurry of passing against Utah, the Falcons are last in the Football Bowl Subdivision, averaging 57 yards.

Air Force linebacker Kem Lamendola has made at least 11 tackles in each of the last three games.

Key player (Midshipmen) — Jabaree Tuani, DE

The first freshman to start on Navy's defensive line since 1998, Tuani made two tackles for loss and forced a fumble against Wake Forest. He will not be doing much pass-rushing against Air Force, instead focusing on containing the Falcons' perimeter running game.

Key player (Falcons) — Kyle Lumpkin, RB

Lumpkin is rushing for 64 yards a game, but the Falcons did not even reach that figure as a team in a loss to Utah. Lumpkin will have to break some big runs if the Falcons are to keep up with Navy.

Navy by 7