The American Conference race is heating up, and a game that will have a major impact is when Navy travels to Denton, Texas, to face North Texas on Saturday.
Navy and Tulane are the only teams unbeaten in American Conference play while North Texas is among five conference teams with just one loss. This is shaping up as one of the best conference title races in college football.
I expect a high-scoring game since North Texas leads the nation in scoring offense (46.1 points per game) while Navy is 16th (37.3 PPG). Navy has allowed 23 points per game while North Texas surrenders 25 PPG.
This might be a case where the last team to have the ball will be the winner.
How to Watch Navy-North Texas
The Navy-North Texas game will be at noon ET Saturday and will be televised on ESPN2.
Navy-North Texas Betting Odds
As of this writing, North Texas is a 5.5-point college football betting favorite via BetMGM. The Over/Under is 64.5.
Navy-North Texas Records
Navy (7-0, 5-0 American Conference)
North Texas (7-1, 3-1)
Navy-North Texas Coaches
Navy: Brian Newberry (22-10)
North Texas: Eric Morris (18-15 at North Texas, 42-33 overall)
Navy-North Texas Last Meeting
On Oct 7, 2023, Navy earned a 27-24 home win over North Texas to increase its series
lead to 2-0.
Navy-North Texas Preview
For Navy
Navy has gone unbeaten but has struggled in winning many of its games, and the tougher part of the schedule remains. This is the beginning of a brutal four-game stretch, which also includes games at Notre Dame, against USF at home, and at Memphis leading into the American Conference Championship. The record of the next four opponents is 25-6.
Last week’s 42-32 home win over FAU was the 10th consecutive win for Navy, tying a school record done three other times.
Not surprisingly, with its triple-option offense, Navy leads the nation with 318.1 rushing yards per game. The Midshipmen are averaging 6.55 yards per carry and have scored 28 touchdowns on the ground.
Navy quarterback Blake Horvath, who rushed for 174 yards and four touchdowns in last week’s win over FAU, has gained 814 yards on the ground and 12 touchdowns. He has done enough passing to keep teams on the edge, having completed 64.5% of his throws for 1,063 yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Eli Heidenreich has caught 25 passes for 507 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 285 yards and three scores.
Defensive tackle Landon Robinson is a force up front with a team-high 5.5 sacks.
The Midshipmen are second in the American in rushing defense, allowing 117.1 yards per game, but they’re just 12th in passing defense, allowing 256.6 yards. Navy has surrendered 12 touchdown passes while recording four interceptions.
This will be the third road game for Navy, which won 42-23 at Tulsa on Sept. 23 and earned a last-minute 32-31 comeback win at Temple on Oct. 11.
For North Texas
North Texas’ lone loss was at home to USF 63-36 on Oct. 10. In their most recent game, the Mean Green were fueled by a record-setting performance from quarterback Drew Mestemaker in last week’s 54-20 win at Charlotte.
Mestemaker completed 37 of 49 passes for 608 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. The 608 yards set an American Conference single-game record, formerly held by Dillon Gabriel of UCF with 601 at Memphis on Oct. 17, 2020.
This season, Mestemaker has completed 68% of his passes for 2,468 yards, 21 touchdowns, and four interceptions.
Freshman Caleb Hawkins has rushed for 547 yards and seven touchdowns in seven games.
Four players have three or more touchdown receptions, led by Wyatt Young, who has 35 receptions for 586 yards and seven TDs.
Linebacker Shane Whitter is among five UNT players with 40 or more tackles. He leads the Mean Green with 57 tackles.
Navy-North Texas Prediction
I predict Navy will cover the spread.
This may not be fair, but North Texas struggled to contain USF dual-threat quarterback Byrum Brown and now has to deal with another one in Horvath. Granted, Horvath may not quite be the passer Brown is, but he still is dangerous. If Navy is to win, I think he will be the difference.
Horvath has rushed for 110 or more yards in each of his last five games and has scored 10 touchdowns in that span.
North Texas is 10th in the American in rushing defense, allowing 190 yards per game.
Actually, if the Mean Green hold Navy to that total, they have a good shot to win the game. If Navy gets anywhere close to its average of 318.1 rushing yards per contest, I believe it bodes well for the Midshipmen.
Navy has a prolific rushing offense that can pass. North Texas is a great passing team that can run. With two exceptional offenses which go about it in different ways, this could be a highly entertaining game.
