Navy-Tulsa Preview Capsule
No. 19 Navy (8-1, 6-0 American Athletic Conference, No. 16 CFP) at Tulsa (5-4, 2-4), 7:04 p.m., CBS Sports Network.
Line: Navy by 12
Series Record: Tied 1-1
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Win or lose, Navy will play Houston next week for the AAC West Division championship. At No. 20 in the College Football Playoff rankings, Navy is the highest ranked team among the Group of Five schools. Tulsa has two chances to become bowl eligible under first-year coach Phillip Montgomery, Navy and a Nov. 27 game at Tulane.
KEY MATCHUP
Navy's triple option attack vs. Tulsa's porous run defense. The Midshipmen rank second in the nation in rushing at 335 yards per game. Tulsa is 115th among FBS schools in rushing defense, giving up 220.6 per game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Navy: QB Keenan Reynolds. He has 4,114 career yards rushing and can pass Napoleon McCallum for the career record at Navy with 66 yards Saturday. He set an NCAA record with 31 rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in 2013 and has the most games in NCAA history of scoring three or more touchdowns in a game with 15. He has 928 yards rushing this season.
Tulsa: QB Dane Evans. When he's on, Evans has shown a mastery of the spread offense Montgomery brought from Baylor. He is the nation's seventh-leading passer with 3,313 yards. His favorite target is Keyarris Garrett, who has 74 grabs for 1,164 yards. Josh Atkinson, Conner Floyd and Justin Hobbs are also capable targets.
FACTS & FIGURES
Although Navy is contractually guaranteed a spot in the Military Bowl Dec. 28 against a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference, it is still in the running for the Group of Five bid to a New Year's Six Bowl. Defeating Tulsa, Houston and then likely Temple in the AAC championship game would give the Midshipmen a great shot at playing in either the Chick-fil-a Bowl Dec. 31 or the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1. . . Navy leads the nation in red zone offense and ranks 11th in red zone defense.
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AP college football website: collegefootball.ap.org