Gameday at the Naval Academy -- Plus the Group of 5 CFP Power Rankings +Scenarios

I had the pleasure and privilege to attend a Game at Navy this past weekend as they played host to the South Florida Bulls in an American Conference Heavyweight Match-up. USF came in as the #24 Team in the nation, as well as holding the #12 seed in the College Football Playoff as the Group of 5 entrant (non-power-conference team). But Navy played spoiler and gave themselves a long shot at getting that G5 Spot in the CFP -- beating USF 41-38 in an incredibly entertaining football game.

Going to a game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium was a unique and awesome gameday experience, so I wanted to take today to write about both the game and the traditions you see at a Navy Football game, and the city of Annapolis as a whole. After that, we'll take a look at the race for that Group of 5 CFP spot, and what teams are in the mix for it as we embark on the final stretch of the College Football regular season.

The City/Campus

Annapolis Maryland -- a city I had never visited, but already want to go back to. Really cool downtown area that's very old-school, but has everything you could need. Tons of little shops that are small-business owned, lots of great restaurants, and packed with people walking around enjoying the city. Walking from the AirBNB to DTA was awesome, we walked over a bridge on the Chesapeake Bay with all the sailboats and yacht clubs -- then you get to the Downtown and it's old fashioned-brick buildings and cobblestone sidewalks. Super cool city, highly recommend visiting.

The Naval Academy's Campus was also incredible -- it's huge and you can feel the history the second you step on campus. We didn't see it all -- we were on a mission to the bookstore to get myself some swag for gameday -- but it was really cool to see all the old architecture mixed with the newer renovations. We walked along a street where professors live in these historic houses on "Captains Row" -- each with a placard engraving the names of the captains that live there. They also have the largest dorm building I've ever seen -- which is fitting when all 4,400 Naval students live in this building. Incredibly cool architecturally, worth a visit if you ever go to Annapolis.

Gameday - Pregame Traditions

I wasn't walking up to the stadium on Saturday morning expecting tailgate scenes like you see at a Mizzou gameday -- but I was impressed at how many people were in the field outside the stadium pregame barbecuing, throwing footballs around tailgating the game. Lots of big tents, and even saw a Navy Goat Trailer painted up for gameday.

The stadium is beautiful -- not massive, which you wouldn't expect anyways for a Service Academy -- but bigger than I expected. It holds capacity of 34,000 fans, and it was close to full on Saturday. "The Hill" is a big standing room section on the North end, which next to it you'll see kids sliding down the hill on cardboard boxes and sitting on blankets. The field is awesome -- the Gold N at midfield, the checkered endzones. My favorite part of the stadium are the names of all the battles that the Navy fought in lining the stands -- a good reminder that things at the Naval Academy are much bigger than football.

The pregame traditions at Navy are second to none. We made sure to get to our seats plenty early to see the Midshipmen "March On." The entire brigade of Midshipmen, in full uniform, march from the Naval Academy to the field in full formation. You watch in awe as all 36 Companies march on to the field in perfect unison. Once they all are announced and in formation, the National Anthem plays, and at the conclusion, an incredible flyby or two F-18's flew overhead. I was ready to run through a brick-wall -- best pregame tradition I've seen at a sporting event.

The Game Recap

I'd be lying if I told you I came in to this game expecting Navy to beat South Florida. Two contradicting styles -- a USF team that loves to play super up-tempo, spread it out, shotgun snaps RPO's to set up their deep shots. Versus Navy -- a team that's gonna run the damn ball, Wing-T formations, tons of motion and misdirection, take it to you in the trenches. A 10-point underdog pregame, I responsibly and legally hammered the Midshipmen pregame, and they did not disappoint.

After forcing a USF punt on the opening drive, Navy got it rolling early as Big #46 Alex Tecza ripped off an electrifying 76-yard TD run to give them a 7-0 lead. USF answered with a FG after a 52-yard pass, and Navy fumbled on their next drive after moving it down field. The Mids forced a punt, and QB Blake Horvath connected with Eli Heidenreich on an 82 yard one-handed catch-and-run to the 4-yard line -- punched in for a TD on the next play by Brandon Chatman to close Q1.

On that 82-yard highlight play, Eli Heidenreich became the All-Time Leader in Navy History for Receiving Yards in a career with 1,794 at the conclusion of the game -- he had a huge day with 5 catches for 146 yards, ran for 39 yards on 6 carries, and nearly completed a TD pass. He's a Swiss Army Knife that is wildly fun to watch -- a really great athlete that could legit be a draft candidate at 6 foot, 206 lbs, uber-talented and athletic.

In the 2nd quarter, USF quickly responded with a TD drive on a Byrum Brown 12-yard pass. They went for 2 to close the Navy lead to 3, but failed to convert, leaving it at 14-9. Both teams traded 3-and-outs following that drive, but Navy capitalized on good field position after a bad USF punt, scoring on a pass from star QB Blake Horvath to Alex Tecza again -- a beautifully designed FB Wheel -- 21-9 Navy. USF got the ball back, 2 plays later Byrum Brown underthrew his WR and tossed a Pick. Navy couldn't capitalize with a TD, but tacked on a FG, giving them a commanding 24-9 lead going into Halftime.

The 3rd quarter saw the action slow a bit -- Navy received the 2nd half kickoff but went 3-and-out. USF got the ball back and answered with a quick 4-play TD drive on a Brown 3-yard toss. Navy had a methodical 13-play drive that ended with a punt, USF went 3-and-out, and the 3rd quarter ended at 24-16 Navy. And the action picked up in a big way in the 4th.

Navy put together a 4 and a half minute FG drive to open the 4th, padding the lead at 27-16. But USF answered immediately with a 60-yard TD run by Byrum Brown on the first play of their drive, closing the gap again to 27-24 after a successful 2-point conversion. Navy responded yet again with an 8 play, 75-yard drive. Blake Horvath was banged up on a run to start it -- but backup QB Braxton Woodson capably completed a pair of passes and a few strong runs, including the 20-yard TD run to cap off the drive. Navy led 34-24.

As they've done all day, USF came up with big plays when they needed them -- going 83 yards in 3 minutes for another TD on a Byrum Brown 29-yard TD strike, but they missed a costly PAT, leaving the score at 34-30. Navy didn't get comfortable however, once again taking advantage of this USF defense, and Braxton Woodson broke free for a 64-yard TD run, stretching the lead to 41-30 with just under 4 minutes remaining in the game.

USF needed a quick score, and they got just that -- Brown once again connected on a long TD from 41 yards out, and successfully converted the 2-point try on a short pass, closing the gap to 41-38. USF went for the onside kick, but Navy recovered. They tried to bleed out the clock, even converting a 1st down on another Woodson run. With 7 seconds left on 4th down, not wanting to risk a FG block, Woodson threw up a deep ball for the turnover on downs.

USF had one play from deep in their own territory, and Brown completed a short pass in hopes they could lateral-their-way down field, but after a few flips, the ball was fumbled and hopped on by Navy, sealing their win at 41-38. An incredible back-and-forth win to give Navy a slim chance at that Group of 5 CFP spot, and the outright lead in the American conference at 6-1.

Group of 5 CFP Outlook

While Navy gave themselves a shot at claiming that G5 CFP spot with this win, it will be an up-hill battle to get there. They'd have to beat Memphis on the road in 2 weeks, plus would need a couple other teams to take losses in the coming weeks.

Memphis may have eliminated themselves from contention with a road loss at East Carolina Saturday -- giving them 3 losses despite a win over a Power conference team Arkansas. USF's odds shot down considerably losing to Navy -- having already taken losses to Memphis and Miami, despite a huge win @ Florida.

The top contenders out of the American conference look to be Tulane and North Texas. Tulane sits at 8-2 with a 5-1 conference record, wins over Memphis, Duke, and Northwestern, and winnable games @ Temple and at home vs Charlotte on deck. North Texas is 9-1 on the year, their only loss a drubbing at home to USF, but few notable wins. They travel to Rice and host Temple to end the year, and would need Navy to lose to Memphis + win out to earn a spot in the American Title Game.

The Top contender for the G5 spot right now doesn't play in the American Conference, however -- it's the James Madison Dukes. JMU sits at 9-1 and a perfect 7-0 in the Sun Belt, their lone loss to Louisville by 14 on the road -- and they've been pounding opponents as of late. They host Washington State this week, then close the year @ Coastal. Winning out + winning the Sun Belt Championship may be enough to punch JMU's ticket to the CFP.

I personally think that the American Conference is much stronger than the Sun Belt -- and I'm not sure I believe JMU is better than any of Tulane, North Texas -- even Memphis or USF. But if they win out, it's hard to imagine they'd be left out -- the only route I could see it happening, is if Tulane wins out and wins the American conference with two P4 wins.

Bean's Rankings: Top Contenders for the G5 Playoff Spot:

1. James Madison

2. Tulane

3. North Texas

4. Navy

5. USF

6. Memphis

7. Western Kentucky

8. San Diego State

9. Jacksonville State

10. Missouri State (not eligible but are the best team in CUSA and would wipe any of these non-American Conference teams or James Madison)