No. 22 Navy Midshipmen face Cincinnati in Liberty Bowl with a full roster

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The 22nd-ranked Navy Midshipmen have one big advantage over the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Liberty Bowl.

Not only have the Midshipmen won three straight games, they have everyone on board Friday when they play Cincinnati. No NFL opt outs or transfer portal departures here.

“We’ve been fortunate. We don’t deal in the transfer portal world. We don’t take transfers at the academy,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said, later adding: “We didn’t lose a single player in the portal last year that played a snap for us and don’t anticipate losing anybody this year.”

Cincinnati, meanwhile, is a far cry from that 7-1 start that had the Bearcats ranked No. 17.

They lost four straight to close out the regular season, then quarterback Brendan Sorsby headed for the portal before this bowl sponsored by AutoZone. That cost Cincinnati someone who threw for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns with only five interceptions.

Cincinnati (7-5) is turning to Brady Lichtenberg and Samaj Jones. They played in a total of four games and threw a combined eight passes.

“They’re excited for the opportunity," Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield said. "Both of those guys have practiced well throughout the season. They just haven’t played a whole lot. So, this will be their opportunity to go out there and make some plays for us.”

Navy has senior quarterback Blake Horvath, who has operated the run-oriented offense the past two seasons. He rushed for 1,147 yards, averaging 104.3 yards a game, and scored 15 touchdowns. Horvath can throw, too, with 1,472 yards passing and 10 more TDs.

Running back Alex Tecza averages 68.5 yards rushing per game and has nine TDs this season. Horvath and Tecza are big reasons Navy leads the country in rushing, averaging 289.3 yards per game.

Losing Sorsby was a huge blow to the Cincinnati offense. Satterfield has no choice but to turn to little-used Lichtenberg, a redshirt senior, and Jones, a redshirt freshman, as the next two on the depth chart. How they will manage to run the Bearcats' offense is a mystery.

The untested quarterbacks puts the pressure to protect them on the Cincinnati offensive line. The Bearcats have experience in that group led by sophomore guard Evan Tengesdahl, a third-team All-American, and senior center Gavin Gerhardt, who is expected to start his 50th game.

The Bearcats also have size, especially on the interior where the linemen average a sliver under 320 pounds.

Navy is back at the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium for the second time in recent weeks. Navy defeated Memphis 28-17 here on Thanksgiving. The Midshipmen rallied after trailing 17-14 at halftime for a win that clinched a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.

Horvath threw for 100 yards and a touchdown, while Tecza had 26 carries for 103 yards and a pair of scores. The Navy defense held the high-powered Memphis offense under 20 points for the first time in 52 games on the Tigers' home field.

Wide receiver Cyrus Allen has a chance to set the Cincinnati record for touchdown receptions. The 5-foot-11 senior from New Orleans has 12 TDs this season, and Allen needs only one to match the school record set by Marcus Barnett in 2007.

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