Air Force @ Navy preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 1, 2016 ) Navy 14, Air Force 28

Navy hosts Air Force on Saturday in the 50th installment of their Commander-In-Chief's Trophy meeting, which has shifted between the two service academies for the last 20 years with each team winning the round-robin 10 times. The Falcons prevailed last season 28-14 en route to their 20th CIC trophy and second in the last three seasons, leaving Navy with 15 titles -- well ahead of Army's six -- with four retentions since the series was officially recognized in 1972.

While the Midshipmen try for their first 5-0 start since 2004, the Falcons have lost three of their first four games with two coming against ranked teams -- No. 7 Michigan 29-13 on Sept. 16 and No. 21 San Diego State 28-24 on Sept. 23. “Same old Air Force. Always a good program. They have played everyone tough,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo told reporters. “We know the players because a lot them we recruited. We’re going to have our hands full.” The Midshipmen threw an uncharacteristic 30 passes in last year's meeting, but could revert back to a dominating ground attack that has produced 400 yards per game this season -- the most in the country -- and face the 26th-worst run defense nationally among the 129 FBS teams. Navy has attempted 29 passes in 2017 while the Falcons have chucked it 47 times with the schools combining for a 44.7 percent success rate.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, CBSSN. LINE: Navy -7.5

ABOUT AIR FORCE (1-3): The Falcons own the No. 10 rushing game in the country at 274.8 yards per game with quarterback Arion Worthman at the controls. The junior has carried a team-most 93 times, averaging only 2.6 yards per carry with three touchdowns. Senior running back Timothy McVey (6.6 yards per 42 carries, three TDs) and junior running back Parker Wilson (5.2 yards per 34 carries) have combined with Worthman to record nearly 70 percent of the rushing attempts for an attack that has seen 19 players carry the ball.

ABOUT NAVY (4-0): Junior quarterback Zach Abey is the dominant force, averaging 5.6 yards per 117 carries -- representing 45 percent of their rushing attempts -- with a team-high seven touchdowns. Abey's handoffs mostly go to senior fullback Chris High, who averages 4.8 yards on 60 carries with a TD, and explosive sophomore running back Malcolm Perry (9.5 yards per 23 carries, two touchdowns), who became the first Midshipmen player to record consecutive 100-yard games last week since 2009. Senior wide receiver Tyler Carmona has four catches for 188 yards and two TDs, including one for 74 yards.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Air Force has scored in a team-record 302 consecutive games, the third-longest streak in the nation behind Florida (365) and TCU (310), and fifth-longest in NCAA history.

2. Abey is third nationally at 164 yards rushing per game -- more than 33 yards ahead of the next quarterback (Georgia Tech's Taquon Marshall, 130.8).

3. Air Force leads the series 29-20, splitting the last four meetings.

PREDICTION: Navy 28, Air Force 21