Air Force @ Navy preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 4, 2014 ) Navy 21, Air Force 30

The first leg of the annual battle for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy features a pair of teams off to strong starts. Air Force brings a 2-1 record to Annapolis on Saturday with its only loss coming against currently second-ranked Michigan State while Navy is off to its first 3-0 start since 2006.

The Midshipmen have won seven straight games overall and have garnered votes in both major polls this week amid whispers that this may be one of the program’s better teams in recent memory. Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo is keeping things low-key following decisive victories over East Carolina (45-21) and Connecticut (28-18) the past two Saturdays. “We don’t look at any records,” Niumatalolo said in post-game news conference last week. “We just keep our head down, our mouths quiet and keep pressing forward.” The Falcons have had an extra week to prepare following their undermanned but gritty 35-21 loss in East Lansing, Mich., on Sept. 19.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network. LINE: Navy -5.5

ABOUT AIR FORCE (2-1): The Falcons opened the season with routs of Morgan State (63-7) and San Jose State (37-16), but the loss of starting quarterback Nate Romine to a knee injury in the latter contest only enhanced their disadvantage against the Spartans. However, senior backup Karson Roberts ran for 44 yards and showed some aerial promise in completing 6-of-9 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown in the loss. As usual, the Air Force triple-option ranks second nationally with 367 rushing yards per game, but the Falcons – led by safety Weston Steelhammer (team-leading 4.5 tackles for loss) and defensive end Alex Hansen (Mountain West-most three sacks) – average only 93.3 yards against on the ground and are one of four FBS programs to rank in the top 20 in rushing offense and defense.

ABOUT NAVY (3-0): The Mids rank right behind Air Force with 363 yards per game, and have senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds (101.7 rushing yards) and senior fullback Chris Swain (102.3) guiding their triple-option attack. Reynolds is 24-11 as a starter and, following his four-TD outing (three rushing) against UConn, has run for 73 career TDs which trails all-time FBS leader Montee Ball by four scores. On the other side of the ball, Navy ranks 22nd in scoring defense (16.3 points) and 15th in turnover margin (1.33) behind 6-1, 249-pound middle linebacker Micah Thomas, who leads the squad with 25 total tackles.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The winner of the Air Force-Navy game has won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy the last 18 years with Army last coming out on top in the annual three-team round-robin series in 1996.

2. The Mids’ seven-game win streak is tied with North Carolina State for the fifth longest in the FBS ranks and they are seeking the program’s first eight-game win streak since 1978-1979.

3. Two-year starting Air Force CB Gavin McHenry will be eligible to play Saturday after completing a six-month conduct/aptitude probationary period as the result of an undisclosed incident in March.

PREDICTION: Navy 30, Air Force 23