Tulane @ Navy preview

Keenan Reynolds is on his way to becoming the most prolific rushing quarterback in NCAA history in terms of touchdowns, and Navy is hoping to ride his momentum to the top of the American Athletic Conference. Reynolds and the Midshipmen will try to bounce back from their first loss when they host Tulane on Saturday.

Reynolds (73) needs four rushing touchdowns to tie former Wisconsin great Montee Ball for the NCAA record and is expected to be 100 percent this week after leaving a loss to Notre Dame on Oct. 10 with a knee injury. “I think (the bye week) helped him to recover,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo told reporters of Reynolds. “….We wanted to make sure he had a good practice and I thought he looked good (on Monday).” Tulane gave up 65 points to the last triple-option offense it faced in Week 2 at Georgia Tech and comes into the week having dropped back-to-back AAC games by a combined 91-17. “Georgia Tech is a little bit bigger, and probably as athletic, but Navy just poses a lot of matchup problems,” Green Wave coach Curtis Johnson told reporters. “If we can lineup with them, we’ll have a good chance of playing with these guys.”

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network. LINE: Navy -23

ABOUT TULANE (2-4, 1-2 AAC): Starting quarterback Tanner Lee sat out a 42-7 home loss to Houston last week due to a concussion and Johnson would love to see his top signal-caller back on the field. “I’m praying that he is 100 percent,” Johnson told reporters. “He’s progressing well. He hasn’t quite been cleared on the concussion protocol yet, but again, I’m praying that he’s ready to go.” Lee is completing only 55.2 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns and four interceptions, but backup Devin Powell struggled even more while going 11-of-28 for 88 yards in the loss to Houston.

ABOUT NAVY (4-1, 2-0): Reynolds has not found the end zone in either of the last two games – the first time that has happened in his career – but he still managed 110 yards on 15 carries in the loss to Notre Dame and guided the team to a 33-11 win over Air Force in the previous contest. The senior star totaled nine touchdowns (eight rushing) in the first two AAC games – wins over East Carolina and Connecticut. “The keys to winning are always the same,” Reynolds told reporters. “We’re just focused on limiting the turnovers, taking care of the football and doing our jobs on offense.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. Navy has won 10 of its last 12 games, with both losses in that span coming against Notre Dame.

2. The Midshipmen are third in FBS with an average of 335.4 rushing yards.

3. The Green Wave have lost three straight road games dating back to last season.

PREDICTION: Navy 41, Tulane 20