By DaVince “Dino” Wright
Game Info
Navy Midshipmen vs SMU Mustangs
Friday – October 14 – 6:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX.
Records Before the Game
Navy Midshipmen (2-3, 2-1 American)
SMU Mustangs (2-3, 0-1 American)
SMU is on a 3-game losing streak, losing games to UCF, TCU and Maryland. The Mustangs started the season scoring 45 plus against Liberty and North Texas but failed to score 35 in the last 3 games. SMU will need to get a win this Friday at home against the Midshipmen in Dallas. Let’s take a closer look at this game.
Conference is Still Wide Open
SMU is 2-3 this season but has one loss in conference play. SMU can keep up with the leaders in conference with a win against conference foes. Keep an eye on this team over the next few games.
Navy Midshipmen
When you watch Navy play everyone in the stadium knows that they are willing to run the ball. Keep in mind that the Navy offense recruits from the offensive line to the running backs. Quarterback Tai Lavatai leads this team. He has 524 passing with 2 passing touchdowns so far this season. He also averages 15 carries on the ground a game. Running back Daba Fofana has 275 rushing yards on 67 attempts with 3 touchdowns. Keep in mind that Navy wants to run the ball and they will. The x-factor for the Midshipmen will be stopping the Mustangs offense.
SMU Mustangs
Quarterback Tanner Mordecai has to be on his game this week. Over the last 5 games, he has 1680 passing yards with 12 touchdown and 6 interceptions. He’s a gunslinger but needs to control his urges to hold the ball way too long before passing it. Mordecai is the catalyst for the offense. Establishing the run will be key for the Mustangs at home. The Mustang’s defense is giving up 28.6 to opposing offenses. The defense has to stop the run since that’s all Navy wants to do. The Mustang defense has to be ready for this!
Prediction
ESPN has the Mustangs with a 85.7% chance of winning at home. I’m taking SMU by 14! The defense will have their hands full with the Navy running game.
Final Score
Mustangs – 31
Midshipmen – 17
