The Houston Cougars and Navy are preparing to face off in what might be one of the biggest games in either school's history. Navy comes into this game ranked No.15 with a 9-1 record while Houston's perfect season ended with the Cougars still ranked No.21 in the College Football Playoffs. While neither team is contenders to see the playoffs, they are fighting for a bowl game and this game could dictate where they will go.
Navy is putting together one of the best seasons in program history as they sit 9-1 on the year. The biggest thing for Navy entering this game is the health of Keenan Reynolds who is the healthiest he has been all year. The quarterback is main reason Navy has had the success they have found this year. He has joined the Heisman talk with 1,009 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns on the ground. His rushing yards have made him Navy's all-time leading rusher along ranking him as the best quarterback in the country.
Navy's rushing attack is one of the best in the nation, but their defense is matching the production of their offense. The team is only giving up 17.2 points per game despite the lone loss to Notre Dame. The team is coming off a win over Tulsa where they forced two fumbles, recovering two for touchdowns. Their defense will certainly be tested by the high-flying offense of Houston that may or may not have a healthy Greg Ward Jr under center.Houston has been riding the arm of Ward, but the quarterback recently rolled his ankle in the win over Memphis. He only played a handful of games when Houston lost to UConn last week which all but sealed their absence in the playoffs.
Houston was averaging 41.1 points per game, but the injury to Ward has really set the offense back. Without the quarterback, the Houston offense was held to just 318 yards which was a season-low for the team. To make matters worse for Houston, they could be without leading rusher Kenneth Farrow which would leave Houston's offense really struggling. Farrow suffered a foot injury against UConn and is now listed as questionable for the game. He has 949 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season. Without both Ward and Farrow, Houston could be hit with another loss that will push them out of the rankings after what was a great start to the season for the team.
