Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Preview Navy vs. Louisiana Tech 2016

Written by Charlie Beuttel

Twitter: @charlie_cds3

 

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Overview

U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen (9-4) vs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (8-5)

The 2016 Armed Forces Bowl will be the 14th anniversary of the postseason contest with the inaugural game being played in 2003 when Boise State squeaked past TCU 34-31. This year’s game will be the eighth time one of the military academies will be featured as one of the participants as Navy, who also appeared in 2013 when they beat Middle Tennessee 24-6, will battle Louisiana Tech, who is playing for the first time in the Armed Forces Bowl. Air Force has made the most appearances in this bowl game with their last coming in 2015 when they fell to the California Golden Bears 55-36.

This match-up will be a very exciting game between two teams who also appeared in their respective conference championship games. Louisiana Tech lost to Western Kentucky, 58-44, in the Conference USA title game while Navy fell to Temple, 34-10, in the American Athletic Conference championship game. Despite both teams losing they will be fired up to win their final game of 2016.

Louisiana Tech

The Bulldogs opened the year on a sour note as they lost three of their first four games with the low point coming on Sept. 24 when they lost in heart-breaking fashion to Middle Tennessee 38-34. Luckily that loss came as a wake-up call for Louisiana Tech as they then won their next seven games including defeating Conference USA champion, Western Kentucky, 55-52 on Oct. 6 to pull their record to 8-3. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs lost their regular season finale at Southern Miss, 39-24, but was still able to clinch a spot in the conference championship where they lost a rematch against Western Kentucky.

Louisiana Tech’s offense scored a whopping 44 points a game using their great aerial attack. The Bulldogs carved up opposing defenses as they averaged 359.8 passing yards and 156 rushing yards per contest. Senior quarterback Ryan Higgins was the leader of this powerful offense as he completed 300-of-456 passes for 4,208 yards and 37 touchdowns.

The leading rusher on the team is Jarred Craft, who has carried the rock 174 times for 1,011 yards and has nine rushing touchdowns. The two-headed monster that the Bulldogs have at wide receiver includes senior Trent Taylor, from Shreveport, and junior Carlos Henderson, from New Orleans. Taylor leads Louisiana Tech with 124 receptions for 1,570 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. Henderson leads the team with 17 receiving touchdowns to go along with his 1,406 receiving yards on 72 catches. Both receivers also average over 100 receiving yards per game.

Louisiana Tech’s defense gives up on average 32.7 points to their opponents. The Bulldogs give up 134.8 yards on the ground and 283.6 yards in the air. The Bulldogs leading tackler is senior linebacker Jordan Harris who has racked up an impressive 94 total tackles including 2.5 for a loss and one sack this season. Senior Xavier Woods is the playmaker in the secondary as he has 81 total tackles including 6.5 for a loss, three sacks and leads the team with five interceptions. Sophomore Jaylon Ferguson is the star on the defensive line as he has accumulated 45 tackles including 16 for a loss and 14.5 sacks. Another defensive playmaker is senior safety Secdrick Cooper who has 73 total tackles including 6.5 for a loss.

Navy

The Midshipmen opened 2016 on a three-game winning streak before suffering their first defeat to Air Force, 28-14, on Oct. 1. The next week, Navy bounced back in style as they took down Houston, 46-40, who was ranked No. 6 at the time. That win sparked a run where the Midshipmen won five out of six games to set up a meeting with Temple in the AAC championship game. Unfortunately, Navy came up short which made their record 9-3 going into their match-up with Army. The Midshipmen came into the game on a 14-game winning streak against their arch-rival but due to some quarterback injuries and turnovers the streak came to an end as Army won 21-17.

On offense, Navy averages 37.4 points a game but has just managed 27 total points in their last two games.

The Midshipmen were led all season by senior quarterback Will Worth who had over 1,000 passing and 1,000 rushing yards before suffering a broken foot against Temple to end his college football career. The next man up is sophomore quarterback Zach Abey who has appeared in four games including making his first career start against Army. Abey has rushed the ball 45 times for 270 yards and four touchdowns including a remarkable 41-yard run against Army and has completed 13-of-23 passes for 193 yards.

Navy does most of their damage on the ground as they average 311 rushing yards and just 125 passing yards a game. Along with Abey, the Midshipmen have four other athletes with over 400 yards rushing including junior Chris High (500 yards, five rushing touchdowns), senior Shawn White (443 yards, seven rushing touchdowns), senior Toneo Gulley (427 yards, four rushing touchdowns), and senior Dishan Romine (416 yards, one rushing touchdown). Navy’s leading receiver is senior Jamir Tillman who has caught 38 passes for 615 receiving yards with two receiving touchdowns.

Navy gives up on average 29.7 points a game and lets opponents gain 187 rushing yards and 242 passing yards a game. The Midshipmen’s leading tackler is junior linebacker Micah Thomas who has 98 total tackles including two for a loss. Another linebacker who makes plays all over the field is junior D.J. Palmore who has 53 total tackles including 10.5 for a loss and five sacks. The anchor of the defensive line is senior defensive end Amos Mason who also has 53 total tackles including 8.5 for a loss and two sacks. Junior cornerback Tyris Wooten is the play-maker in Navy’s secondary as he has 45 total tackles including one for a loss and has two interceptions.

Game Details

Date: December 23, 4:30 p.m. EST

Location: Amon. G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas

Network: ESPN

Betting Line: Louisiana Tech -5

Keys to Victory

Navy averages over 300 rushing yards a game. If they want to win a tenth game this season they must continue to run the ball down the throat of their opponents. They also average 6.8 yards a play so if they can continue to get first downs and control the clock they will come out victorious. Another key for the Midshipmen is to continue to play smart football. Navy has only been penalized 33 times all year which comes out to less than three infractions a game. They should continue this trend and not give Louisiana Tech any extra opportunities.

Louisiana Tech can win this game if they slow down the Midshipmen’s running attack. The Bulldogs definitely have the athletes in their front seven. They must stop the rush and not let Navy control the ball and the clock. This will only be Abey’s second career so if Tech can rattle him they might be able to force a few turnovers. The Bulldogs other key to victory is if they continue to throw the ball and let their receivers make plays. Navy gives up 282 passing yards and only have seven interceptions, so the opportunities will be there for Higgins, Henderson, and Taylor to make big plays and lead the Bulldogs to victory.

Prediction: Louisiana Tech 31, Navy 17

Photo credit: The News Star; Louisiana Tech Wide Receiver Trent Taylor