Story by
Can Memphis football beat Navy on Thanksgiving? Our prediction
- Story by
- Can Memphis football beat Navy on Thanksgiving? Our prediction
When the American Conference set up its 2025 football schedule, officials undoubtedly wanted to put one of their best games in a marquee spot on Thanksgiving Day.
The conference gets to place the only FBS game of the day in a showcase spot on ESPN. So the goal obviously was to put on a matchup with major conference title implications.
Advertisement
That'll be the case — sort of. Memphis football is playing in that Thanksgiving slot for the second straight season, but the Tigers — also for the second straight season — are already out of the conference title race . Their opponent, Navy , could still get to the title game, however, with a win on Nov. 27 (6:30 p.m. CT, ESPN).
Memphis (8-3, 4-3) will be playing its regular-season finale hoping to end a two-game losing streak. The Midshipmen (8-2, 6-1) are coming off a key win over USF and will have plenty of confidence after beating the Tigers last season.
Can Memphis slow down Blake Horvath ?
Navy star quarterback Blake Horvath is well-known to Memphis fans. His breakout performance came against the Tigers in 2024 when he accounted for more than 400 yards and six touchdowns in an upset win.
Advertisement
That game was the coming-out party for Horvath in offensive coordinator Drew Cronic's modified option offense. The Tigers got it wrong defensively and surely will have a different game plan this time around.
"He's an absolute stud," Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield said about Horvath. "Let's call it what it is. He can do it all. Sometimes, I miss the old Navy days where it's just, 'Hey, they're going to run it, and if we can handle the under center triple option, we'll be great.' But they're so dynamic now."
This season, Horvath has thrown for 1,290 yards and rushed for 986 yards.
More: Navy's Blake Horvath is elite college football quarterback who earns no NIL money
Advertisement
Can Memphis bounce back?
The Tigers entered November as the top-ranked team in the Group of Five. But consecutive losses to Tulane and ECU ended those hopes and meant Memphis will miss the conference title game for the sixth year in a row.
If the Tigers beat Navy and win their bowl game, they would get to double-digit wins for the third straight season.
Memphis' running game looks to get back on track
Quarterback Brendon Lewis got some extra time to rest his ankle, an injury he he has been battling for a month. He clearly has not been at 100%, and that has affected Memphis' running game, which was dynamic the first half of the season but has struggled since. Sutton Smith and Greg Desrosiers have had moments, but neither is close to reaching 1,000 yards. This likely will be the first time since 2022 that Memphis has not had a 1,000-yard rusher.
Advertisement
Navy's option game means Memphis will want to keep the ball for a while offensively, and running consistently is an effective way to do that.
Memphis vs. Navy score prediction
Navy 31, Memphis 28.This is a high-motivation spot for Navy, which is still alive in the race for the College Football Playoff. It isn't the same for Memphis, which will still put up points but ultimately fall just short again.
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Can Memphis football beat Navy on Thanksgiving? Our prediction
