Virginia Football: Preview, prediction, live stream vs. Navy in Military Bowl
By Dana Becker
Virginia football started 2017 off like a rocket before seeing their hopes of a New Year’s Day bowl bid fizzle away. They’ll face Navy in the Military Bowl.
After falling off from a promising start the Cavaliers must contend with the option-based attack of Navy in the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman inside Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
Virginia (6-6) opened the year with five wins among its first six games, falling to Indiana, 34-17. However, they closed with just one victory over the final six, ending the year at .500 and just 3-5 in the ACC.
The latter half of the schedule was obviously loaded compared to the first, as the Cavaliers didn’t play a ranked team until their final two contests of the season. Those were losses to Miami (44-28) and Virginia Tech (10-0).
Kurt Benkert, a transfer from East Carolina, put together a fine season, completing just under 60 percent of his passes for 3,062 yards and a 25-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio. That included two games over 380 yards passing, including a 30-for-40, 455-yard, three-touchdown showing vs. Connecticut back in September.
Navy’s (6-6) season went much the same way, as the Midshipmen were 5-0 heading into an October meeting with Memphis. After suffering a 30-27 loss to the Tigers, Navy won just once the rest of the way, holding off SMU, 43-40.
A closing 1-6 stretch included a tough 14-13 loss to rival Army on a missed field goal at the end of a game played during a snow storm.
While Virginia’s struggles were hard to pinpoint, Navy’s downward spiral came about when star quarterback Zach Abey was injured. Abey still finished with over 1,300 yards rushing, but his replacements had just three passing touchdowns and 200 yards in the air – compared to seven scores and 805 yards by Abey, which included over 11 yards per attempt.
Here’s how to watch the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman between Virginia and Navy:
Date: Thursday, Dec. 28
Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
Location: Annapolis, Maryland
Venue: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Keys to Victory
Abey returned from his concussion in November, but it was quite obvious he wasn’t the same player who had rushed for over 100 yards in seven consecutive games.
The junior didn’t go over 100 yards on the ground in any of the final three games of the year, and completed just six passes for 88 yards.
A healthy Abey, who saw limited action in the loss to Army, is the difference in the triple-option attack for Navy. Pairing Abey with converted quarterback Malcolm Perry makes the Midshipmen a tough offense to stop.
Perry ran for 100-plus yards five times, including 282 vs. SMU and 250 against Army.
Prediction
Virginia needs to think past playing on the road in a hostile environment against a team they should be able to beat. The Cavaliers have more talent from top to bottom on the roster, but what kind of passion will they come out and play with?
Next: Predicting all 41 bowl games and CFB Playoff
If Virginia just expects to get a Navy team still reeling from the loss to Army, they are going to be in for a rude awakening. The Middies will be ready to play and would like nothing more than to finish the year above .500 and with a bowl win on the resume.
Final score: Navy 42, Virginia 37