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Navy Football: Defense and power running lift Midshipmen over Virginia in Military Bowl

By Matthew Bartlett

ANNAPOLIS, MD - DECEMBER 28: The national anthem is preformed before the start of the Military Bowl between the Navy Midshipmen and the Virginia Cavaliers at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on December 28, 2017 in Annapolis, Maryland. (Photo by Alessandra del Bene/Getty Images)
ANNAPOLIS, MD - DECEMBER 28: The national anthem is preformed before the start of the Military Bowl between the Navy Midshipmen and the Virginia Cavaliers at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on December 28, 2017 in Annapolis, Maryland. (Photo by Alessandra del Bene/Getty Images) /
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Navy football ran wild over Virginia, defeating the Cavaliers in the 2017 Military Bowl. Here are three takeaways from the Midshipmen’s dominant win.

More: Complete 2017-2018 bowl schedule

The 2017 Military Bowl served as a showcase of two 6-6 teams. Both Navy and Virginia had their highs and lows and each entered the bowl game on a three-game losing streak.

Navy started the season 5-0 with a dominant win over Lane Kiffin’s FAU Owls. Their undefeated run came to an end with closes loss to Memphis and UCF. That gave way to a 1-6 record for the Midshipman over the remainder of the regular season, ending with a 14-13 loss to Army.

Virginia smoked Boise State on their own blue turf on their way to a 5-1 start but couldn’t keep their momentum going either. The Cavaliers were only able to defeat Georgia Tech over their next six games, finishing 5-1 with a lethargic 10-0 loss to Virginia Tech in their regular season finale.

The Midshipmen entered the game as slight favorites. Virginia’s Joe Reed took the opening kickoff back 98 yards, but Navy quickly answered with a touchdown of their own. The Midshipmen took a 28-7 halftime lead and were never threatened, coasting to a comfortable 49-7 victory.

Here are three takeaways from Navy’s dominant with over Virginia in the 2017 Military Bowl

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