Group of Five Power Rankings, Week 10: Appalachian State dominates
By Zach Bigalke
7. Navy Midshipmen (6-1/AAC)
- LAST WEEK’S RANK: 7th
- WEEK 9 RESULT: won 41-38 vs. Tulane
- WEEK 10 MATCHUP: Nov. 1 at UConn
When Memphis beat Navy 35-23 in September, it felt like the Midshipmen might have been exposed as pretenders. After all, their only wins before the Tigers defeat at the Liberty Bowl came against FCS Holy Cross and AAC afterthought East Carolina. Since then, though, Navy has reeled off four straight victories to improve to 6-1 and keep their name in the AAC West race heading into November.
The latest win for the Midshipmen came at the expense of Tulane, an early-season darling that looked capable of making a run similar to the 1998 squad. But the Green Wave, fresh off their own 47-17 loss at Memphis, proved incapable of stemming the losing streak in Annapolis. Diego Fagot had a 17-yard interception return for a touchdown, while Jamale Carothers ran for 154 yards and three touchdowns and Malcolm Perry also topped 100 rushing yards.
Navy heads to UConn on Friday night for what should be a relatively straightforward takedown of the Huskies. Another bye week follows before the key road game against Notre Dame, and then the Midshipmen return home to race currently-unbeaten SMU. Win that and there is still a road trip to Houston to get through before the AAC championship game. And then… oh yeah, there’s just the matter of the Army-Navy Game to play in Philadelphia on December 14.