Navy midshipmen can exploit one key weakness in the Tulane Green Wave defense

The Navy Midshipmen will face a strong Tulane Green Wave team in a marquee American Athletic Conference matchup this weekend and they may have the edge over their opponent.

To no one’s surprise, the run game has been the Midshipmen’s calling card this season. They have the fifth-best rushing attack in the country at 259.1 yards per game.

The offense is also putting up an impressive 5.58 yards per rush. It’s a deadly mix of both volume and efficiency.

Previewing the huge game, Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick pointed out the advantage Navy has over Green Wave in this regard.

The analysis pointed toward a fairly basic metric: meters before contact.

The Midshipmen average 2.7 yards before contact per attempt, fifth in the FBS. Their run blocking ranks #15 in FBS. PFF’s analysis found this was due to the nature of Navy’s triple option offense, which requires the defense to maintain assignment discipline and can lead to delays in recognizing who has the football.

According to PFF’s analysis, this gives Navy the edge over Tulane:

The Green Wave allows 5.4 yards per carry, just 104th among FBS schools. A total of 1.9 of those yards come before contact, which ranks 96th among that same group. Tulane will have to be very disciplined in its approach to the Midshipmen’s three-pronged attack this week, or it could be a long day for the Green Wave.

Both games Tulane has lost this season have been largely due to mobile quarterbacks. Considering Navy’s option offense, where the quarterback initiates everything, that seems like a solid strategy to take down the Green Wave.

The Kansas State Wildcats handed Tulane its first loss and their quarterback, Avery Johnson, rushed for 40 yards eight times. It wasn’t big, but it had an impact.

Next week, Jackson Arnold and the Oklahoma Sooners did some real damage. Arnold rushed 14 times for 97 yards and two trips to the end zone.

Tulane hasn’t suffered a loss since, but it also hasn’t faced a rushing attack like Navy’s this season.

Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath is dealing with a thumb injury, but he wants to play. However, he won’t be 100%.

This could be a big game for halfback Eli Heidenreich, who leads the team in yards after contact per rush. Horvath and Alex Tecza, the team’s leading rushers, also excel in that area.