The 2026 AutoZone Liberty Bowl features the 10-2 Navy Midshipmen and the 7-5 Cincinnati Bearcats. Here is the 2026 AutoZone Liberty Bowl Preview.
Navy won 10 games to make their second-straight bowl game. They defeated three bowl-eligible teams: USF, Memphis and Army. Both of their losses were to bowl-eligible teams: North Texas and Notre Dame.
The Midshipmen score 31.2 points per game, ranking 39th in the country. They pass for 131.8 yards (ranked 131st) and rush for 289.3 yards (ranked first) per game.
Blake Horvath has run the option offense well for the Midshipmen. He has passed for 1,472 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions on 60.7 percent completion. One receiver has done most of the work for Navy. Eli Heidenreich has 46 catches for 877 yards and five touchdowns.
Five players have over 400 rushing yards for Navy this season. Horvath leads the way from the quarterback position with 1,147 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. Alex Tecza has been the most effective running back with 822 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Heidenreich, Brandon Chatman and Braxton Woodson have done well with 437, 415 and 414 rushing yards apiece.
Defensively, the Midshipmen allow 26 points per game, ranking 76th in the country. They give up 141.2 rushing yards (ranked 55th) and 241.1 passing yards (ranked 105th) per game. MarcAnthony Parker has the team lead with 93 tackles. Landon Robinson has been a great defensive lineman and has aided the team with his 6.5 sacks. Irabonoise Oniha has made plays on the ball with seven passes defended.
The Bearcats won seven games to make their first bowl games since 2022. They defeated one bowl-eligible team this season: Iowa State. All five of their losses were to teams that made bowl games: Nebraska, Utah, Arizona, BYU and TCU.
Cincinnati scores 31.8 points per game, tying them for 35th in the nation. They pass for 242.4 yards (ranked 54th) and rush for 178.9 yards (ranked 43rd) per game.
Brendan Sorsby was the starting quarterback for the Bearcats this season, but he is in the transfer portal. Brady Lichtenberg and Samaj Jones are inexperienced, but they will get the reps at quarterback. Six players have at least 200 receiving yards on the season. Cyrus Allen is the leading target with 665 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. Caleb Goodie, Jeff Caldwell and Joe Royer were good receiving options with 484, 478 and 416 yards on the year.
Tawee Walker, a transfer from Wisconsin, has been the leading rusher with 709 yards and four touchdowns. Evan Pryor chipped in with 522 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
The Bearcats’ defense concedes 24.83 points per game, ranking 69th in the country. They allow 173.6 rushing yards (ranked 97th) and 229.8 passing yards (tied 90th) per game. Jake Golday led the team with 103 total tackles, but he is preparing for the NFL Draft. Jalen Hunt is tied with Golday with 3.5 sacks. Christian Harrison has made plays on the ball with seven passes defended and one interception.
Cincinnati has had extra time to prepare for Navy’s rushing attack. While some of their players are out, they should have enough to win the game.
Cincinnati Bearcats 27 Navy Midshipmen 24
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