On a wet day for football at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Navy and Cincinnati would meet for the final game of the 2025 season in the 67th AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Navy, out of the American Conference, came into the bowl game with a 10-2 record, as the Bearcats came into the game with a 7-5 record out of the Big 12 Conference. 

Cincinnati came into the bowl game battling the opt-out bug, as most of the starters on the defensive side of the ball had hit the portal, plus the former starting quarterback. 

For Navy, Friday was about finishing what they started as they set out to prove a point against a Power Five opponent. It would also mean an opportunity to win an 11th game to end the 2025 season. 

Cincinnati won the coin toss and elected to receive to open the game, but it was the Navy defense coming away with a massive stop to open the game. The Bearcats would force a Navy punt of their own as they both flipped the field on the other to open the game. Another stop by the Navy defense would give the Midshipmen the ball back after another Cincinnati punt. Navy would take advantage of the defensive stops by putting together a six-play, 68-yard touchdown drive to take an early 7-0 lead over the Bearcats. At the end of the first quarter, Navy held on to a 7-0 lead over the Bearcats. 

Cincinnati would shift the mometum a bit at the start of the second quarter with a long 17-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the game at seven. Navy would respond right before half with 40 seconds remaining in the half as Blake Horvath found Luke Hutchinson with a 30-yard touchdown pass to give Navy a 14-7 lead over Cincinnati. Navy would hold on to the 14-7 lead over the Bearcats at the half. 

The first half was about as ugly as ugly could get as the field conditions took a hit with the onslaught of rain that fell for the first half of play. 

Navy led the way in total yards in the first half with 160, while Cincinnati finished with 118. 

Navy opened the second half with a quick five-minute scoring drive, capped off by Blake Horvath finding Eli Heidenreich in the endzone to extend the Navy lead to 21-7 with 10:15 in the third. Navy would recover a double reverse fumble to give the Midshipmen prime real estate to work with, with 9:12 remaining in the third. Cincinnati would catch a break as they forced a Navy fumble just twelve seconds later. 

At the end of the third, it was Navy leading the Cincinnati Bearcats 21-7. 

Navy would open the 4th quarter with a five-minute drive capped off by an Alex Tecza three-yard touchdown run to extend the Midshipmen’s lead to 28-7 over the Bearcats with 10:00 remaining in the game. Cincinnati would add a touchdown to make the scoreboard look a bit better, but in the end, it was the Midshipmen of Navy coming out on top and earning the 11th win of the 2025 season. Navy would add a pick-six with 2:54 on the game clock to extend the lead to 35-13 over the Bearcats.

Navy came to Memphis on a mission, and the mission was complete with the 35-13 victory over the Bearcats to earn the 11th win on the season. Navy wanted this victory, and they did everything right on Friday afternoon. The Midshipmen ended the season with a massive AutoZone Liberty Bowl victory as they look to carry the mometum into the 2026 season, where Coach Newberry will look to carry Navy even further by winning the American Conference and possibly reaching the College Football Playoff. Navy will have to replace Blake Horvath at quarterback, but they’ll have the next guy ready to take what Horvath has done and take it to the next level. 

With the win over Cincinnati, Navy finishes the season 11-2 with a 7-1 in American play. 

Photo Credits – Navy Football on X