Navy destroys Cincinnati in Liberty Bowl, caps historic season

After closing out the regular season with a win in the Army-Navy game, Navy rang in the New Year by obliterating Cincinnati by a score of 35-13 in Friday's AutoZone Liberty Bowl at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn. 

The Midshipmen (11-2) jumped out to a 14-7 lead at halftime and led 21-7 after three quarters. The deciding blow of the game came with Cincinnati (7-6) trailing 28-13 late in the fourth quarter, as Coleman Cauley intercepted a Brady Lichtenburg pass and ran it into the end zone for a touchdown. 

On a rainy day in the land of the Delta Blues, Navy's physicality couldn't be matched by the Bearcats. Navy ran for 241 yards, while QB Blake Horvath tacked on 108 yards and two touchdowns through the air. 

Lichtenburg was held to just 97 passing yards, while the Bearcats averaged only 3.7 yards per carry. 

2025 was historic season for Navy

Navy lost consecutive games to North Texas and Notre Dame on Nov. 1 and Nov. 8, respectively, but ended the season with four consecutive victories. Navy has back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in program history. 2025 is the third 11-win season in Navy history, while 2024-25 is the winningest two-year stretch in the history of Naval Academy football.