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2026 AutoZone Liberty Bowl Preview
Publish Date: December 24, 2025
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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.