ANNAPOLIS, Md. — On a hot, sunny, September morning, hundreds of Midshipmen, dressed in their matching fatigues for a “tactical Thursday,” crisscrossed Navy‘s campus to get to their next class, identical black backpacks hanging from their shoulders.
Midstride, a Midshipman peered out from under the brim of his required hat to say good morning with a huge grin.
“That’s our quarterback,” Navy fullback Daba Fofana told a nearby visitor.
Listed at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, junior Blake Horvath easily blends in with his classmates on the Yard during school hours — his 3.53 GPA as an operations research major included. When it comes to Navy quarterbacks, though, Horvath stands alone as the best dual-purpose quarterback the program has seen — and probably the only one in the country who wasn’t a household name entering this season but has aligned himself statistically with some of the best in the sport.
The highest a Navy quarterback has ever finished in QBR — which ESPN has been tracking since 2004 — is sixth, by Malcolm Perry in 2019. Horvath entered this week ranked No. 3 in total QBR but for about a month was No. 1 — a spot that in years past has been reserved for the likes of Jayden Daniels (2023), Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud (2021), Alabama’s Mac Jones (2020), LSU’s Joe Burrow (2019) and Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray (2018).
Just a few first-round NFL draft picks.
“And there’s Blake!” said Navy quarterbacks coach Ivin Jasper with a smile.
Not bad for an unassuming Ohio kid who was recruited by a few Division II schools and Mid-American schools Toledo, Ball State and Miami (Ohio) — as a wide receiver and safety.
“People do not understand,” Jasper said. “Blake is really sneaky athletic. You see some high school film where he’s going off two feet and dunking it — I mean going up and throwing it down. It was like, ‘Whoa.’ But he walks in the room, he has this goofy smile on his face, he’s always cracking jokes and giving guys a hard time. He reminds me of the character Mahoney from ‘Police Academy.’ People came after him as a safety, a receiver — he’s a real smart football player, I’m sure he can do any of those things — but we’re happy he’s playing quarterback for us.”
Horvath is a big reason why Navy enters Saturday’s critical game against Notre Dame in Metlife Stadium with a 6-0 record for the first time since 1979. He’s leading the nation’s No. 4 scoring offense (44.8), Navy’s highest average in more than 100 years. The Midshipmen are also No. 1 in red zone offense (23-23), No. 2 in yards per completion (19.3), and No. 4 in rushing offense (274.8).
Horvath, whose breakout season is also his first as the full-time starter, joins Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard as the only quarterbacks in the FBS who have reached double figures in both rushing (10) and passing touchdowns (10) this fall. Horvath, who has thrown only one interception, has been responsible for 20.7 points per game, which ranks seventh nationally. And he enters this week ranked as the No. 1 overall quarterback in the FBS by Pro Football Focus with a grade of 92.7 and the No. 2 overall runner (all players, not just quarterbacks) with a grade of 93.0.
This is an undefeated quarterback whose class lineup includes advanced math programming, data wrangling and visualization, applications of cyber engineering, and dynamic and stochastic models.
(Free wings for any college football fan who knows what stochastic models are.)
“Academics are pretty tough here,” Horvath said. “So, being able to take a bad grade on a test, or a bad quiz and go over to football and forgetting about it — or the other way around, and not letting the success of football get to your head and make you take academics any lighter, because they’re both equally as important in their own right.
“In the past, one of the big things for our football team has been exam weeks,” he said. “During exam weeks, things get pretty stressful, and last season, our two worst games were during exam weeks because of the stress and everything. This year, we already had one during UAB week and we were able to pull out the win. It’s indicative of our team and our ability to overcome some things this season.”
(No, they don’t have exams this week before the Notre Dame game.)
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Blake Horvath launches 77-yard pass to Nathan Kent for Navy TD
Blake Horvath connects with Nathan Kent on a 77-yard pass to make it 21-3 to Navy over UAB.
Instead, the test is whether Navy can sustain its offensive success against a Notre Dame defense that will be light years better than any the Midshipmen have faced so far this season. The Irish are No. 5 in the country in scoring defense, holding opponents to 11.86 points per game. Navy’s opponents are currently ranked 119th in winning percentage (.433).
While Navy’s offense has been soaring, it has come against only one team with a winning record: Memphis (5-1). Temple, UAB and Air Force have combined for four wins.
This isn’t the Navy offense you’re used to seeing, though.
Navy still runs the triple option — in fact first-year offensive coordinator Drew Cronic’s roots are the wing-T. Navy, though, has modernized it.
How?
Well, for starters they call it the “Millennial wing-T.”
It’s a multiple offense. Navy’s quarterbacks have to be fluent in the option, RPO and pro style. They run zone reads and inside zone, and it’s all working. Navy is just one of three teams in the country, along with Army and Indiana, that have won every game this season by double digits.
“It’s not the old-school wing-T that some high schools still run, under center, only handoff left, handoff right,” said Horvath, who is one of three quarterbacks with at least 10 rushing touchdowns, along with rival Army’s Bryson Daily and Alabama’s Milroe. “You can run whatever you want, and we sort of do that. We’ll line up in shotgun, we’ll do whatever’s necessary to get our guys the football in positions for them to succeed.”
Make no mistake — this is still a run-first offense, as Horvath has only attempted 72 passes. By comparison, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier has thrown it 284 times. The difference in Cronic’s system is that Horvath is talented enough to add that option to the playbook. He has completed 64% of his passes — almost the same as Nussmeier (64.7%). Heading into a game against Navy’s first ranked opponent, Horvath is on pace to not only join but, in some cases, blow by some records set by the who’s who of Navy quarterbacks.
Horvath can obliterate the school record for passing efficiency set by Malcolm Perry, and he’s on pace for the third-best completion percentage behind Hall of Famer Roger Staubach (who is also first and second). He can become the first quarterback in school history to throw for 2,000 and rush for 1,000.
“We have a lot of really good football players here, kids who I think can play anywhere in the country,” Cronic said. “Maybe they’re 2 inches short or 10 pounds light, but we have some kids who can run and do some things and play the football. Blake’s running by people.”
Horvath can also crush the school record for passing yards per attempt (set by Will Worth) and passing yards per completion (set by Ricky Dobbs) and passing touchdowns in a season (also set by Dobbs).
As a team, the 6-0 start is a departure from the recent past. Navy finished 5-7, 4-8, 4-8 and 3-7 the past four seasons. They haven’t had a winning season since going 11-2 in 2019.
“We talk a lot about what the seniors have been through, and what a lot of guys as a team have been through in the past few years,” Horvath said. “We really wanted to come into this season making a change, and to leave a legacy that’s different from what we’ve produced in the past. Being in the position that I’m in, Navy’s had a lot of great quarterbacks — Keenan Reynolds, Malcolm Perry, Roger Staubach — a lot of guys who have been the face of Navy football because they were the quarterback. So when it comes to being a quarterback here, you’re sort of thrust into that role and you have to be able to handle it.”
Horvath earned the role late this past spring, when he beat sophomore Braxton Woodson for the starting job in what was a “neck and neck” competition. Horvath had only started one game last season — and only played in four total games in his collegiate career. His season ended early in October 2023 because of a dislocated thumb that required surgery and a screw. Jasper said Horvath’s arm has gotten stronger, he’s throwing the football better — and it’s all “way more” than they expected.
“You really didn’t know until he got into the games how he was going to respond under the lights,” Jasper said. “We are loving this. We’ve got our quarterback.”
Just two years ago, their quarterback was on the scout team and didn’t play one snap in a game. Now he has thrown for at least 100 yards in all six games — the longest streak by a Navy quarterback since Jim Kubiak did it in 22 straight games over the 1993 and ’94 seasons.
“He’ll step in to throw, know he’s gonna get hit and put it on the money,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said.
And those within the program agree that even with all of his achievements, Horvath has remained humble.
“Blake has the ability of conveying confidence without it being arrogance,” Cronic said. “He has a toughness about him. He needs the right skill set, obviously, but if he’s tough and he’s a competitor, and the guys believe he’s going to get ’em in the end zone, that’s what you’re looking for. When they believe we’re gonna win because he’s in the game, everybody else just plays better, plays freer.”
Navy, one of just 10 undefeated teams left in the country, was picked by the media to finish 11th in the 14-team American Athletic Conference. The Midshipmen are currently in second place with a win over preseason favorite Memphis. A win against Notre Dame would give Navy its first 7-0 start since 1978.
It would also legitimize Navy as a possible playoff contender, as the five highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed a spot in the 12-team field. If Navy wins the AAC — and has a neutral-site road win against Notre Dame on its résumé — the CFP selection committee could rank Navy high enough for inclusion. It would also depend on how the other Group of 5 conference races unfold, starting Friday night with Boise State at UNLV.
Navy has only beaten a ranked Notre Dame team four times in the series history, the last coming in 2009. While Horvath has come to realize he has played his way into elite company, he remains grounded in who he is.
“I don’t have to do anything outside of who I am to win a game,” said Horvath, who was recruited out of Hilliard Darby High School in Hilliard, Ohio. “I don’t have to go in and play like Joe Burrow or Caleb Williams in order for us to win. I can just be Blake Horvath and we can still win the game. As long as everyone else is doing the same, we’ll be pretty good.”
The Orioles received another boost as Tyler O’Neill came off the injured list with a single and a walk.
“I think they gave us two of the three runs,” said Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino, referring to O’Neill scoring on Cedric Mullins‘ two-run homer off Spencer Strider.
“Those are two really good players,” Mansolino said. “We’re still short. We’re still missing Adley [Rutschman], but a lot of credit to the guys. They went out there and put up three runs against probably one of the great pitchers in the game.”
Rutschman, Baltimore’s primary catcher, has been out since June 20 with an oblique strain.
Westburg has tried to play through his sprained left index finger. He left a game at the New York Yankees on June 21 before returning four days later against Texas and then having to leave a game after aggravating the injury on June 27.
“Is he 100%? Probably not,” Mansolino said before the game. “But I think he’s probably close.”
Close was good enough. When asked how he feels after his three-hit game, Westburg said, “Pretty good.”
“I’m willing to play through whatever I have,” Westburg said. “It just was at a point where I wasn’t able to swing a bat. As soon as I’m able and can, I want to be on the field as much as they’ll let me.”
O’Neill was the Orioles’ designated hitter in his return from a left shoulder impingement. He was placed on the injured list for the second time this year on May 16 after missing time earlier in the season with neck inflammation.
The contributions from Westburg and O’Neill, who combined to reach base five times, helped support Charlie Morton, who allowed six hits and two runs in 5⅓ innings in his return to Atlanta, where he pitched the past four seasons. Morton also began his career with the Braves.
Morton (5-7) improved to 5-0 in 10 appearances, including seven starts, since May 10.
“I spent basically half my career here,” Morton said. “Being drafted here, I spent seven years in the system, went to the big leagues, made my debut, got to play for Bobby Cox, got to play with some of the pillars of this organization and … come back and win a World Series here. Yeah, it’s a special place for me.”
Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.
CHICAGO — Fireworks in Chicago began early on Independence Day as the Cubs set a franchise record for a single game, hitting eight home runs on Friday, including three from first baseman Michael Busch in a rout of the St. Louis Cardinals.
“Especially to do it at Wrigley Field,” Busch said after the 11-3 win. “It’s really cool. I think that was my first three-homer game, ever. That’s one game I’ll never forget.”
Busch, 27, took Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas deep in the second and third innings then set a career mark with his third home run in the seventh off reliever John King. It was the first time a Cubs player hit three home runs in a game since Rafael Ortega on Aug. 1, 2021.
Busch wasn’t the only Cub to hit multiple home runs as Pete Crow-Armstrong hit two after making a diving catch in the first inning. Both Busch and Crow-Armstrong went 4-for-4 on the day, driving in seven of the team’s 11 runs. Busch drove in five.
The Cubs have been near the top of the league in most offensive rankings since early in the season as they extended their lead on the Cardinals to 6.5 games.
“It’s really easy to appreciate what we’re doing right now,” Crow-Armstrong said. “It’s also easy to just keep it going and not let that be something that we are dwelling on. It’s the best offense I’ve ever been a part of.”
Also homering for the Cubs on their record-setting day was designated hitter Seiya Suzuki, catcher Carson Kelly and shortstop Dansby Swanson. Manager Craig Counsell was asked to put the day in perspective considering the lengthy history of the franchise. It came a day after they beat the Cleveland Guardians 1-0.
“It’s the sport,” Counsell said with a smile. “It took us 10 innings to score one run yesterday. That’s what’s crazy about it. That’s why you turn the page every single day. We had a really good day, today.”
Mikolas set a Cardinals franchise record, giving up six of the eight home runs — all of which came in the first three innings. The Cardinals did break a scoreless streak on offense extending back to last Sunday when second baseman Brendan Donovan homered in the fourth inning. St. Louis scored two more times in the ninth off Cubs infielder Jon Berti, but by then the game was in hand.
Busch is the third Cubs player with a three-home run game against the Cardinals. In an odd twist, all three did it on Independence Day: Moises Alou on July 4, 2003, and Hank Leiber on July 4, 1939, according to ESPN Research.
ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
NEW YORK — Juan Soto‘s second Subway Series experience in a Mets uniform was a far cry from his first.
In mid-May, Soto received a three-day onslaught of boos from scorned crowds in his return to Yankee Stadium and looked increasingly uncomfortable as the weekend progressed. On Friday, he felt right at home in the teams’ series opener at Citi Field, receiving a standing ovation from his home crowd before his first at-bat and reciprocating the love with a signature performance against his former team.
The soon-to-be five-time All-Star went 3-for-4 with a home run, double and single, falling just a triple shy of the cycle in the Mets’ 6-5 comeback win over the Yankees to continue his scalding stretch over the past month as the Mets won their third consecutive game and the Yankees lost their fifth straight.
“That was awesome,” said second baseman Jeff McNeil, who slashed a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning. “He had a great day. Huge home run. That’s just who he is. It’s fun to watch and I feel like every time he comes to the plate, he’s going to do something cool.”
The day began with the Mets needing a quick counter after the Yankees took a two-run lead on back-to-back home runs from Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge to open the game and put rookie Justin Hagenman on his heels in his first career major league start. Soto, moments after absorbing the warm reception, delivered one, lifting a two-run home run to left-center field for his 21st of the season to tie the score and put Hagenman at ease.
“Juan responded right away, just getting the momentum right back,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “That was the setting-the-tone moment. ‘OK, they punch, we’re going to punch back. Here we are.'”
The 26-year-old Soto followed the two-run blast with a 108.6-mph rope of a double to center field in the third inning and a single in the fifth before cracking a 106.8-mph flyout in his final at-bat in the seventh. Two batters later, McNeil, after Pete Alonso walked to extend the inning, drove a changeup from Luke Weaver down the right-field line to give the Mets the lead.
“I just feel good right now,” Soto said. “I’m seeing the ball really well. I feel like I’m trying to take my chances when I swing the bat. I’m trying to do damage every time and try to help the team win some games.”
Much is different from the first time the Mets and Yankees met this season. Both teams have fallen from first place following dreadful stretches stemming from June 12. Both teams are dealing with various injuries to pitchers, the Mets to a greater extent. And Soto, a Yankee last season, has returned to his usual form for his new club.
Soto emerged from that three-game set in the Bronx earlier in the season with a .246 batting average and .822 OPS on the season. The relative struggles continued over the next two weeks, sinking his batting average to .229 and his OPS to .797 through June 5. The relative struggles drew the ire of fans and New York talk radio. The early return on the Mets’ $765 million investment was one of the few blips in the team’s splendid start.
The storyline has since flipped. Since June 6, Soto is hitting .348 with 10 home runs and a 1.185 OPS in 27 games, earning National League Player of the Month honors for June. On the season, his 21 home runs are tied for ninth in the majors and his .916 OPS is seventh. It’s production the Mets expected — and the production the Yankees know all about.
“It’s pretty special,” Mendoza said. “Every time he’s at the plate, you feel good about your chances. And when we got guys that are getting on base and we’re turning the lineup over and getting him at the plate as many times [as possible] when he’s going like that, it’s a pretty special feeling.”