On Saturday, the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) Midshipmen worked toward keeping ahold of the coveted Commander-in-Chief trophy (CIC) this year. Each football season, the CIC is awarded to the winner of the American college football series among the three service academies: USNA, the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), and the U.S. Air Force Academy.
The Midshipmen currently have custody of the trophy and played their first game in the series against Air Force on Saturday.
The game continued to be back and forth, with Navy ultimately securing the victory 34-31.
Per CBS Sports:
Despite their run-heavy option systems, the Midshipmen and Falcons combined for a whopping 977 yards in a back-and-forth showdown defined by explosive play after explosive play. Heidenreich was the biggest factor in that regard. His 243 receiving yards were by far a Navy single-game record and broke a mark that stood since 1967 when Rob Taylor racked up 179 yards. In fact, the senior rewrote the history book with plenty of time to spare as he set the record with 10:59 to play. He also became the academy’s all-time receiving touchdown leader with 14 career scores.
Quarterback Blake Horvath joined rare company, too. In the best game of his career, the second-year starter completed 20 of his 26 pass attempts for 339 yards and three touchdowns, placing him fifth in Navy single-game history for passing yards.
Navy head coach Brian Newberry told CBS regarding Horvath and Heidenreich, “They’re playmakers.”
“You gotta get the ball to your playmakers, and they did a phenomenal job today.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was in Annapolis for the game and, before visiting the victorious Navy team in the locker room, he joined the Mids in the stands and was greeted with enthusiastic cheers.
Watch:
AMERICA’S SECRETARY OF WAR!!!! pic.twitter.com/O3mxxEgdsF
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) October 4, 2025
Secretary Hegseth also joined the Mids in a storied tradition of doing pushups after each scoring drive, and helped set a new Guinness WORLD RECORD with 3,068 people doing push-ups simultaneously for one minute.
. @SECWAR joined the Naval Academy as they set a new Guinness WORLD RECORD with 3,068 people doing push-ups simultaneously for one minute. pic.twitter.com/f2LDRFuuXX
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) October 4, 2025
Secretary Hegseth then joined the team to share in the victory, and the atmosphere was electric!
. @SECWAR took a visit to the @NavyFB locker room AFTER defeating Air Force 34-31.
It was ELECTRIC… pic.twitter.com/ipBsjfdCl7
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) October 4, 2025
He shared a few words following Navy’s victory.
Secretary Hegseth shared, “You know what? Nothing else matters. You got it done. You got it done.”
“In fact, the best wins are the ones where it takes you while. Defense doesn’t show up right away. Offense doesn’t show up right away. Listen, you’re hearing this from an all-conference honorable mention. Wide receiver, Four Slate High School, Minnesota. I didn’t go deep. I ran slant rounds right across the middle. Let me tell you, I couldn’t respect more what you did. You pounded through the game.”
He continued, “When you needed a stop at the end, you got the big stop. When you needed a first down, you got the first down. That’s going to be your life, not just in this game, but for the rest of your life when you’re wearing a different uniform.”
“There’s going to be sh**ty days. There’s going to be tough days. There’s going to be frustrations. You’re going to have bad leaders. You’re going to have good leaders, clear missions, and missions with no clarity at all.”
“And what you do in those moments is what’s going to be the difference between life and death for the men, for the Americans, for the sailors, for the Seals, for the Marines that you lead in the future. You are their compass. They will look to you just like you look to your quarterback or your linebackers or your own line to say, ‘Hey, I’m on you. I’m on your back. We’re going north.’”
“You did that today.”
“I love the Air Force. They don’t have it on you today.”
“It is an honor to be your Secretary of War. You are in the War Department. I don’t know if you saw, I gave a little speech on Tuesday. That’s right. He’s big. That’s right. No more beardos. Two PT tests, no matter who you are. Standards, discipline, accountability, readiness, all the things you hear from your professors, from the sup, from your coach, and from your commanders. It’s the basics. It’s blocking and tackling a leadership of command. That’s what you’re learning here. That’s what your formations need. That’s what the country needs.”
“All I know, and I never did anything near what all of you have done here at this academy, at this institution. All I know when I was a young, rifle platoon leader, all I wanted to know is that my commander had my back. When I had to do difficult things, when I had to do things in dangerous places in the middle of the night, did they have my back, even if I make a mistake?”
“Let me tell you this. From President Trump to all of you, we have your back. The nation has your back. Your leadership has your back.”
“Stick to it. Fight like hell. Do what you did in the field today, and America will never, ever go wrong.”
“I hope and pray. All glory to God, I hope and pray that someday one of my sons or daughters decides to make the decision you made at the age you made it. You put something bigger than yourself. You chose something bigger than yourself on day one. That means something. You have my respect because of it, and I’m going to work my ass off along with everybody we work with to make sure you have everything you need whenever you need it in the formations you have.”
“Gentlemen, men, warriors, go Navy.”
Watch:
. @SecWar @PeteHegseth gave a postgame locker room speech after Navy’s 34-31 victory over Air Force pic.twitter.com/CGfS14agKC
— Tami Radabaugh (@TRadabaughDOW) October 4, 2025
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