Navy football is unbeaten through five games.

It marks quite a turnaround for a program that had suffered four straight losing seasons. And anybody who says they saw it coming is a liar.

The Midshipmen earned their second signature victory of the season Saturday.

Quarterback Blake Horvath and snipe Eli Heidenreich sparked the offense, while inside linebacker Kyle Jacob and outside linebacker Jaxson Campbell spearheaded the defense as Navy routed service academy rival Air Force, 34-7.

The Midshipmen (5-0) dominated on both sides of the ball in defeating the Falcons in Colorado Springs for the first time since 2012.

It was a program-defining win for Navy, which captured the first leg of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy series for the first time since 2019. It sets up an epic season-ending showdown with archrival Army, which is also off to a 5-0 start.

Navy had another momentous win two Saturdays ago when it won a 56-44 shootout with Memphis, the preseason favorite in the American Athletic Conference.

The Midshipmen made modest improvement in their first season under coach Brian Newberry, finishing 5-7 after going 4-8 in 2021 and 2022. Navy has taken a dramatic leap forward this season due largely to Newberry’s decision to change offensive coordinators.

Newberry fired Grant Chesnut, who was not the right fit at Navy, and lured Drew Cronic away from Mercer. Newberry had tried to hire Cronic in 2023, but the timing was not right.

Cronic, who compiled a combined record of 75-23 over eight years at three schools, did not turn down a second opportunity to coach at one of the premier institutions in America.

Cronic has spent more than two decades building and refining his “millennial” version of Wing-T offense, constantly tweaking and adding wrinkles. His offense has been wildly successful at every stop, and it’s easy to see why.

This hybrid version of Wing-T, which incorporates triple-option and run-pass option elements, is incredibly diverse. It confounds defenses with a wide assortment of formations, tons of motion and plenty of misdirection.

We have clearly seen through five games that eye discipline is a major problem for opposing defenders. They have repeatedly misread plays and gotten caught out of position, a deadly combination that has enabled the Midshipmen to hit an incredible amount of explosive plays.

Navy’s remarkable offensive improvement is spelled out starkly by the statistics. Last season, the Midshipmen averaged 17.7 points and 300 yards per game, ranking at the bottom of the Football Bowl Subdivision in both categories.

With Horvath doing a tremendous job as the trigger man, Navy ranks 11th nationally in scoring (43.6 points) and 20th in total offense (465.4 yards).

No opponent has defended Navy better over the years than Air Force, which made Saturday’s matchup a crucial test. The Midshipmen passed with flying colors, rolling up 463 yards with a nice mixture of running and passing.

Horvath amassed 134 passing yards and 115 rushing yards while delivering in another complete performance. He made good decisions, took care of the ball and spread the ball around to the playmakers.

“Blake has been completely lights-out. I thought he played extremely well. He just continues to get better and better and continues to lead our offense,” Newberry said. “I think the guys around him are elevating their play. We had several guys play really, really well today.”

Heidenreich, who has emerged as an incredibly dangerous weapon, had a huge game with 101 receiving yards and 100 rushing yards. He was targeted five times in the passing game and caught the ball on each occasion, including a remarkable grab along the sideline.

Officials initially ruled that Heidenreich caught the ball out of bounds, but a replay review showed he somehow dragged a toe inbounds.

The Falcons actually did a good job of not giving up the type of massive big plays the Mids have produced in every previous game, but still got nicked for a bunch of big gains. Navy had 15 plays of 10 yards or more Saturday.

For the season, Navy has 57 gains of 10 yards or more, 29 of 20 yards or more, 12 of 40 yards or more, six of 60 yards or more and three of 70 yards or more.

Newberry acknowledged the Mids have struggled to move the ball against the Falcons in recent seasons, notably a year ago when they had just 124 total yards and in 2020 when they had 68. This season was different because Navy is no longer banging its head against the wall by repeatedly running the fullback and quarterback up the middle.

“It’s hard to move the ball against that Air Force defense when you’re somewhat one-dimensional. Obviously, we’re not right now. We’ve been very effective running and throwing it,” Newberry said. “I love the multiplicity. I love how we swing our sword. We take our shots. I love the way [Cronic] is calling it.”

That spells unstoppable.

Take away the Memphis game, which was somewhat of an anomaly, and the Navy defense has been solid as usual. The Mids are No. 42 nationally in scoring defense (20.2).

Navy’s defense was certainly on point Saturday, limiting Air Force to one touchdown on 273 total yards. Jacob had a team-high 10 tackles, while Campbell totaled seven tackles and two sacks. Cornerback Deshaun Peele made a clutch interception that helped Navy build an early 14-0 lead.

Navy is now one win away from becoming bowl-eligible for the first time since 2019 and it would be a surprise if that did not happen against Charlotte (3-3) on Oct. 19 in Annapolis.

Navy is effectively ranked No. 28 in the country by receiving 43 votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, right behind Nebraska and Southern California.

The Midshipmen have a bye this weekend and it comes at an ideal time. Coming off a typically physical contest with Air Force and with the season nearly halfway complete, Navy could use the week off to rest and recover.

Newberry has warned his players all season to “not choke on the sugar,” and that is going to get more and more difficult with each additional win. Everyone is telling the Midshipmen how great they are right now and they need to ignore the hype and stay focused.

Navy can look at Air Force as an example of how the narrative of a season can completely flip. The Falcons started the 2023 season 8-0, but a devastating defeat at the hands of Army started a four-game losing streak to close out the regular season.