Is Blake Horvath playing today? Navy QB's availability for Week 10 explored

Quarterback Blake Horvath and the Navy Midshipmen (6-1, 4-0 AAC) have had an excellent season so far. However, Horvath has been dealing with a thumb injury since Navy's 51-17 win over Charlotte on October 19. Although the injury did not keep Horvath out of the lineup against No. 8-ranked Notre Dame on Saturday, it hindered his play and the team lost 51-14.

Nonetheless, Horvath is expected to take the field again this week when Navy takes on the Rice Owls (2-6, 1-3). He did not appear to make the injury any worse while playing last week.

Is Blake Horvath playing today?

Yes, Blake Horvath is playing today against the Rice Owls. The injury is not expected to sideline him for Saturday's game. He will lead Navy onto the field as he has done every game this season.

What happened to Blake Horvath?

It is not clear what play caused Horvath to injure his thumb. It did not come out that he was injured until shortly before Saturday's game against Notre Dame. It was announced by ABC reporter Molly McGrath before the game:

"I'm told Blake Horvath suffered an injury to his right thumb in last week’s game. Brian Newberry told me Horvath is pretty banged up. He’ll be playing through a decent amount of pain today."

"His right thumb and hand is taped. Their athletic training staff will be playing extra attention to this injury. He keeps flexing and opening and closing that hand. It seems to be bothering him."

It appears that although Horvath played through the pain against Notre Dame, the injury affected his play. He had his worst passing game of the season, only completing seven of 13 passing attempts for 88 yards and throwing his second interception of the season.

However, he was still effective as a runner, rushing for 129 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. He had his second-highest yards per run this season with 9.2.

When will Blake Horvath return?

Horvath is expected to return to the field for the Navy Midshipmen on Saturday against Rice. There has been no indication from the coaching staff that anything has changed regarding Horvath's status. His injury has not been discussed publicly, and as a result, fans should expect him to play against Rice.

Horvath and Navy will be looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season against Notre Dame. They have a good opportunity to do so against a Rice team that has struggled this year.