I was at the game and here's my hot take.
Navy's plan was very straightforward and Navy-esque. Throwing was never part of the plan. The two plays they wanted to run were the QB sweep and a Zone dive to the A-Gap with a cutback lane across the NT (UVA is an odd-front team) as their perimeter play and their interior play. They used the Double Flex to get their WRs in for blocking. To vary the perimeter play they messed with the count by motioning the other A-Back over as an additional lead blocker or running a double option. To vary the interior play they ran midline. They rarely called other plays. One key to Navy's success was calling the play at the line of scrimmage since they weren't running many plays. It was like watching Rock-Paper-Scissors with the two coordinators signalling in the calls at the LoS.
UVAs offense was garbage. The only pass they could complete was a short pass: hitch, flare, or out/comeback. Almost everything else was dropped or horribly thrown. I wept during UVAs 2-minute because Navy was running some zone pressure instead of prevent. The difference was that while UVA displayed the same incompetence in our game, on the other plays the defense was very good, solid tackling after the ball was thrown. Navy substituted their entire DLine throughout the game to keep them fresh, I mean all 4 at once.
The game hinged on the quick turn of events at the end of the first half where Navy built their lead. UVA stopped them on their first drive of the second half, but the turnover on the punt was the dagger. UVA knew they lost and it was evident in their change in effort. Watch the last Navy TD I think, the UVA backers just kinda stand there and let Navy's backs come up and block them while the QB blows by. Game was over.
Paul Johnson isn't as keen on running his QB like that at GT these days. After all, Perry got hurt and knocked out of the game. Looked like a serious lower leg injury, they took off all his tape and strapped a brace on his whole shin and took him off the field. If you think we don't throw to our guys enough, this game plan was like "1-2 throws" cuz Perry is even more of an A-back playing QB than Marshall.
Great defensive play against a lousy offense and taking advantage of every turnover. The cold turned the kicking games into garbage for both teams. Navy stuck to their plan on offense and eventually UVA had no interest in defending student body right again.