Navy Midshipmen Projected to Host Bowl Game Against ACC Foe

The Navy Midshipmen might not have to go far for their bowl game if this current projection is any indication.

Nov 16, 2024; Annapolis, Maryland, USA; Navy Midshipmen head coach Brian Newberry stands on the field during the second half Tulane Green Wave at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Navy Midshipmen have done all they can to enhance their credentials for a bowl game. Now, it’s all over but the waiting.

The College Football Playoff field and the bowl game field will be announced on Dec. 8. The Midshipmen don’t have a game before then and enter that process with an 8-3 record and coming off a win over East Carolina to end American Athletic Conference action.

The American has four primary bowl ties and four other secondary ties with a group of nine bowl games. With eight bowl-eligible teams, the conference will send its full complement of teams to a bowl game.

So where will the Midshipmen go? Well, according to CBS Sports, the Midshipmen won’t have to go far. They’re projected to play Louisville in the Military Bowl, which just happens to be at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.

That game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 28, at 5:45 p.m. eastern on ESPN.

This projection would indicate that the Midshipmen would receive a berth in one of the American’s four primary bowl ties, which makes sense. With the Midshipmen’s victory over ECU, they are tied for third in the American with Memphis. But, Navy has a tiebreaker over Memphis as the Midshipmen beat the Tigers earlier this year.

The league’s four primary bowl ties are the Military Bowl, the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas; the Fenway Bowl in Boston; and the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.

Navy hasn’t played in a bowl game since 2019 when it played in the Liberty Bowl. The Midshipmen have played in the Military Bowl before, making appearances in 2015 and 2017 and winning both times.

The Midshipmen hope this is a return to consistent bowl appearances under second-year coach Brian Newberry. Starting in 2003 under then-coach Paul Johnson, Navy made 15 bowl appearances in 17 seasons.

Navy has one game remaining on Dec. 14 against Army West Point. But the result will have no bearing on bowl assignments.

Should the Midshipmen not be assigned to a primary bowl, they would be available to one of the nine secondary bowl ties with the American.

That list includes the Birmingham Bowl in Birmingham, Ala.; the Frisco Bowl in Frisco, Texas; the Cure Bowl in Orlando, Fla.; the Boca Raton Bowl in Boca Raton, Fla.; the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa, Fla.; the First Responder Bowl in Dallas, Texas; the Myrtle Beach Bowl in Myrtle Beach, Fla.; and the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, N.M.