Navy Midshipmen Sent to Familiar Bowl Game in Latest Projections

The Navy Midshipmen could find themselves in a familiar spot according to the latest college football bowl game projections.

Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Navy Midshipmen head coach Brian Newberry looks on during the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Navy Midshipmen await their placement of their first bowl game in a few years, and it looks like it could be a familiar one.

Brett McMurphy, senior analyst for Action Network, is one of the top resources for bowl game information. In his latest projections, the Midshipmen will head to Fort Worth, Texas to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.

This is a bowl game that Navy has played in twice, with a 1-1 record. It has been two of their last six bowls. If they do end up participating in it, the game would then be tied with the Military Bowl as their second-most common one.

The Armed Forces Bowl does not actually have to have one of the military service academies in it, but usually does. The current tie-ins are with the AAC, Big 12 and Conference USA.

It has been five years since the Midshipmen made a bowl game, a step in the right direction for Brian Newberry.

Though things didn't end well for Ken Niumatalolo in Annapolis, he did make a bowl game in nine of his first 10 seasons.

The expectations won't necessarily be there for Newberry to repeat the same success immediately, but he is already putting his stamp on the program.

Niumatalolo picked up a program that was already on a five-season bowl appearance streak. Newberry did not have that same luck.

This has already been a wonderful season for Navy, so anything more would be icing on the cake.

There was a short stretch where quarterback Blake Horvath was actually in the Heisman conversation.

The Midshipmen have lost three of their last five since then, however, so a bowl game and win over the Army West Point Black Knights in the final game of the regular season could bring the good vibes back before closing out year two of the Newberry era.

Along with making the bowl projections, McMurphy also provided a potential betting line for the game. As things stand now, the Red Raiders would be 11-point favorites for the game.

Texas Tech is in a similar spot to Navy, also losing three of their last six games.

They have one of the best offenses in the country, but also one of the worst defenses. The Red Raiders have fired their defensive coordinator since the conclusion of the regular season.

The Midshipmen defense will have their hands full in what should be a high-scoring bowl game, should this projection come to fruition.