The Navy Midshipmen announced their 2014 schedule and there are several games that will be interesting to see for both Navy fans and college football fans in general.
The Mids host both Ohio State and Notre Dame as well as their regular rivalry games against Air Force and Army.
Below is the press release sent out by the Naval Academy.
For: Immediate
Release
Sent: February 19,
2014
Contact: Scott
Strasemeier
ANNAPOLIS, Md.—The Navy football team, coming off a 2013
campaign that saw the Midsfinish with a 9-4 record, win the
Commander-In-Chief's Trophy for the ninth time in the last 11 years, qualify
for a bowl game for the 10th time in the last 11 years, win a bowl game for
just the eighth time in school history and defeat Army for a series-record
12th-consecutive year, will face a challenging 2014 schedule that features five
games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and three neutral site games in the
Baltimore-Washington corridor. Additionally, this year marks Navy’s
final year as an independent as the Mids will join the American Athletic
Conference in 2015.
The Mids will play seven teams that were bowl eligible in
2013, including two of college football’s most storied programs, Ohio State and
Notre Dame.
“This exceptional schedule is terrific for our fans to
attend up to eight games within a 25 minute drive of Annapolis,” said Naval
Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk. “The base season ticket package
covers our traditional home games in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, while
the additional match-ups in NFL venues allow for optional purchasing
opportunities for fans to be there for all the action, all fall long. Navy
football is Navy family and this is a great schedule for all to see the
Midshipmen in some of the finest venues in the nation right in our backyard.”
“This will once again be an
incredibly challenging schedule for our football team,” said Navy head football
coach Ken Niumatalolo. “With seven teams on our schedule that were
bowl eligible a year ago, our team will have to work extremely hard this
off-season to accomplish all of our goals next year. It’s also exciting
to have eight games locally (five in Annapolis, two in Baltimore, one in
Landover) as it will give the thousands of Navy fans in the area, and even
those who are looking for a college team to root for and have never seen us
play, an opportunity to come out and support this incredible group of young
men.”
Navy will open up the 2014 campaign
with a bang as it plays host to the Ohio State Buckeyes at Baltimore’s M&T
Bank Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 12 noon. Ohio State is
coming off a 12-2 season and is 24-2 over the last two years under Urban
Meyer. This will be the second time in six years that Navy has
opened up against Ohio State. In 2009, Navy went into Columbus and
nearly pulled off the upset before losing 31-27 on an intercepted two-point
conversion that was returned for two points in the final minute.
The following week (Sept. 6), Navy
will travel to future American Athletic Conference foe Temple (2-10 in 2013),
as the two teams will tangle at Lincoln Financial Field. The Mids
are 10-0 all-time at Lincoln Financial (9-0 vs. Army, 1-0 vs. Temple).
The Mids will be back on the road the
following week (Sept. 13) as they travel to San Marcos, Texas to take on the
Bobcats of Texas State (6-6 in 2013). It will be Navy’s first trip
to San Marcos.
The Mids will play their first game
at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 20 when Navy
plays host to one of the Big Ten’s newest members, Rutgers. The
Scarlet Knights were 6-7 a year ago and played in the Pinstripe Bowl against
Notre Dame.
Navy will be looking for payback the
following week as it plays host to Western Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 27. The
Hilltoppers are coming off an 8-4 campaign, including a 19-7 victory over Navy
in a game that starting quarterback Keenan Reynolds was knocked out of in the
second quarter with a helmet-to-helmet hit.
Navy travels to Colorado Springs on Saturday,
Oct. 4 to take on Air Force in the first game of the round-robin
competition between Navy, Air Force and Army for the Commander-In-Chief’s
Trophy. Navy defeated Air Force last year, 28-10, in Annapolis and will
look to beat Air Force for the 10th time in the last 12
meetings. Air Force finished 2-10 a year ago.
Navy returns home to face VMI on Oct.
11 and then, after a week off, will welcome San Jose State on Oct. 25 in
a rematch of one of the best games in all of college football a year ago. The
Spartans, who finished 6-6 on the year including an upset of undefeated Fresno
State in the season finale, lost to Navy a year ago, 58-52, in triple overtime
as Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds ran for an NCAA-record (for a quarterback)
seven rushing touchdowns, including the game-winning 25-yard touchdown run.
The following week the Mids will take
the short trip down Route 50 to take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame (9-4)
at FedEx Field in Washington, DC. Last year, Notre Dame outlasted
Navy, 38-34, in a game that featured an incredible nine lead changes. This
will be the first meeting between Navy and Notre Dame at FedEx Field since 1998.
After another off-week, the Mids
return to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to face a Georgia Southern team (Nov.
15) that will be in its first full year as a Football Bowl Subdivision
team. Last year, as a transitional FBS squad, the Eagles went 7-4 including
a 26-20 upset victory over Florida in The Swamp.
After a third off-week in six weeks,
the Mids will return to the gridiron on Friday, Nov. 28 to take on
South Alabama (6-6) in Mobile, Ala. It will be Navy’s first trip to
Mobile to play the Jaguars.
Navy will have a fourth off-week
after the South Alabama game before playing Service Academy rival Army at
Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium. Navy will be going for a record 13th win
in a row against its biggest rival. It will be the first Army-Navy
game in Baltimore since 2007 when the Mids beat the Black Knights, 38-3. Army
head coach Jeff Monken was an assistant at Navy for that game.
CBS Sports has the rights to all of
Navy’s home football games and either CBS Sports or CBS Sports Network will televise
all five games played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, as well as the
neutral site games against Ohio State and Notre Dame. CBS is home for the
Army-Navy Game presented by USAA.
With six wins in 2014, the Mids will
appear in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. A date has
not been set for the bowl game.
2014 Navy
Football Schedule
Date Opponent Location
August 30 vs. Ohio State Baltimore, Md.
Sept. 6 at
Temple Philadelphia, Pa.
Sept. 13
at Texas
State San Marcos, Texas
Sept. 20
Rutgers Annapolis, Md.
Sept. 27
Western
Kentucky Annapolis,
Md.
Oct. 4 at Air
Force Colorado Springs, Colo.
Oct. 11
VMI Annapolis, Md.
Oct. 25
San
Jose State (HC) Annapolis, Md.
Nov. 1 vs. Notre Dame Landover, Md.
Nov. 15
Georgia
Southern Annapolis,
Md.
Nov. 28
at South Alabama
Mobile, Ala.
Dec. 13
vs.
Army Baltimore, Md.