What-If Series: Hooray! Navy is officially in the American, but what if they were in the Big 10?

I have loved doing this series because I never know what will happen with the underdogs.  Sometimes there's maximum surprises, and other times the results will be completely and totally expected.  This matchup is a little of both.

In case you forgot the rules:

1. Each team had to be simmed to their in-state companions as close as possible.

2. All sims were conducted using What If Sports' Sim-Matchup.

3. You can only use the first sim as the official sim, no matter how silly it may seem.

Let's drop the simulation anchor on Navy and Maryland and see what happens!

If Navy had Maryland's schedule...

FCS James Madison - Autowin

A tough loss to the Bulls could mean potential disaster for the Middies.

Uh oh.  This can not be good.

SUCK IT SYRACUSE! A much needed win on the road gives the Middies confidence heading into their Big Ten schedule.

I know Indiana is at home, but HOW do you lose that badly to the Hoosiers?

A loss is still a loss, but whether in simulations or in real life, Navy likes to give OSU fits.

WOOO! FINALLY! A Big Ten win against a very average Iowa team.  You could say it was a...Ferentzian slip?

That score is ugly and expected. Moving on...

SO CLOSE!

SPARTY, NO!

Do we have to finish the season?

YAY! An end of season win gives Navy an ugly 4-8 record (2-6 in the Big Ten conference).  Let's see how Maryland does on the other hand...

If Maryland had Navy's schedule...

A narrow loss over the National Champions isn't bad...

Halfway through the season and  Maryland is running through Navy's schedule like it's the old WAC.

VMI - Autowin

I mean, REALLY? Notre Dame wasn't spectacular last season, but a 13-point win? I would call this a WTF game...

AND THERE'S THE RANDOM LOSS! After destroying Sun Belt winners Georgia Southern, Maryland falls to South Alabama in Mobile.  One might say that of course Maryland lost to USA, but I don't think this is what they would have in mind.

A strong 10-2 season for the Terps, much better than Navy's actual 7-6 record.  So what would happen if Navy played Maryland?

Honestly, I wondered if the What If simulations have an inherent bias against triple-option teams.  Then I remembered that Georgia Southern did just fine.  So it might be how Maryland is built...or other random reasons.