Navy Midshipmen 2018 Football Schedule Announced

The American Athletic Conference has (FINALLY) released the 2018 football schedule, and if you’re a fan of the Navy Midshipmen, you better get your frequent flyer card up to date.

Navy was well aware that they would travel often in 2018 prior to the AAC schedule release. Three of their four out-of-conference games will be out west, with one of those matchups taking place in beautiful Honolulu. It makes for an exciting trip to start the year, but by season’s end, Navy will have traveled much of the United States. In fact, they will travel 26,496 miles this season, second only to Hawaii.

The conference schedule didn’t do them any favors either as they have two straight conference games on the road following a neutral site game against Notre Dame in San Diego. Navy will definitely be battle tested this season, but if their is one program that can handle a schedule like this, it’s the Midshipmen.

Here’s a brief rundown of Navy’s 2018 football schedule:

Sept. 1 at Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

Location: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI

Get used to hearing this, but Navy will travel A LOT this season. They begin the season off the mainland in the beautiful state of Hawaii against a Rainbow Warriors team that’s looking to rebound from a three-win season.

Sept. 9 vs. Memphis Tigers

Location: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD

The Mids dive into conference play rather early with the Tigers coming to Annapolis. Memphis will be a different team without Riley Ferguson and Anthony Miller scorching defensive backfields so Navy will hope to jump out to a quick 1-0 start in the AAC.

Sept. 15 vs. Lehigh Mountain Hawks

Location: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD

The only cakewalk for Navy this season should be when they host a FCS program that finished 5-7 in 2017. Lehigh did go 5-1 in conference play to tie for the Patriot League Championship and earn a trip to the FCS playoffs, but they are no match for Navy’s triple option.

Sept. 22 at SMU Mustangs

Location: Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX

It will be interesting to see how SMU responds to a brutal schedule to start the season with TCU and Michigan ahead of this matchup. The Mustangs where Navy’s only win in the second half of the 2017 season, but that was at home and not before they’re in their third different time zone on the season.

Oct. 6 at Air Force Falcons

Location: Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, CO

Army-Navy gets all the luster, but this game means serious business for the Midshipmen as well. The winner of this matchup has the upper hand in the battle for the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy, which Air Force has won 20 times, the most in the three-way rivalry. The teams have traded wins the last five years, with Navy squeaking out a 48-45 win at home this past season.

Oct. 13 vs. Temple Owls

Location: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD

The Owls will be an interesting team to watch in 2018 after winning four of their last five games. These two teams have always had hard-fought battles between them and this year should be no different.

Oct. 20 vs. Houston Cougars

Location: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD

Houston figures to bounce back in their second season under Major Applewhite, but this is a game Navy will need if they hope to compete in the West division. It’s also the last home game in a while as they get set to fly over basically the entire country over the next month.

Oct. 27 vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA

San Diego is a long ways away from Annapolis, - or South Bend for that matter - setting the Mids up for another cross-country flight right in the middle of the season. It’s a neutral site game for both teams, but Navy will be making their third trip out west at this point.

Nov. 3 at Cincinnati Bearcats

Location: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OH

Something to keep an eye on is how Ken Niumatalolo handles all this travel with the student athletes. Will they really fly to Cali, Maryland, Ohio and back to Maryland before the following week’s matchup in Florida? Cincinnati figures to be a better team this year as well.

Nov. 10 at UCF Knights

Location: Spectrum Stadium, Orlando, FL

The AAC schedule makers really hammered the Mids by forcing them on the road for a third consecutive week. The defending national champions could be even better on offense this season and it’s hard to imagine Navy keeping up the scoring pace.

Nov. 17 vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Location: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD

Tulsa is a team that disappointed in 2017 and will be looking to right the ship in 2018. It’s difficult to gauge how both teams will fare come mid-November, but it’s also not unrealistic to think that Navy could be in contention for another AAC title game appearance.

Nov. 24 at Tulane Green Wave

Location: Yulman Stadium, New Orleans, LA

Tulane is my sleeper team heading into the new season and with the two teams familiarity of the triple option, this should be fun to watch. If anything for Navy, it’s a nice little tuneup for Army’s triple option in a couple weeks.

Dec. 1 - AAC Championship Game

Location: Hosted by team with best conference record

It will be anything but smoothing sailing to make it back the title game, but Navy has shown us time after time that they have the will to surprise us. The West is up for grabs this season.

Dec. 8 vs. Army Black Knights

Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA

The greatest rivalry in sports showcases once again in the annual meeting of college football’s most decorated student-athletes. The two teams battled in the snow in their most recent meeting, and Navy is looking to end a two-game losing streak after winning the 14 years prior. It’s always the perfect ending to the regular season, and with both teams finally back to their winning ways, expect another great game.

We will go more in depth into each game as the season approaches. How many games do you think Navy will win this season? Let’s us know!