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Navy Football Season Starts Saturday: See Midshipmen Schedule

Navy Football is back. The Midshipmen will start the year at home against the Marshall Thundering Herd. Here is the full schedule.

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The United States Naval Academy Midshipmen start their football season Saturday against the Marshall Thundering Herd. That home game will be in Annapolis at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
The United States Naval Academy Midshipmen start their football season Saturday against the Marshall Thundering Herd. That home game will be in Annapolis at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)

ANNAPOLIS, MD — NCAA Division I college football begins this weekend. Naval Academy fans are eager to kick off the season.

Navy will open Saturday with a home game against the Marshall Thundering Herd. A Sept. 11 tribute game with patriotic uniforms will follow against the Air Force Falcons.

The Midshipmen then head to South Bend, Indiana on Nov. 6 to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The regular season concludes Dec. 11 with the annual match-up against the Army Black Knights.

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The Mids did not earn any votes in the preseason Associated Press or USA Today/Coaches polls.

Defending national champion Alabama has the AP poll’s No. 1 ranking. The Crimson Tide are followed by Oklahoma, Clemson, Ohio State and Georgia in the top five.

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The USA Today/Coaches preseason poll has the No. 2 and No. 3 teams switched, with Clemson ranked ahead of Oklahoma there. Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia have the same preseason rank in both polls.

College football returns to a more traditional schedule in 2021, a year after the coronavirus forced many cancellations and schedule changes.

Last year, most games were limited to conference play. The Big Ten and the Pac-12 started their seasons late.

Even Notre Dame, long known as a football independent, joined the Atlantic Coast Conference for one season to keep playing during the pandemic. The Fighting Irish are back as an independent this year.

Full Navy Schedule

  • Saturday, Sept. 4: Marshall Thundering Herd (Home at 3:30 p.m.)
  • Saturday, Sept. 11: Air Force Falcons (Home at 3:30 p.m.)
  • Saturday, Sept. 18: Bye week
  • Saturday, Sept. 25: Houston Cougars (Road at TBA time)
  • Saturday, Oct. 2: UCF Knights (Home at 3:30 p.m.)
  • Saturday, Oct. 9: SMU Mustangs (Home at 3:30 p.m.)
  • Thursday, Oct. 14: Memphis Tigers (Road at 7:30 p.m.)
  • Saturday, Oct. 23: Cincinnati Bearcats (Home at 12 p.m.)
  • Friday, Oct. 29: Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (Road at 7:30 p.m.)
  • Saturday, Nov. 6: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Road at 3:30 p.m.)
  • Saturday, Nov. 13: Bye week
  • Saturday, Nov. 20: East Carolina Pirates (Home at 3:30 p.m.)
  • Saturday, Nov. 27: Temple Owls (Road at TBA time)
  • Saturday, Dec. 4: American Athletic Conference Championship Game (Location and time TBA)
  • Saturday, Dec. 11: Army Black Knights (Neutral site of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey at 3 p.m.)

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