The 2024 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen were led by Brian Newberry in his second year as the head coach. The Midshipmen played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
Despite being picked to finish eleventh in the American Athletic Conference, the Midshipmen instead exceeded their low expectations, finishing 10–3 for their first winning season and first bowl appearance and win since 2019.
Preseason AAC media poll The American Athletic Conference released its media prediction poll on July 23, 2024. The Midshipmen were predicted to finish eleventh in the conference.
Schedule
Rankings
Game summaries Bucknell (FCS)
Statistics BUCKNAVY First downs 14 20 Plays–yards 68–337 72–437 Rushes–yards 39–131 53–264 Passing yards 206 173 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 15–29–0 10–19–2 Time of possession 26:59 33:01 Team Category Player StatisticsBucknell Passing Ralph Rucker IV 11/24, 122 yards, 1 TD Rushing Paul Neel 12 carries, 60 yards, 1 TD Receiving TJ Cadden 5 receptions, 97 yardsNavy Passing Blake Horvath 7/12, 108 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing Daba Fofana 8 carries, 82 yards, 1 TD Receiving Eli Heidenreich 4 receptions, 74 yards, 2 TD
Temple
Statistics TEMNAVY First downs 16 17 Plays–yards 66–312 60–409 Rushes–yards 20–35 51–297 Passing yards 277 112 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 30–46–2 5–9–0 Time of possession 29:10 30:50 Team Category Player StatisticsTemple Passing Forrest Brock 30/46, 277 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT Rushing Antwain Littleton II 9 carries, 22 yards Receiving Dante Wright 11 receptions, 101 yards, 1 TDNavy Passing Blake Horvath 5/9, 112 yards, 1 TD Rushing Blake Horvath 15 carries, 122 yards, 3 TD Receiving Eli Heidenreich 4 receptions, 98 yards, 1 TD
Memphis
Statistics MEMNAVY First downs 32 21 Plays–yards 95–659 53–566 Rushes–yards 38–274 39–361 Passing yards 385 205 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 33–57–1 10–14–0 Time of possession 35:55 24:05 Team Category Player StatisticsMemphis Passing Seth Henigan 32/56, 371 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Brandon Thomas 12 carries, 125 yards, TD Receiving Kobe Drake 9 receptions, 102 yardsNavy Passing Blake Horvath 9/12, 192 yards, 2 TD Rushing Blake Horvath 12 carries, 211 yards, 4 TD Receiving Brandon Chatman 3 receptions, 81 yards, TD Blake Horvath had a career game day when he completed 9 of 11 passes for 225 yards with two touchdowns. He also had 4 rushing touchdowns totalling 211 yards. Horvath became the first quarterback with six-plus total touchdowns in a game since Malcolm Perry (6 TD against ECU in 2019).
at UAB
Statistics NAVYUAB First downs 22 22 Plays–yards 53–452 66–395 Rushes–yards 42–227 43–193 Passing yards 225 202 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 9–11–0 14–23–2 Time of possession 29:49 30:11 Team Category Player StatisticsNavy Passing Blake Horvath 9/11, 225 yards, 2 TD Rushing Blake Horvath 13 carries, 84 yards, TD Receiving Eli Heidenreich 3 receptions, 108 yards, TDUAB Passing Jacob Zeno 14/22, 202 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing Lee Beebe Jr. 15 carries, 82 yards, TD Receiving Terrell McDonald 1 reception, 67 yards
at Air Force
Statistics NAVYAFA First downs 21 14 Plays–yards 63–463 57–273 Rushes–yards 48–329 48–158 Passing yards 134 115 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 9–15–0 5–9–1 Time of possession 30:34 29:26 Team Category Player StatisticsNavy Passing Blake Horvath 9/15, 134 yards Rushing Blake Horvath 18 carries, 115 yards, 2 TD Receiving Eli Heidenreich 5 receptions, 101 yardsAir Force Passing Quentin Hayes 5/6, 115 yards, TD Rushing Kade Frew 4 carries, 29 yards Receiving Tre Roberson 1 reception, 45 yards, TD
Eli Heidenreich is the first player in academy history to rush for 100 yards and have 100 yards receiving in the same game. He ran for exactly 100 yards and caught five passes for 101 yards. This made it the first time since the 2003 season that Navy had two 200-yard rushers and a 100-yard receiver.
Charlotte
Statistics CLTNAVY First downs 22 18 Plays–yards 70–350 55–288 Rushes–yards 48–187 42–171 Passing yards 163 117 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 8–22–4 7–13–0 Time of possession 32:15 27:45 Team Category Player StatisticsCharlotte Passing Max Brown 7/18, 152 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT Rushing Catervious Norton 16 carries, 59 yards Receiving Miles Burris 1 reception, 48 yards Navy Passing Blake Horvath 7/13, 117 yards, 3 TD Rushing Alex Tecza 8 carries, 68 yards, 2 TD Receiving Alex Tecza 1 reception, 46 yards, TD
No. 12 Notre Dame (rivalry)
Statistics NDNAVY First downs 20 17 Plays–yards 65–466 57–310 Rushes–yards 40–265 43–222 Passing yards 201 88 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 15–25–0 7–14–1 Time of possession 30:29 29:31 Team Category Player StatisticsNotre Dame Passing Riley Leonard 13/21, 178 yards, 2 TD Rushing Jeremiyah Love 12 carries, 102 yards, 2 TD Receiving Jordan Faison 4 receptions, 52 yards Navy Passing Blake Horvath 7/13, 88 yards, INT Rushing Blake Horvath 13 carries, 129 yards, TD Receiving Alex Tecza 2 receptions, 39 yards
at Rice
Statistics NAVYRICE First downs 12 20 Plays–yards 61–260 65–344 Rushes–yards 40–140 25–105 Passing yards 120 239 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 10–21–2 28–40–1 Time of possession 28:46 31:14 Team Category Player StatisticsNavy Passing Blake Horvath 10/21, 120 yards, 2 INT Rushing Blake Horvath 16 carries, 64 yards, TD Receiving Eli Heidenreich 3 receptions, 56 yardsRice Passing E. J. Warner 28/40, 239 yards, TD, INT Rushing Dean Connors 18 carries, 105 yards, 2 TD Receiving Matt Sykes 8 receptions, 93 yards, TD
at South Florida
Statistics NAVYUSF First downs 18 17 Plays–yards 70–379 69–342 Rushes–yards 59–321 25–60 Passing yards 58 282 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 6–11–0 26–44–2 Time of possession 38:32 21:28 Team Category Player StatisticsNavy Passing Blake Horvath 6/11, 58 yards, TD Rushing Eli Heidenreich 6 carries, 84 yards, TD Receiving Alex Tecza 1 reception, 38 yards, TDSouth Florida Passing Bryce Archie 26/43, 282 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing Kelley Joiner 9 carries, 23 yards Receiving JeyQuan Smith 2 receptions, 85 yards
No. 25 Tulane
Statistics TULNNAVY First downs 20 8 Plays–yards 62–358 46–113 Rushes–yards 48–220 35–100 Passing yards 138 13 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 10–14–0 3–11–1 Time of possession 35:47 24:13 Team Category Player StatisticsTulane Passing Darian Mensah 10/14, 138 yards, 2 TD Rushing Makhi Hughes 22 carries, 82 yards, 2 TD Receiving Dontae Fleming 2 receptions, 56 yardsNavy Passing Braxton Woodson 3/10, 13 yards, INT Rushing Alex Tecza 7 carries, 31 yards Receiving Luke Hutchinson 2 receptions, 8 yards
at East Carolina
Statistics NAVYECU First downs 21 19 Plays–yards 72–458 70–350 Rushes–yards 53–293 34–131 Passing yards 165 219 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 19–19–0 20–36–1 Time of possession 34:30 25:30 Team Category Player StatisticsNavy Passing Baxton Woodson 12/19, 165 yards, TD Rushing Braxton Woodson 15 carries, 125 yards, 2 TD Receiving Nathan Kent 2 receptions, 68 yards, TD East Carolina Passing Katin Houser 20/36, 219 yards, TD, INT Rushing Rahjai Harris 19 carries, 88 yards Receiving Yannick Smith 3 receptions, 66 yards, TD
vs. No. 22 Army (Army–Navy Game)
Statistics NAVYARMY First downs 15 13 Plays–yards 55–378 55–178 Rushes–yards 46–271 39–113 Passing yards 107 65 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 4–9–0 7–16–3 Time of possession 29:30 30:20 Team Category Player StatisticsNavy Passing Blake Horvath 4/9, 107 yards, 2 TD Rushing Blake Horvath 24 carries, 196 yards, 2 TD Receiving Eli Heidenreich 1 reception, 52 yards, TD Army Passing Bryson Daily 7/16, 65 yards, TD Rushing Kanye Udoh 14 carries, 53 yards Receiving Hayden Reed 3 receptions, 29 yards, TD
For this year's 125th Army–Navy Game, the Navy Midshipmen chose to honor the Jolly Rogers which were established in 1943 during World War II as the most lethal Naval Aviation team in U.S. Navy history. They were most feared by their enemies that their tagline is "Fear the Bones" and their callsign is "Victory". The Midshipmen wore navy dark blue uniforms with sleeves featuring an angled stripe, with 9 chevrons that pays tribute to the nine aircraft (like the VF-61 and VF-84) flown throughout the squadron's history. The helmet design has chevrons as well with the skull and bones logo on the sides on a white background.https://navysports.com/news/2024/11/20/football-navy-athletics-and-under-armour-unveil-2024-army-navy-uniform-honoring-the-jolly-rogers.aspx
Oklahoma (2024 Armed Forces Bowl)
Statistics OU NAVY First downs 27 11 Total yards 433 318 Rushes/yards 40–158 40–226 Passing yards 275 92 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 29–44–0 7–13–0 Time of possession 29:50 30:10 Team Category Player StatisticsOklahoma Passing Michael Hawkins Jr. 28/43, 247 yards, 2 TD Rushing Gavin Sawchuk 13 carries, 67 yards, TD Receiving Ivan Carreon 7 receptions, 22 yards Navy Passing Blake Horvath 7/12, 92 yards Rushing Blake Horvath 18 carries, 155 yards, 2 TD Receiving Nathan Kent 1 reception, 32 yards
References