CFB Most Influential Programs
#28 Naval Academy Midshipmen
School: Naval Academy Midshipmen
First Game: 1879
Winning Percentage: .549 (60th)
Appearances in AP/Rank: 139 (63rd)
Average AP Ranking: 10.6
National Titles: 1
Claim to Fame: Navy has strong rivalries with Notre Dame and, obviously, Army. The latter game is one of the greatest spectacles in all sports. There’s truly nothing like an Army vs. Navy football game in the world.
Why I have them in my Collection: Despite rigorous admission standards, Navy has fielded more than respectable football teams over the years. Coupled with a couple Heisman winners and a handful of Maxwell award winners, they’re a hard team to ignore writing the history of college football.
Even though they did not win a title during this time, the Naval Academy was also, unsurprisingly, one of the dominant football powers during World War II. Pulling from the best of the best America had, military academies dominated the gridiron during this decade. Navy had a 100 percent AP poll rank from 1941-1945.
The uniqueness of the Army vs. Navy game also can’t be understated. It used to be the only FBS game on a standalone weekend, but now will have a couple other games in other time slots that day. That doesn’t take away from how unique it is. Plenty of soccer clubs around the world have businesses that support them. Some in the past have even had military support. The US is unique not only in the way that amateur sport is tied in with higher education, but having branches of the military square off in athletic competition is unheard of on the scale it happens here. That, and the way the sights and sounds of this game make you feel are something unlike any other sporting experience.
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