Fresh off an 11-2 season, Coach Brian Newberry and the Midshipmen of Navy come into the 2026 season looking to embrace the lofty expectations for the new season. Before fall camp started, Coach Newberry implemented his mantra for the team: “Pressure is a privilege,” for a program that thrives off adversity and lofty expectations on and off the field, the slogan for this season is not only a saying, but a way of life for this program as they look to take things to the next level by winning the conferece, then reaching the College Football Playoff where they would have a chance to bring a National Championship trophy home to the Naval Academy for the first since 1926. 

In this modern age of college football, where pro players are coming back to school for another year, or where the guys on the roster are making more money before they turn twenty-one than most people see in a total lifetime, the service academies provide a link to simpler times where kids went to school to play football for the love of the game. Better yet, Navy, Army, and Air Force have rosters filled with kids willing to die for everyone who supports them, without having to deal with rev share, NIL, or even the dreaded transfer portal; those three schools remind people of the almost forgotten beauty of college athletics. 

We saw the excellence of the Navy Football program last season as the Midshipmen earned a trip to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, an honor that everyone in the program understood was at stake. There were no opt-outs; no downplaying the importance of earning a postseason trip, which culminated in a special end to the season when Navy sank the Bearcats of Cincinnati and earned the title of AutoZone Liberty Bowl Champions. 

Last season was a magical season for the Midshipmen as they finished 11-2, 7-1 in conference, 6-0 at home, won the AutoZone Liberty Bowl over an opponent from the Big 12, and added another win over Army, giving the program a lot of momentum heading into the offseason, which carried over to the upcoming 2026 season. In recent memory, there have not been the levels of excitement and pressure on a Navy Football team in recent, but for Coach Newberry and the guys, having the amount of pressure heading into the season is a privilege and not something to fear. Often, we hear coaches and players alike downplaying the preseason hype and excitement, not Coach Newberry and his program; they understand that the pressure from the outside comes from having success in the first three years of the Coach Newberry era, while keeping their eye on the prize of taking Navy Football back to the national scene and competing for a bid to the College Football Playoffs. 

Obviously, when you head into a new season, no matter the program, there’s always hope and excitement, and for some, an uphill climb of having to figure things out after a season where they might not have made the postseason, and maybe had a lot of roster turnover, but not this Navy team. Sure, they lost three key guys on offense to graduation; Blake Horvath, Eli Heidenreich, and Alex Trecza were three legends, but it’s the guys behind them who are more than ready for the spotlight as they look to leave their mark on the Navy football program. Guys like Braxton Woodson at quarterback, Vic Listorti at running back, Isaiah Bryant, and Charles Robinson in the backfield, plus having a leader in Luke Hutchinson at wide receiver back in the fold for this season, is another massive bonus for this team heading into the fall. Add that to the depth on the offensive line, with names like Jake Polito at center, Hoke Smith at right guard, and Cam Nichols and Malcolm Johnson among others, and you add both depth and size to the front line for the Navy offensive unit to run through. 

Staying on the topic of the Navy offensive unit, the excitement for quarterback Braxton Woodson has started to add fuel to the fire as the coaching staff expects Woodson to pick up where Blake Horvath left off last season. Although different styles, Woodson has had some experience and has been patiently waiting for his time to come as the starter for Navy. 

On the defensive side of the ball, Navy returns six guys from last season, including a talented linebacker core that could hang with the best of them, Griffen Willis at defensive tackle who will be a rock for the defensive front, and a few others around that side of the ball. With that said, it’s that linebacker core for Navy that brings the most attention heading into the 2026 season, as they have guys like Christian Johnson, Marcanthony Parker, Coleman Cauley, and Will Miller ready to contuine the uphill trajectory for the Navy linebacker core, a group of linebackers that will not only compete for the best in the American but have the talent and depth to compete as one of the best groups in all of college football. In 19 out of the last 21 years, an inside linebacker has led Navy in Tackles. That said, Navy lost Jaxson Campbell and Luke Pirris, but the returning guys will fill those voids, and the Midshipmen will keep trucking along. 

As for the schedule, Navy opens the season with Towson, then they’ll have Notre Dame, Air Force, and Army in the non-conference, and then road conference games at Florida Atlantic, UAB, UTSA, and Charlotte, with home games against Tulsa, North Texas, Temple, and Memphis while the Notre Dame and Army games remain on neutral fields. Looking at the schedule, one might feel very confident about Navy finishing the regular season 11-1, and 10-2 at worst, which would likely put Navy in the American Conference Championship game with a spot in the College Football Playoff on the line. Now, let’s play the hypothetical role where Navy stuns Notre Dame in Foxborough and then the conversation shifts to a truly once-in-a-lifetime type season for Navy. More often than not, the offseason hype is not lived up to, but if there’s a program in the country that can build off last season using that as momentum for an even more successful season, it’s this 2026 Navy team. The schedule lines up, the roster is as talented as it’s ever been, and the coaching staff has positioned these guys to take the program to the next level by reaching the College Football Playoffs; it’s all right there for the taking. 

Navy opens the season on September 5th with a midafternoon kickoff as they welcome Towson to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. 

Photo Credits- Navy Football on X

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