Navy Football: 5 reasons Midshipman will be better than Army in 2018
3. 2018 Navy Schedule
| Week | Date | School | Opponent |
| 1 | 9/1/2018 | Navy | @ Hawai’i |
| 2 | 9/8/2018 | Navy | vs Memphis |
| 3 | 9/15/2018 | Navy | vs Lehigh |
| 4 | 9/22/2018 | Navy | @ SMU |
| 5 | 9/29/2018 | BYE | |
| 6 | 10/6/2018 | Navy | @ Air Force |
| 7 | 10/13/2018 | Navy | vs Temple |
| 8 | 10/20/2018 | Navy | vs Houston |
| 9 | 10/27/2018 | Navy | vs Notre Dame |
| 10 | 11/3/2018 | Navy | @ Cincinnati |
| 11 | 11/10/2018 | Navy | @ UCF |
| 12 | 11/17/2018 | Navy | vs Tulsa |
| 13 | 11/24/2018 | Navy | @ Tulane |
| 14 | 12/1/2018 | BYE | |
| 15 | 12/8/2018 | Navy | vs Army |
The American Athletic Conference is clearly the best conference out of the Group of 5 and is quietly pushing to be recognized with the Power 5 conferences. As competition within the conference gets tougher, the teams get better. We have already seen that UCF can dominate an Auburn team who handily beat the (disputed) National Championship winning Alabama team.
Related Story. Navy Football Season Preview. light
Navy is no different. Two years ago, Navy beat Notre Dame. In 2013, 2014, and 2017, the Midshipmen were within one score of Notre Dame in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. These close games and big wins are not limited to Notre Dame. Navy was leading Ohio State in the fourth quarter in 2014.
In 2016, Navy beat No. 6 ranked Houston. The Midshipmen’s schedule, year after year, is tough and underappreciated. That is why Navy often does well in their bowl game, beating Pittsburgh in 2015 and Virginia last year.
Army’s schedule, well not so much. With all due respect to the Black Knights, their schedule is simply pathetic.
4. 2018 Army Schedule
| Week | Date | School | Opponent |
| 1 | 9/1/2018 | Army | @ Duke |
| 2 | 9/8/2018 | Army | vs Liberty |
| 3 | 9/15/2018 | Army | vs Hawaii |
| 4 | 9/22/2018 | Army | @ Oklahoma |
| 5 | 9/29/2018 | Army | @ Buffalo |
| 6 | 10/6/2018 | BYE | |
| 7 | 10/13/2018 | Army | @ San Jose State |
| 8 | 10/20/2018 | Army | vs Miami(Ohio) |
| 9 | 10/27/2018 | Army | @ Eastern Michigan |
| 10 | 11/3/2018 | Army | vs Air Force |
| 11 | 11/10/2018 | Army | vs Lafayette |
| 12 | 11/17/2018 | Army | vs Colgate |
| 13 | 11/24/2018 | BYE | |
| 14 | 12/1/2018 | BYE | |
| 15 | 12/8/2018 | Army | vs Navy |
See? Army’s third-toughest team they play is Navy, for which they have three whole weeks to prepare—Army really has five because Lafayette and Colgate aren’t even in the FBS! Lafayette’s record last year was 3-8 overall. Seriously? Liberty was 6-5 in the FCS last year as well and, the Black Knights play all these teams at home….come on.
No disrespect to these fine football programs that Army plays, but the Black Knights should really only lose to Oklahoma, Duke, Navy, and maybe Eastern Michigan (since it is an away game). Air Force is often a toss-up, but playing at West Point give Army an incredible advantage. So that brings us to a potential Army 8-4 record. Yet, there is a strong chance Army drops a few more games than four.
The difference in strength of schedule, or lack thereof, will be a significant difference in why Navy will be better than Army this year and in the years to come. This difference is often offset in the Army-Navy due to Army’s schedule allowing them to prepare for Navy for five weeks prior to the game. Navy, on the other hand, will be hoping to play in the AAC Championship game on the Saturday prior to the Army-Navy game.