Navy Football 2021: Midshipmen look to right the ship

How will the Midshipmen fare in 2021?

Coach Ken Niumatalolo has his work cut out for him this season if Navy football is going to look more like the 2019 edition instead of the 2020 edition.

Here is our game-by-game breakdown.

• Game 1: Marshall (L) – Opening against one of the better teams in Conference USA is a challenge.
• Game 2: Air Force (W) – Navy and Air Force have traded wins since 2013. It’s Navy’s turn.
• Game 3: at Houston (L) – Tough game to start the conference season on the road.
• Game 4: UCF (L) – Midshipmen start 0-2 in conference play and the season starts to look bleak.
• Game 5: SMU (W) – Navy picks up their first conference win of the year.
• Game 6: at Memphis (L) – A tough road trip ends in another loss.
• Game 7: Cincinnati (L) – The only positive about the game against the Bearcats is the Midshipmen don’t have to travel. Navy will be lucky to keep this from getting out of hand.
• Game 8: at Tulsa (W) – The Mids get back in the win column.
• Game 9: at Notre Dame (L) – No chance Navy picks up its first win in South Bend since 2009.
• Game 10: East Carolina (W) – Final home game of the season ends in a win.
• Game 11: at Temple (W) – The Owls look to be in the basement of the conference this season so Navy picks up a relatively easy victory.
• Game 12: Army (L) – Storied rivalry returns to neutral site play, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Unfortunately for the Midshipmen, they come up short against their rivals for the fifth time in six tries.

Prediction: 5-7, 4-4 AAC

This is a daunting schedule for Navy to get back to a winning record. Eight opponents qualified for a bowl last season. Notre Dame and Cincinnati of course were in the top 10 and look to be again this season.

The Mids probably wish they were playing USF and Tulane instead of Cincinnati and UCF but so it goes. Outside of maybe Temple, most of the other games look to be a challenge. There will need to be upsets in order for Navy to just hover around .500.

If Navy’s offense returns to form, then perhaps Navy could get to six or even seven wins and a bowl appearance. Their defense will be the strength and will keep them in games. But if the rushing attack is similar to last year, combined with the brutal schedule, meeting last year’s three-win total will not be easy.