Army and Navy Football Teams Rank in AP Top 25

Published: October 17, 2024 at 2:32 PM EDT

Updated: October 30, 2025 at 5:19 PM EDT

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Army football players in a huddle wearing gold helmets and white jerseys with American flag decals.

From everyday service to the gridiron, the rivalry between the Army and Navy runs deep. In college football, Army and Navy may show a ton of respect but the disdain also runs deep. In the beginning, both football programs were powerhouses. However, these days, the American Armed Forces pale in comparison to larger schools. To be fair, colleges can focus a bit more on athletics as the U.S. military has our nation’s defense to worry about, but there has been a shake-up to start the 2024-25 season. For the first time in over sixty years, Army and Navy college football teams are both ranked in the AP top 25.

Army and Navy Football Teams Achieve AP Top 25 Rankings

If you’re an Army or Navy football fan, or just a fan of college sports in general, you’re looking at a season decades in the making. Are the stars aligning? Only time will tell. After many moving parts reshaped the college football landscape, we’re also witnessing two great seasons from the service academies. Navy football is ranked No. 25 in the Week 8 Associated Press Top 25 poll. This is their first ranking since the end of the 2019 season when they finished 20th. Army is also ranked at No. 23. This is the first time both teams have been ranked in the same week since 1960. Furthermore, this is the first time both the Army and Navy have been undefeated going into Week 8 since 1945. Under head coach Brian Newberry, Navy boasts a perfect 5-0 record this season, with a 3-0 mark in the American Athletic Conference (AAC or The American). Navy has won all their games by double digits, including a notable 12-point victory over preseason conference favorite Memphis. If they beat Charlotte on October 19, 2024, the Midshipmen will already be bowl-eligible. A feat that has eluded them since 2019. However, Navy’s schedule is set to get tougher. There is a game against No. 12 Notre Dame on October 26 at MetLife Stadium and a home game against Tulane on November 16. Along with Charlotte, North Texas, and Tulane, Army and Navy are among the five remaining unbeaten teams in the AAC.

One of College Football’s Longest Rivalries

The history of the Army-Navy football game began on November 29, 1890. Since then, Soldiers and Sailors have been yelling taunts as their respective service academies come together on the football field to wage hell upon each other for two halves and eventually, four quarters. The Army-Navy game is a rivalry unlike any other in college sports. It has everything you’d expect from other schools—pride, fury, friendly hatred, and excitement—but ultimately, it’s also all tied to the traditions of the American Armed Forces. Typically played in Philadelphia after Thanksgiving, it’s now held annually on the second Saturday of December. While this would be more than enough for fans to get up and support, the landscape of college football has drastically changed over the last few years. NIL deals, new conference alignments, TV deals, the expansion of the College Football Playoff (CFP), and more have changed the game and now, the annual event of pomp and circumstance in recent years, all of a sudden might have a lot more than bragging rights on the line. The modern evolution of football and the weight and height requirements for service members has created a disadvantage for military academies when playing against other powerhouse schools, such as Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, etc. Traditions like flyovers, "The Prisoner Exchange," and "The March On" add to the game’s unique atmosphere, contributing to its status as a major rivalry, but now, both schools are also football-only members of the AAC. As of this writing Navy leads the Army in the rivalry with a head-to-head record of 62-53-7.