Navy Football Opens 2024 Season Saturday Against Bucknell

Annapolis, MD: On Saturday, August 31, the United States Naval Academy football team will play the season opening game against the Bucknell Bison at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Kick off is at noon. 

Opening Kick

  • Navy and Bucknell will meet on the gridiron for the 15th time when the two square off on CBS Sports Network on Saturday afternoon (12 noon) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. Saturday's contest is presented by HII.
  • Saturday's game marks the first time these two schools have met since 1925 when Navy won 13-7. The previous 14 meetings have all taken place in Annapolis. Bucknell's last win over Navy came in 1924 by a score of 6-0. The Navy-Bucknell series began in 1898 with Navy winning 11-0.
  • Saturday is the first of three-consecutive home games for the Mids. It's the first time Navy has opened the season playing  three-straight home games since 1988 when the Mids opened up against James Madison, Delaware and Temple.    
  • Navy is looking for its first win in a season opener since 2019 when the Mids blitzed Holy Cross 45-7. That Navy team went on to win a school-record tying 11 games, won the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy and defeated Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl. The Mids have dropped the last 4 season openers, losing to BYU, Marshall, Delaware and Notre Dame.
  • Navy has gone to a bowl game in 10 of the last 11 years the Mids have won their season opener.
  • At halftime, Navy will retire the jerseys of Ron Beagle ('56) and Bob Reifsnyder ('59).

Game Day Timeline

  • 9:35-9:45 am - The Navy football team will arrive at the Blue Angel on the West (Blue) side of the stadium. The team will walk down the sidewalk and through NavyFest before walking to the tunnel. Fans are invited to stand on both sides of the sidewalk to cheer on the players.
  • 11:43 am - March-on of the Brigade of Midshipmen
  • 11:53:30 am - National Anthem, followed by a flyover
  • The fly-over will feature two MH-60S Nighthawks from the "Chargers" of HSC-26, based out of Naval Air Station Norfolk, Va. The lead aircraft will be flown by Lt. Frank "Stank" Kulik, USNA Class of 2015, Lt. Lauren "2 Chainz" Greenberg, USNA Class of 2019, Naval Aircrewmen AWS2 Mateo Velez and AWS3 Benjamin Garner. The wing aircraft will be flown by Lt. Cmdr. Charlie "Cinnamon" Morant, Bucknell Class of 2010, Lt. Matthew "Droops" Duszak, USNA Class of 2019, Naval Aircrewmen AWS2 Aiden Oakley and AWS3 Leighton Hughes. Ground Control will be provided by Lt. Wilton Farmwald and Lt. Julie "Spirit" Johnson.  
  • HSC-26 is the Navy's Premier Helicopter Squadron, providing Special Operations Support, Combat Search and Rescue, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, Anti-Surface Warfare and Fleet Logistics Support. 
  • 12:00:20 pm - Navy will take the field with Bucknell to follow
  • 12:04 pm - Kickoff / please note there is a chance the timeline, starting with the March-On, will be pushed back 5 minutes if the soccer game on CBS Sports Network runs long. That decision will be made prior to the 60-minute clock starting. 
  • 1st/2nd Quarter Break - Patriot League Presidents' Cup recognition. Navy claimed its 10th-consecutive Patriot League Presidents' Cup, winning a league-best 9 conference championships during the 2023-24 academic year to sit atop the overall standings. Navy's current streak of 10-consecutive overall titles are the most in Patriot League Presidents' Cup history. Navy has won 11 titles overall and has finished first or second in 17-consecutive years.  Prior to 2000-01, Navy had never finished higher than fifth. The Mids compiled 154.25 points, winning league titles in men's cross country, women's golf, men's and women's swimming & diving, women's tennis, men's and women's indoor track & field and men's and women's outdoor track & field. Since 2013-14, Navy has won 84 conference championships, the next closest schools are Boston University with 38 and Army with 25. The Patriot League Presidents' Cup is awarded to the member institution with the highest cumulative sports point total for their Patriot League standings in sponsored men's and women's sports. Points are awarded based on a combination of an institution's regular-season and tournament finishes in each sport.
  • Halftime - Reifsnyder and Beagle jersey retirement and the Naval Academy Drum and Bugle Corps will perform
  • 3rd/4th Quarter Break - The pilots from the pregame flyover will be recognized
  • Postgame - Navy's alma mater, Navy Blue & Gold, will be played as the team stands at attention in front of the Brigade of Midshipmen. It is one of the best traditions in all of sports.

Broadcast Coverage

  • CBS Sports Network will carry Saturday's game with Carter Blackburn (play-by-play), College Football Hall of Famer Randy Cross (color) and Lacrosse Hall of Famer Sheehan Stanwick Burch (sidelines) on the call.
  • The Navy Football Pregame Show with Pete Medhurst, Joe Miller, Keith Mills, Scott Wykoff and special commentary from John Feinstein will get underway at 11:00 am on the Navy Radio Network, followed by game action beginning at 12:00 pm with Medhurst, Miller and Mills on the call.
  • Following the contest, Medhurst, Miller, Mills and Wykoff will recap the day's events in a 30-minute postgame show.

Scouting Bucknell

  • Bucknell is coming off a 4-7 campaign in 2023, including a 1-5 mark in the Patriot League. The Bison are predicted to finish 7th in the 2024 Patriot League Preseason Poll. Bucknell has 8 FBS transfers on its roster, including players from Oklahoma, Stanford and Duke.
  • Oklahoma transfer Ralph Rucker returns as Bucknell's starting quarterback. Rucker put together arguably the top season by a Bucknell quarterback in program history, setting school records in single-season passing yards (2,537), single-season completions (211), single-season total yards (2,667) and tying the program's single-season passing touchdowns mark (21). 
  • Fifth-year senior Danny Meuser and senior Paul Neel are the two most experienced running backs on the Bucknell roster. Meuser has played in 23 games dating back to 2020 and started one contest during his sophomore campaign. Neel missed all of 2022 with an injury, but he saw action in 8 games last fall. 
  • Bucknell's 2024 receiving corps is likely its deepest position group with 11 returners and 6 newcomers. Coming off a year in which Bucknell set the program's single-season passing yards record, 3 of the team's top-four receivers from 2023 are back. Eric Weatherly, who arrived at Bucknell after transferring from Duke, racked up 603 receiving yards on 42 catches last fall. He also led the team with 7 receiving touchdowns. 
  • The Bucknell defense is led by team captain and 2023 All-Patriot League selection Brad Jamison. Jamison, Bucknell's lone returning All-League honoree, impressed during his first season as a full-time starter, leading the Bison and ranking 6th in the Patriot League with 77 tackles. He added 5.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 pass breakups and an interception. 
  • The Bucknell secondary got a major lift this spring when TJ Williams II transferred to Bucknell from Stanford. Williams II saw action in 6 games at Stanford, flashing in a game at USC and coming up with a fumble recovery against Notre Dame.
  • Junior Matt Schearer was named the Preseason All-Patriot League kicker for a second year in a row after tying for 2nd in the league with 8 made field goals in 2023, including a league-long 49-yarder.

News and Notes

  • Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB) and Riley Riethman (Sr. / P) are returning First-Team All-American Athletic Conference selections by the league's coaches. Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S) was named to the third team, while Alex Tecza (Jr. / FB) and Dashaun Peele (Sr. / CB) were named honorable mention last year.
  • The Mids have 4 players returning who were named All-East last fall - Defense (2): Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB) and Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S), Offense (1): Alex Tecza (Jr. / FB) and Special Teams (1): Riley Riethman (Sr. / P).
  • Navy and Penn State were the only schools in the FBS last year to record 3 shutouts. The 3 shutouts were the most by a Navy team since 1978 when the Mids shut out 4 opponents. The shutout of East Carolina was the first time the Pirates had been shut out in 26 years (322 games). The Navy defense did not allow a touchdown in 4 of its 12 games last year (UAB scored 6 points on 2 field goals).
  • Navy's defense finished 2nd in the nation last year in fumbles recovered with 14.
  • Navy's red zone defense finished 3rd in the country last fall, allowing opponents to score just 72 percent of the time. 
  • Navy was 4th in the country in turnover margin last year at +0.92. 
  • Navy's 5 interceptions thrown last year were the 5th fewest in the country.
  • Navy had 9 touchdown drives under 1:00 last year, tied for the 7th most in the country.
  • Luke Pirris (Jr. / Raider) and Justin Reed (Sr. / DE) tied for 6th in the country in fumble recoveries with 3 apiece last year. 
  • Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB) and Daba Fofana (Sr. / FB) were voted team captains for the 2024 season by their teammates. It is the greatest honor a Navy student-athlete can receive.
  • Connor McMahon (Sr. / OT) will have the honor of wearing jersey No. 68 this fall in memory of former Navy offensive lineman David Forney. Forney, who was a senior offensive lineman on the 2019 team, died on Feb. 20, 2020, after being found unresponsive in Bancroft Hall. He was 22 years old. Forney won 3 varsity letters for the Mids and played in 39-consecutive games over his final three seasons.
  • Landon Robinson (Jr. / NG) was named the 2024 Admiral Mack Award winner as the most improved player during spring drills as voted on by the coaching staff.
  • Phil Steele released his 2024 preseason All-American Athletic Conference teams and Navy placed 13 players among the four teams, the 2nd most in the conference.  Likely preseason favorite Memphis had 15 players named to the list. Navy had 4 first-team selections: Connor McMahon (Sr. / OT), Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB), Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S) and Riley Riethman (Sr. / P).  
  • Athlon Sports also released its 2024 preseason All-American Athletic Conference teams and Navy placed 10 players among the four teams. Navy had 3 first-team selections: Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB), Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S) and Riley Riethman (Sr. / P).
  • Navy has won 68-consecutive games when leading after 3 quarters at home, the nation's longest streak. The last time Navy lost at home when leading after 3 quarters was Oct. 23, 1999, when the Mids led Akron 29-13 and lost 35-29.

Please be alert to traffic congestion in the area of Farragut Road, Rowe Blvd., and Taylor Avenue before and after the game. 

In addition, be alert to parking restrictions and rolling road closures in downtown as the Brigade of Midshipmen march from Gate I at the United States Naval Academy (Randall Street at King George Street) to Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. 

The march route will take the Brigade of Midshipmen up Main Street to Church Circle; College Avenue to Bladen Street; Bladen Street to Rowe Blvd.; and across Rowe Blvd to Herbert Sachs Drive (then across Taylor Avenue into the stadium). The march begins at 10:50 a.m. The Brigade of Midshipmen will enter the stadium at approximately 11:40 a.m. 

PARKING RESTRICTIONS: Parking in downtown Annapolis will be restricted from approximately 7 a.m.to 11:30 a.m. (Aug. 31) on the following streets (parking restrictions lift as soon as the Brigade of Midshipmen pass): 

  • Randall Street from King George Street to Dock Street 
  • Main Street from Memorial Circle to Church Circle

ROAD CLOSURES: Annapolis Police Department (APD) will close the following roads at 10:50 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31. APD will reopen roads on a rolling basis as soon as the Brigade of Midshipmen pass. Road closures (in order of reopening): 

  • Randall Street between King George and Memorial Circle 
  • Main Street between Memorial Circle and Church Circle 
  • Church Circle and College Ave.
  • Bladen Street and Rowe Blvd (closed in both directions)
  • Herbert Sachs Drive