Navy, under the third-year coach, Brian Newberry, is on a mission to capture the American Conference title. Before entering the bye week, Navy stood undefeated with a 6-0 record, one of the two undefeated teams in the conference with Memphis. After Memphis lost their first game to UAB by 31-34, they remain the only undefeated team in the conference. However, a Navy alum finds that the NCAA is unfair to their program, despite staying on top.

After week 8 of college football, Fox College Football posted on X that “ONLY SIX UNDEFEATED TEAMS REMAIN” in the 2025-26 season after week 8, including Texas A&M (7-0), BYU (7-0), Georgia Tech (7-0), Navy (6-0), Ohio State (7-0), and Indiana (7-0).

This caught the attention of former Navy CB (2017-2020) and SJC High School coach Cameron Kinley, who wrote, “Rank us then.” The undefeated teams that suffered their first loss this week were No. 2 Miami, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 22 Memphis, and UNLV.

If you take a close look, the Navy Midshipmen are the only undefeated yet unranked team heading into week 9. Based on the Week 8 AP poll Top 25 rankings, Ohio State is ranked No. 1, Indiana is ranked No. 2, Texas A&M is ranked No. 3, Georgia Tech is ranked No. 7, and BYU is ranked No. 11.

In the latest AP Poll, Navy received 28 votes. Even among unranked teams, others like Southern Cal, Utah, Tulane, and Houston found more favor from AP voters than Brian Newberry’s team. This is despite the fact that the Navy has one of the nation’s top rushing offenses, with an average of 305 yards per game.

Navy has one of the hard-running quarterbacks, Blake Horvath, who ranks No. 2 nationally in rushing yards among quarterbacks. They have one of the best defenses, allowing only 21.5 points per game. They are ranked on top in the American Conference title race for a second straight year; however, staying unranked in the AP poll rankings seemingly made the Navy Alum feel it was unfair. 

Navy Midshipmen’s schedule impacts rankings

The AP poll rankings are voted on by CFB journalists, not only based on the W/L record but also on the strength of the schedule and the margin of victory. Despite leading the American conference ranking with a 6-0 record, Navy hasn’t faced a tough schedule or a ranked opponent yet. They defeated VMI in the season opener by 52-7, after which they went on to defeat UAB by 38-24, Tulsa by 42-23, Rice by 21-13, Air Force by 34-31, and Temple by 32-31. 

Although the first half of the season seems to be a cakewalk, Navy is set for major tests in the second half of the season. The Navy Midshipmen’s second schedule features some of the big match-ups that will test their potential. They will face Florida Atlantic on October 26th, coming after the bye week.

After which, Navy faces North Texas on November 1st, No. 12 Notre Dame on November 8th, No. 18 South Florida on November 15th, and the recently unranked Memphis on November 27th in consecutive games before facing the rival Army on December 14th. It will be a tough schedule, but it’s certainly a big opportunity for Midshipmen to build a strong resume and attain the ranked team status.