Saturday, October 4
Annapolis, Md.
10:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
Navy
Air Force (1-3, 0-3 MW) vs. Navy (4-0, 3-0 AAC)
9/29/2025 8:07:00 AM | Football
Saturday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m. MT, Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000), Annapolis, MD
Air Force (1-3, 0-3 MW) vs. Navy (4-0, 3-0 AAC)
Saturday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m. MT, Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000), Annapolis, MD
FALCONS
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Website: GoAirForceFalcons.com
Conference: Mountain West
MIDSHIPMEN
Location: Annapolis, MD
Website: NavySports.com
Conference: American Athletic
THE GAME
• Air Force leads the overall series vs. Navy, 34-23. Air Force is 20-8 at home, 10-12 at Navy and 4-3 in neutral site games. Navy beat Air Force, 34-7, last season in Falcon Stadium. The Falcons beat Navy, 17-6, in 2023 in the last meeting in Annapolis.
• The 2025 season marks the 54th year of Commander-in-Chief's trophy competition. The trophy goes annually to the winning academy with the best record in the round-robin competition. The winning team goes to the White House to receive the trophy from the President of the United States. Air Force has a series-best 66-40 record and has won 21 trophy titles, the most in the series.
• The Air Force football team is honoring the Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon with the 2025 edition of the Air Power Legacy Series uniform. The Falcons will wear the special uniform for the Navy this week.
• Air Force is 1-0 this season and 16-5 over the last five seasons vs. non-conferences foes.
THE SERIES
• Air Force leads the overall series, 34-23.
• Air Force is 20-8 at home, 10-12 at Navy and 4-3 in neutral site games.
• Navy beat Air Force, 34-7, last season in Falcon Stadium.
• The Falcons beat Navy, 17-6, in 2023 in the last meeting in Annapolis.
• Air Force holds a 31-22 mark in Commander-in-Chief's Trophy games (started in 1972).
• The team's first played in 1960 in Baltimore, Md., resulting in a 35-3 Navy win.
LAST MEETING
(Oct. 5, 2024) Navy defeated Air Force, 34-7, in Falcon Stadium to remain unbeaten on the season and snap a four-game losing streak to the Falcons. Blake Horvath scored on a one-yard run and Nathan Kent scored on a 34-yard run to put Navy in front 14-0 in the first quarter. The Falcons got on the board with a Quentin Hayes 45-yard touchdown pass to Tre Roberson to make it 14-7. Horvath scored his second rushing touchdown of the game to give the Midshipmen a 21-7 halftime lead. Navy extended the lead to 27-7 with an Alex Tecza touchdown run. He added a second TD run early in the fourth to make up the final margin. Navy finished with 463 total yards, including 329 rushing. Harvath rushed for 115 yards and hit 9-15 passes for 134 yards. Eli Heidenreich rushed for 100 yards on six carries and caught five passes for 101 yards. Air Force was led by Kade Frew, who had 29 yards on seven carries. Hayes hit 5-6 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Air Force finished with 273 total yards, including 158 rushing. Camby Goff led the defense with nine tackles.
LAST TIME AT NAVY
(Oct. 21, 2023) Air Force defeated Navy, 17-6, in Annapolis to record its fourth straight win in the series. Zac Larrier and Dane Kinamon got the Falcons started, connecting on a school-record 94-yard passing touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to put the Falcons up 7-0. Matthew Dapore added a field goal in the third quarter to make it 10-0. Alec Mock added an 18-yard interception return for a touchdown to make it 17-0 late in the fourth quarter. Navy scored a late touchdown to make up the final margin. Air Force had 288 total yards, including 151 passing and 137 rushing. Larrier hit 4-5 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown while Emmanuel Michel added 69 yards rushing on 22 carries. The defense was dominant, holding Navy to just 124 total yards on 64 plays, an average of 1.9 per play. Air Force held Navy to 22 yards rushing on 35 carries. Johnathan Youngblood led the way with a career-high 13 tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss. Bo Richter recorded seven tackles and 4.0 for loss.
AIR FORCE VS. NON-CONFERENCE FOES
• Air Force is 1-0 this season and 16-5 over the last five seasons vs. non-conferences foes.
• Air Force is 55-31 against non-conference opponents under head coach Troy Calhoun. The Falcons are 34-5 at home, 11-19 on the road and 10-7 in neutral site games.
• Air Force had a nine-game winning streak that stretched over three seasons from 2021-23.
APLS HONORS F-16 FIGHTING FALCON
The Air Force football team is honoring the Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon with the 2025 edition of the Air Power Legacy Series uniform. The Falcons will wear the special uniform for the Navy this week Navy Marine-Corps Memorial Stadium.
The helmet replicates a fighter pilot's helmet with the front bumper featuring a silhouette of the F-16. The front of the helmet replicates the visor cover with the F-16 Fighting Falcon patch and the word "Psycho," which is the call sign of Col. William Andrews, an F-16 hero shot down in Operation Desert Storm. The back bumper features the word "Viper," a common nickname for the aircraft.
The hip of the pants features the roundel symbol. "Viper" appears down one leg while the other leg features "Fighting Falcon", the official name of the F-16. The jersey front has Air Force, along with the player's name and the patch of the corresponding squadron represented. The sleeve has the American flag and squadron patch of the base represented. The back of the jersey has the tail flash of the fighter squadron.
There are three bases, two squadrons, and two wings represented: the 120th Fighter Squadron and 140th Wing from Buckley SFB, Colo.; the 555th Fighter Squadron from Aviano Air Base, Italy; and the 20th Fighter Wing from Shaw AFB, S.C.
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF'S TROPHY
The 2025 season marks the 54th year of Commander-in-Chief's trophy competition. The trophy goes annually to the winning academy with the best record in the round-robin competition. The winning team goes to the White House to receive the trophy from the President of the United States. Air Force has a series-best 66-40 record and has won 21 trophy titles, the most in the series.
Air Force outright CIC trophy years
'82, '83, '85, '87, '89, '90, '91, '92, '94, '95, 97, '98, '99, '00, '01, '02, '10, '11, '14, '16, '22
LOOKING AT NAVY
• Navy is 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference. The Midshipmen have won seven straight games dating back to last season which is the fourth longest active streak in the nation.
• Navy is coached by Brian Newberry, who is in his third season. He is 19-10 overall and led Navy to the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy title last season. Newberry was the defensive coordinator at Navy prior to taking over as head coach in 2023.
• Navy is 752-603-57 (.553) overall in 145 seasons, which is the 23rd most wins in FBS history, the most of the three academies and most of any team outside the autonomy 4. Navy is 184-118-1 in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Air Force and Navy have accounted for seven of the top 10 crowds in the stadium's history, the largest ranking second overall with 38,803 in 2023.
• Navy leads the nation in rushing, averaging 352.3 yards per game. The Mids average 483.8 total yards per game. Navy averages 38.3 points per game while allowing only 16.8. Alex Tecza leads the team in rushing with 376 yards. Blake Horvath is second with 355 yards and a team-best five TDs. Horvath has also hit 26-38 passes for 500 yards with three TDs. MarcAnthony Parker leads the defense with 33 tackles, 5.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks.
LAST WEEK
Hawaii defeated Air Force, 44-35, in Falcon Stadium. Quarterback Micah Alejado hit 35 of 47 passes for 457 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Rainbows, who rolled up 535 total yards on 78 plays and had the ball for 37:24. He tossed two touchdowns in the first quarter to give Hawaii a 14-7 lead. The Rainbows led 17-7 at the half. Air Force and Hawaii exchanged third-quarter touchdowns before a 41-point fourth quarter erupted. Hawaii finished it off with a 25-yard field goal by Kansei Matsuzawa, his third of the day, with 34 seconds left to make up the final margin. Air Force had 494 total yards, including 278 passing. Sophomore quarterback Liam Szarka led the way, rushing for a career-best 139 yards on 17 carries and hitting 10 of 12 passes for a career-high 278 yards and three touchdowns. His 417 total yards set a new Air Force single game record.
LAST WEEK'S POST-GAME NOTES
Team Notes
• Air Force extended its nation-leading streak of consecutive games with 100-plus yards rushing to 89. Boise State is second with 42 such games.
• AF has hit 51 straight PATs dating back to 2023.
• Air Force had two players with 100 or more receiving yards in the same game for the first time since 2019 vs. New Mexico (Ben Waters 171, Geraud Sanders 156).
• Air Force scored a touchdown on its first drive of the second half for the third time in four games this season.
• Air Force game captains were Cade Harris, Coston Cooley, Payton Zdroik and Dylan Carson.
Individual Notes
• Sophomore QB Liam Szarka set a new school record with 417 yards of total offense (278 passing and 139 rushing). The previous record of 396 was set by Arion Worthman vs. Navy in 2017. Szarka set new career highs in passing yards (278), completion percentage (83.3), passing touchdowns (3), and rushing yards (139). His 64-yard run is the longest of his career. His previous long was 38 vs. Boise State earlier this season. Szarka now has a TD pass in back-to-back games and has five in his last two games
• Szarka rushed for 139 yards vs. Hawaii, giving him back-to-back games with 100 or more rushing yards (111 last week vs. Boise State). He is the first player to have consecutive games with 100 yards rushing since Dylan Carson vs. Nevada and San Diego State last season. He is the first quarterback to do it since Zac Larrier vs. San Diego State and Wyoming in 2023.
• Szarka is the first quarterback with 100 or more yards passing and 100 or more rushing in back-to-back games since Chance Harridge vs. UNLV and SDSU in 2002. Szarka now has back-to-back games with 200 passing yards and 100 rushing yards. Against Boise State he had 246 in the air and 110 on the ground. Against Hawaii, he had 278 passing and 139 rushing.
• Szarka's three touchdown passes are the most since Donald Hammond had four against New Mexico in 2019.
• For the second straight week, Szarka and WR Cade Harris connected for a pass play of more than 70 yards. The pair connected for a 74-yard pass play vs. Boise State and a 73-yard TD pass against Hawaii.
• Senior WR Cade Harris finished the game as Air Force's leading receiver for the fourth-straight game. He went over 100 yards receiving for the second straight game (177 vs. Boise State and 116 vs. Hawaii).
• Senior TE Bruin Fleischmann has a reception in four straight games and a TD reception in back-to-back games.
• Senior WR Quin Smith recorded a career-high 110 yards receiving. He has a catch in four straight games and has a reception of at least 30 yards in each game.
• Junior LB Isaac Hubert had three tackles for loss, the most of his career. His previous high was 2.0 vs. Utah State earlier this season.
• Sophomore SPUR Nick Beckwith had a career-high seven tackles. His previous high was four vs. Boise State earlier this season.
• Freshman DB Jordan Elie-Stuart had a career high six tackles. His previous high was three vs. Boise State earlier this season
• Junior LB Brody Bujnoch had four tackles, tying his career high vs. Utah State earlier this season.
• Sophomore PK Jacob Medina is a perfect 16-for-16 on the season on PATs.
Saturday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m. MT, Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000), Annapolis, MD
FALCONS
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Website: GoAirForceFalcons.com
Conference: Mountain West
MIDSHIPMEN
Location: Annapolis, MD
Website: NavySports.com
Conference: American Athletic
THE GAME
• Air Force leads the overall series vs. Navy, 34-23. Air Force is 20-8 at home, 10-12 at Navy and 4-3 in neutral site games. Navy beat Air Force, 34-7, last season in Falcon Stadium. The Falcons beat Navy, 17-6, in 2023 in the last meeting in Annapolis.
• The 2025 season marks the 54th year of Commander-in-Chief's trophy competition. The trophy goes annually to the winning academy with the best record in the round-robin competition. The winning team goes to the White House to receive the trophy from the President of the United States. Air Force has a series-best 66-40 record and has won 21 trophy titles, the most in the series.
• The Air Force football team is honoring the Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon with the 2025 edition of the Air Power Legacy Series uniform. The Falcons will wear the special uniform for the Navy this week.
• Air Force is 1-0 this season and 16-5 over the last five seasons vs. non-conferences foes.
THE SERIES
• Air Force leads the overall series, 34-23.
• Air Force is 20-8 at home, 10-12 at Navy and 4-3 in neutral site games.
• Navy beat Air Force, 34-7, last season in Falcon Stadium.
• The Falcons beat Navy, 17-6, in 2023 in the last meeting in Annapolis.
• Air Force holds a 31-22 mark in Commander-in-Chief's Trophy games (started in 1972).
• The team's first played in 1960 in Baltimore, Md., resulting in a 35-3 Navy win.
LAST MEETING
(Oct. 5, 2024) Navy defeated Air Force, 34-7, in Falcon Stadium to remain unbeaten on the season and snap a four-game losing streak to the Falcons. Blake Horvath scored on a one-yard run and Nathan Kent scored on a 34-yard run to put Navy in front 14-0 in the first quarter. The Falcons got on the board with a Quentin Hayes 45-yard touchdown pass to Tre Roberson to make it 14-7. Horvath scored his second rushing touchdown of the game to give the Midshipmen a 21-7 halftime lead. Navy extended the lead to 27-7 with an Alex Tecza touchdown run. He added a second TD run early in the fourth to make up the final margin. Navy finished with 463 total yards, including 329 rushing. Harvath rushed for 115 yards and hit 9-15 passes for 134 yards. Eli Heidenreich rushed for 100 yards on six carries and caught five passes for 101 yards. Air Force was led by Kade Frew, who had 29 yards on seven carries. Hayes hit 5-6 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Air Force finished with 273 total yards, including 158 rushing. Camby Goff led the defense with nine tackles.
LAST TIME AT NAVY
(Oct. 21, 2023) Air Force defeated Navy, 17-6, in Annapolis to record its fourth straight win in the series. Zac Larrier and Dane Kinamon got the Falcons started, connecting on a school-record 94-yard passing touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to put the Falcons up 7-0. Matthew Dapore added a field goal in the third quarter to make it 10-0. Alec Mock added an 18-yard interception return for a touchdown to make it 17-0 late in the fourth quarter. Navy scored a late touchdown to make up the final margin. Air Force had 288 total yards, including 151 passing and 137 rushing. Larrier hit 4-5 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown while Emmanuel Michel added 69 yards rushing on 22 carries. The defense was dominant, holding Navy to just 124 total yards on 64 plays, an average of 1.9 per play. Air Force held Navy to 22 yards rushing on 35 carries. Johnathan Youngblood led the way with a career-high 13 tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss. Bo Richter recorded seven tackles and 4.0 for loss.
AIR FORCE VS. NON-CONFERENCE FOES
• Air Force is 1-0 this season and 16-5 over the last five seasons vs. non-conferences foes.
• Air Force is 55-31 against non-conference opponents under head coach Troy Calhoun. The Falcons are 34-5 at home, 11-19 on the road and 10-7 in neutral site games.
• Air Force had a nine-game winning streak that stretched over three seasons from 2021-23.
APLS HONORS F-16 FIGHTING FALCON
The Air Force football team is honoring the Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon with the 2025 edition of the Air Power Legacy Series uniform. The Falcons will wear the special uniform for the Navy this week Navy Marine-Corps Memorial Stadium.
The helmet replicates a fighter pilot's helmet with the front bumper featuring a silhouette of the F-16. The front of the helmet replicates the visor cover with the F-16 Fighting Falcon patch and the word "Psycho," which is the call sign of Col. William Andrews, an F-16 hero shot down in Operation Desert Storm. The back bumper features the word "Viper," a common nickname for the aircraft.
The hip of the pants features the roundel symbol. "Viper" appears down one leg while the other leg features "Fighting Falcon", the official name of the F-16. The jersey front has Air Force, along with the player's name and the patch of the corresponding squadron represented. The sleeve has the American flag and squadron patch of the base represented. The back of the jersey has the tail flash of the fighter squadron.
There are three bases, two squadrons, and two wings represented: the 120th Fighter Squadron and 140th Wing from Buckley SFB, Colo.; the 555th Fighter Squadron from Aviano Air Base, Italy; and the 20th Fighter Wing from Shaw AFB, S.C.
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF'S TROPHY
The 2025 season marks the 54th year of Commander-in-Chief's trophy competition. The trophy goes annually to the winning academy with the best record in the round-robin competition. The winning team goes to the White House to receive the trophy from the President of the United States. Air Force has a series-best 66-40 record and has won 21 trophy titles, the most in the series.
Air Force outright CIC trophy years
'82, '83, '85, '87, '89, '90, '91, '92, '94, '95, 97, '98, '99, '00, '01, '02, '10, '11, '14, '16, '22
LOOKING AT NAVY
• Navy is 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference. The Midshipmen have won seven straight games dating back to last season which is the fourth longest active streak in the nation.
• Navy is coached by Brian Newberry, who is in his third season. He is 19-10 overall and led Navy to the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy title last season. Newberry was the defensive coordinator at Navy prior to taking over as head coach in 2023.
• Navy is 752-603-57 (.553) overall in 145 seasons, which is the 23rd most wins in FBS history, the most of the three academies and most of any team outside the autonomy 4. Navy is 184-118-1 in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Air Force and Navy have accounted for seven of the top 10 crowds in the stadium's history, the largest ranking second overall with 38,803 in 2023.
• Navy leads the nation in rushing, averaging 352.3 yards per game. The Mids average 483.8 total yards per game. Navy averages 38.3 points per game while allowing only 16.8. Alex Tecza leads the team in rushing with 376 yards. Blake Horvath is second with 355 yards and a team-best five TDs. Horvath has also hit 26-38 passes for 500 yards with three TDs. MarcAnthony Parker leads the defense with 33 tackles, 5.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks.
LAST WEEK
Hawaii defeated Air Force, 44-35, in Falcon Stadium. Quarterback Micah Alejado hit 35 of 47 passes for 457 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Rainbows, who rolled up 535 total yards on 78 plays and had the ball for 37:24. He tossed two touchdowns in the first quarter to give Hawaii a 14-7 lead. The Rainbows led 17-7 at the half. Air Force and Hawaii exchanged third-quarter touchdowns before a 41-point fourth quarter erupted. Hawaii finished it off with a 25-yard field goal by Kansei Matsuzawa, his third of the day, with 34 seconds left to make up the final margin. Air Force had 494 total yards, including 278 passing. Sophomore quarterback Liam Szarka led the way, rushing for a career-best 139 yards on 17 carries and hitting 10 of 12 passes for a career-high 278 yards and three touchdowns. His 417 total yards set a new Air Force single game record.
LAST WEEK'S POST-GAME NOTES
Team Notes
• Air Force extended its nation-leading streak of consecutive games with 100-plus yards rushing to 89. Boise State is second with 42 such games.
• AF has hit 51 straight PATs dating back to 2023.
• Air Force had two players with 100 or more receiving yards in the same game for the first time since 2019 vs. New Mexico (Ben Waters 171, Geraud Sanders 156).
• Air Force scored a touchdown on its first drive of the second half for the third time in four games this season.
• Air Force game captains were Cade Harris, Coston Cooley, Payton Zdroik and Dylan Carson.
Individual Notes
• Sophomore QB Liam Szarka set a new school record with 417 yards of total offense (278 passing and 139 rushing). The previous record of 396 was set by Arion Worthman vs. Navy in 2017. Szarka set new career highs in passing yards (278), completion percentage (83.3), passing touchdowns (3), and rushing yards (139). His 64-yard run is the longest of his career. His previous long was 38 vs. Boise State earlier this season. Szarka now has a TD pass in back-to-back games and has five in his last two games
• Szarka rushed for 139 yards vs. Hawaii, giving him back-to-back games with 100 or more rushing yards (111 last week vs. Boise State). He is the first player to have consecutive games with 100 yards rushing since Dylan Carson vs. Nevada and San Diego State last season. He is the first quarterback to do it since Zac Larrier vs. San Diego State and Wyoming in 2023.
• Szarka is the first quarterback with 100 or more yards passing and 100 or more rushing in back-to-back games since Chance Harridge vs. UNLV and SDSU in 2002. Szarka now has back-to-back games with 200 passing yards and 100 rushing yards. Against Boise State he had 246 in the air and 110 on the ground. Against Hawaii, he had 278 passing and 139 rushing.
• Szarka's three touchdown passes are the most since Donald Hammond had four against New Mexico in 2019.
• For the second straight week, Szarka and WR Cade Harris connected for a pass play of more than 70 yards. The pair connected for a 74-yard pass play vs. Boise State and a 73-yard TD pass against Hawaii.
• Senior WR Cade Harris finished the game as Air Force's leading receiver for the fourth-straight game. He went over 100 yards receiving for the second straight game (177 vs. Boise State and 116 vs. Hawaii).
• Senior TE Bruin Fleischmann has a reception in four straight games and a TD reception in back-to-back games.
• Senior WR Quin Smith recorded a career-high 110 yards receiving. He has a catch in four straight games and has a reception of at least 30 yards in each game.
• Junior LB Isaac Hubert had three tackles for loss, the most of his career. His previous high was 2.0 vs. Utah State earlier this season.
• Sophomore SPUR Nick Beckwith had a career-high seven tackles. His previous high was four vs. Boise State earlier this season.
• Freshman DB Jordan Elie-Stuart had a career high six tackles. His previous high was three vs. Boise State earlier this season
• Junior LB Brody Bujnoch had four tackles, tying his career high vs. Utah State earlier this season.
• Sophomore PK Jacob Medina is a perfect 16-for-16 on the season on PATs.
Players Mentioned
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DL
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