Navy (0-0, 0-0 AAC) vs. Delaware (0-0, 0-0 Colonial)
When	Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022 | 12:00 pm (ET)
Location	Annapolis, Md. | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | Parking & Fan Guide | Clear Bag Policy
Television	CBS Sports Network (Chick Hernandez, Randy Cross, Sheehan Stanwick Burch)
Live Video Stream	CBS Sports Network
Listen	Navy Football Radio Network (Pete Medhurst, Joe Miller, Keith Mills, Scott Wykoff) WBAL 1090 AM / 101.5 FM (Baltimore) | WFED 820 AM, 94.3 FM (Frederick, Md.) | WFED 1500 AM (Washington, D.C.) | WFED 104.5 FM (Western Fairfax / Loudon, Va.) | WNAV 1430 AM, 99.9 FM (Annapolis) | KWFN 97.3 FM (San Diego) | WGH 1310 AM / 100.9 FM / 97.3 HD2-3 (Norfolk, Va.) | Satellite: Sirius 107, XM 201, SXM App 964 | Apps: Audacy (WNAV) and TuneIn (WBAL)
Live Stats	Navy Athletics
Game Notes	Navy | Delaware | AAC
Season Statistics	Navy | Delaware | AAC
Social Media	@NavyAthletics | @NavyFB | Facebook | Instagram

Opening Kick
•    Navy and Delaware meet for the 18th time in series history and for the first time since 2013 when the two square off on Saturday afternoon (12:00 pm ET) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
•    This is the 142nd year of Navy football. Navy has an all-time record of 729-585-57, including a 171-111-1 mark in games played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
•    The 729 wins are tied with Arkansas for the 26th most in the FBS.

Broadcast Coverage
•    CBS Sports Network will carry Saturday's game with Chick Hernandez, Randy Cross and Sheehan Stanwick Burch on the call.
•    The Navy Football Tailgate Show on WNAV Radio 1430 AM / 99.9 FM will air from 10:00-11:00 am on Saturday with Wylie Baker serving as the host.
•    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.

Game Day Festivities
•    The Navy football team will arrive at the Blue Angel on the West (Blue) side of the stadium at approximately 9:30 am. 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.
•    The March-On of the Brigade of Midshipmen will begin at 11:41 am.
•    The National Anthem will take place at 11:51:30 am, followed by a flyover at the conclusion of the national anthem and a parachute jumper (11:58 am).
•    Saturday's fly-over will feature two T45-C Goshawks from the Sabrehawks of VT-86, based out of Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.  Piloting the lead aircraft will be Lt. Stephen "IRENE" Patricco, USNA Class of 2014 and Cmdr. Ryan "Repo" Dorn, USNA Class of 2007. The wing aircraft will be piloted by Cmdr. J.P. Falardeau, USNA Class of 2002 and Lt. Cmdr. Dan "SHILOH" Ruffin USNA Class of 2008. Providing ground control and support will be Cmdr. Pete "SOSAJ" McMorrow from the Class of 2001. The Sabrehawks are the Navy's only T-45C advanced jet squadron, training Student Naval Flight Officers for Navy Fleet Replacement squadrons.
•    Navy will take the field at 11:58:20, while Delaware will follow at 11:59.
•    Kickoff on Saturday is slated for 12:02 pm.
•    Between the first and the second quarters, the Patriot League Presidents' Cup will be presented by Patriot League Commissioner Jennifer Heppel. Navy earned its eighth-consecutive Patriot League Presidents' Cup and ninth in 10 years, claiming nine league championships during the 2021-22 academic year to sit atop the overall standings. Navy's current streak of eight-consecutive overall titles is the most in Patriot League Presidents' Cup history, surpassing Bucknell's streak of seven-straight titles from 1998 to 2004. Navy has won 71 Patriot League championships over the last 10 years, the next closest is Boston, who has won 32 titles during the same timeframe. The Mids have won 122 Patriot League titles over the last 20 years, the second-place school during that span is Bucknell with 77.
•    The Naval Academy Drum and Bugle Corps will perform at halftime.  
•    The pilots from the pregame flyover will be recognized between the third and fourth quarters.  
•    Following the game, 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.

Scouting Delaware
0-0 Overall  |  0-0 CAA
Head Coach: Ryan Carty

•    Don't be surprised if this ends up one of the best Delaware teams in recent memory. The Blue Hens are ranked #19 in the FCS Coaches Poll and are led by first-year head coach Ryan Carty, who came to Delaware from Sam Houston State where he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.  
• Carty helped Sam Houston win the 2020 FCS National Championship and advance to  the 2021 FCS Quarterfinals after an undefeated regular season. He was named the FCS Coordinator of the Year by Football Scoop in 2021.    
•    Carty's offense helped lead Sam Houston to a 34-10 record from 2018-21 and a 21-1 mark in his final two seasons in Huntsville. Sam Houston finished the 2021 season ranked third in the nation in scoring offense (41.0 ppg), fifth in total offense (490.9 ypg) and sixth in rushing offense (228.2 ypg).
• Carty is a 2006 graduate of Delaware and was a member of the 2003 National Championship team that defeated Navy in Annapolis.
•    Delaware has 17 transfers on its roster, including players from Virgina, Georgia, East Carolina, Illinois, Penn State and Ohio State.
•    Starting quarterback Nolan Henderson returns for his sixth year at Delaware. The Blue Hens were 3-1 under the direction of Henderson before he was lost for the season. In 2021, his play helped lead Delaware to the FCS semifinals.
•    In his four games under center, Henderson completed 47 of his 80 passes for 646 yards with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions.
•    Other key returnees for Delaware include second-leading rusher Anthony Paoletti (60 carries, 227 yds, 3 TDs), leading receiver Thyrick Pitts (43 catches for 669 yds and 7 TDs) and last year's top two tacklers, linebacker Johnny Buchanan (81 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery) and defensive tackle Kendrick Whitehead (76 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss). Whitehead is a two-time First-Team All-CAA pick and an FCS All-American for a Delaware defense that is projected to be one of the top defenses in the country this fall.

Reestablishing Home Field Dominance
•    Navy is 55-22 (.714) at home under head coach Ken Niumatalolo, but just 2-9 over the last two years (one of those years was the COVID year with no fans in the stands).  
•    In the 10 years Navy has gone to a bowl game under Niumatalolo, the Mids were nearly unbeatable at home, going 50-8 ( .862).
•    In the four years Navy didn't go to a bowl game under Niumatalolo, the Mids were 5-14 (.263) at home.

Mids To Play Nation's Toughest Schedule
•    Navy's 12 opponents in 2022 combined to go 100-52 in 2021 (.658), making Navy's schedule the toughest in the country this year based on last year's opponents' win-loss records.
•    The next-closest American Athletic Conference team is USF at #33 (85-66, .563). Army's schedule ranks 47th (82-69, .543) and Air Force's is 81st (76-75, .503).    
•     Ten of Navy's 12 opponents this season played in bowl games in 2021. Among those 10 opponents is AAC foe Cincinnati, who played Alabama in the College Football Playoffs. No team played the Bearcats closer in the regular season than Navy, who lost to Cincinnati 27-20 on Oct. 23 in Annapolis.

2022 Toughest Schedules
(via NCAA / Based On Opp. Winning Pct.)
1.    100-52    .658    Navy    
2.    105-55    .656    Vanderbilt    
3.    102-55    .650    Arkansas
4.    101-55    .647    Auburn
5.    98-58      .628    Mississippi State

Navy in Season Openers
•    Navy is 7-7 in season openers under head coach Ken Niumatalolo, including a 5-2 mark when opening the year at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.  
•    Five of the Mids' seven opening-game losses under Niumatalolo were either played on the road or at a neutral site - Ohio State twice (once in Columbus and once in Baltimore), Maryland (Baltimore), Notre Dame (Ireland) and Hawai'i (Honolulu).
•    Navy has lost three of its last four season openers.
•    Navy has gone on to a bowl game in six of the seven years it has won its opener under Niumatalolo. The only year Navy won its opener and didn't go to a bowl game was in 2011 when the Mids finished 5-7.

Kip Frankland, John Marshall and Bijan Nichols Named Team Captains
•    Navy head football coach Ken Niumatalolo announced that offensive tackle Kip Frankland, striker John Marshall and kicker Bijan Nichols have been voted as team captains by their teammates.
• A native of Germantown, Tenn. and a Houston High School graduate, Frankland has started 15 games in his career at offensive tackle, including being the only offensive lineman to start all 12 games in 2021. Frankland, who was named All-East, will not only have the honor of serving as a team captain, but will also wear No. 68 in memory of former Navy offensive lineman David Forney.
•     Marshall, who is from Highland, Md. and went to Gonzaga College High School, has started 20 games in his career at striker, including 11 games in 2021. He finished last year as Navy's second-leading tackler with 54, while also recording 3.5 tackles for a loss and a sack.
•     Nichols has been Navy's starting kicker since arriving in Annapolis and is believed to be the first Navy place-kicker to be named a team captain and the second kicker to be named team captain. Punter Bob Bowstrom was named team captain in 1930.
•     Nichols was named Second-Team All-AAC and All-East in 2021, as he finished the year with 73 points making 15 of his 19 field goal attempts and all 28 of his extra points. He has made three game-winning field goals in his career – 48 yards vs. Tulane in 2019, 23 yards vs. Kansas State in the 2019 Liberty Bowl and a 33-yard field goal vs. Tulane in 2020. He also scored the deciding points in the Mids' 2020 win over Temple with a career-long 50-yard field goal.  

Frankland Named Captain of the Captains
•    Senior offensive tackle Kip Frankland has been elected to serve as the 2022-23 Captain of the Captains at the Naval Academy. The vote was conducted among all the varsity sports captains representing Navy's 35 programs.  Frankland is the third Navy football player to serve in the role over the last four years. Ford Higgins was selected for the 2019-20 academic year, while Mychal Cooper was honored in 2021-22.
•     Frankland will lead discussions once a month with all the team captains on how they can improve what they are doing with their individual teams and as a group.

Mids Return Three All-east Performers
•    The Navy football program had 5 players named All-East by the East Coast Athletic Conference in 2021, including three of which who return this year.
•    Tackle Kip Frankland, center Pierce Banbury, linebacker Diego Fagot, kicker Bijan Nichols and kick returner Maquel Haywood were all honored by the organization.
•    Syracuse had 7 players named All-East, Temple 6, Rutgers and Navy 5, Penn State 4 and Army and Liberty 1 apiece.
•     Frankland was the only Navy offensive lineman to start all 12 games a year ago for an offensive line that was forced to start 9 different combinations, including 5 different tackles, 5 different guards and 3 different centers.
•     Nichols went 15-19 on field goals (2 of his misses were blocked and his other 2 misses were from 53 and 55 yards out) and 28-28 on PATs. He tied his career long field goal with a 50-yarder against SMU.
•     Haywood averaged 31.0 yards per kickoff return, which is the third-best average in school history and it's even more impressive by the fact Navy had 9 freshmen on the kickoff return team. He returned an East Carolina kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, tying Reggie Campbell (2007 vs. Army) for the longest kickoff return in school history. Pro Football Focus, which grades every player nationwide, ranked Haywood as the eighth-best kick returner in the country with a minimum of 10 returns.