Navy (0-1, 0-0 AAC) vs. Wagner (0-1, 0-0, NEC)
When	Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023 | 3:30 pm (ET)
Location	Annapolis, Md. | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | Parking & Fan Guide
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) | KLSD 1360 AM (San Diego) | WGH 1310 AM / 100.9 FM (Norfolk, Va.) | WJGM 105.7 GM (Jacksonville, Fla.) | Satellite: Sirius 135 or 202, SXM App 965 | Apps: Audacy (WNAV) and TuneIn (WBAL)
Live Stats	Navy Athletics
Game Notes	Navy | Wagner | AAC
Season Statistics	Navy | Wagner | AAC
Social Media	@NavyAthletics | @NavyFB | Facebook | Instagram

Opening Kick
•    Navy and Wagner meet on the gridiron for the first time when the two square off on CBS Sports Network on Saturday afternoon (3:30 pm) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Saturday's contest is presented by Navy Mutual.
•    Navy will have the longest regular season in the country this fall, playing the nation's first regular-season college football game of the year against Notre Dame on August 26 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland and the final regular-season game of the year on Dec. 9 vs. Army at Gillette Stadium in New England.    
•    Navy is looking to win its home opener for the first time since 2019 when the Mids defeated Holy Cross 45-7. Navy has lost the last three home openers by a combined score of 118-17 (55-3 vs. BYU, 49-7 vs. Marshall, 14-7 vs. Delaware).  The 2019 team went on to post an 11-2 record, win the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy and defeat Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl.
•     Navy is looking to regain home field advantage this year, something it has lost over the last three years. From 2003-19, the Mids were nearly unbeatable at home, going 73-20 (.785). Over the last three years, the Mids are just 4-12 (.250) at home.
•     Wagner special teams coordinator and linebackers coach Jim Munson is very familiar with Navy football. His son, James, is a 2018 graduate of the Naval Academy and played football for three years before serving as a student coach his senior year. He is currently serving in the United States Marine Corps.
•    Sept. 9 is the latest Navy has opened at home since the Mids played host to Tulane on Sept. 9, 2017, and came away with a thrilling 23-21 win.
    
Broadcast Coverage
•    CBS Sports Network will carry Saturday's game with Chick Hernandez (play by play), Randy Cross (color) and Sheehan Stanwick Burch (sidelines) on the call.
•    Scott Wykoff will host a 30-minute Navy Insider pregame show on WBAL Radio (1090 AM) starting at 2:00 pm with contributions from Pete Medhurst, Joe Miller and Keith Mills. There will also be a Navy Insider show on Wednesday night from 7:00-8:00 pm on WBAL.
•    The Navy Football Pregame Show with Medhurst, Miller, Mills, Wykoff and special commentary from John Feinstein will get underway at 2:30 pm on the Navy Radio Network, followed by game action beginning at 3:30 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 Timeline
•    1:15 pm - 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.
•    3:12 pm - March-on of the Brigade of Midshipmen
•    3:22:30 pm - National Anthem, followed by a flyover
•    Saturday's flyover will feature two F/A-18C Hornets from the "Cowboys" of VMFA-112 based out of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. Piloting the lead aircraft will be 2003 graduate and former Navy football player  Lt. Col. Andrew "FOAM" Zetts. The wing aircraft will be piloted by classmate and former Navy lacrosse standout Lt. Col. Christopher "Grimace" Dingman. Both pilots are returning to the Academy this weekend for their 20-year class reunion. Providing ground control and support will be Capt. Jared "SPAM" Bramble from the Class of 2014. The Cowboys are the United States Marine Corps' only reserve TACAIR squadron.        
•    3:29:20 pm - Navy will take the field with Wagner to follow
•    3:33 pm - Kickoff / please note there is a chance the timeline, starting with the March-On, will be pushed back 5 minutes if the first game on CBS Sports Network runs long. That decision will be made prior to the 60-minute clock starting.
•    1st/2nd Quarter Break - The men's soccer team will be recognized for winning the 2022 Patriot League Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
•    Halftime - 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.

Scouting Wagner
0-1 Overall // Head Coach: Tom Masella
•    Wagner enters Saturday's game looking for its first win of the 2023 campaign after falling to Fordham (46-16) in its season opener last Saturday.
•    Quarterback Steven Krajewski, a transfer from UConn and Georgia State, played well in defeat, throwing for 334 yards and 2 touchdowns while completing 19 of his 33 pass attempts. Krajewski was picked off once.
•    Trevor Shorter (Jr / WR) had a big day for the Seahawks, catching 5 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. Guenson Alexis (Jr) caught 3 passes for 78 yards, ran the ball twice for 7 yards and attempted a pass.
•    Zachary Palmer-Alexander (So / RB) led the Seahawks' running game with 61 yards on just 9 carries.
•    John Gioia (Gr / LB) led the defense with 11 stops and a tackle for loss, while Junior Wily (Sr / LB), a transfer from Fullerton College, had 10 tackles and a tackle for loss.
•    Olanrewaju Adeyemi (So / DL) recorded 2 sacks for the Seahawks.
•    Punter Bailey Marzola (Jr), who hails from Australia, averaged 45 yards per punt on his 5 punts.

First Drive Tells the Tale
•    Navy was 4-1 in 2022 when the opposition did not score on its opening drive and 0-7 when it it did.  
•    Navy gave up an opening-drive touchdown to Notre Dame in its season-opening loss to the Irish two weeks ago.
•    The first quarter was far and away the worst quarter for the Mids a year ago, as the opposition outscored Navy 81-43.  
•    Navy outscored the opposition 66-64 in the second quarter and 96-78 in the fourth quarter / overtime.
•    Navy also started slow in the second half and was outscored 69-58 in the third quarter.  
First-Time Starters
•    Navy had 6 players make their first-career start in the season-opener against Notre Dame: Khalil Crawford (Sr / FB), D.J. Donovan (Jr / TE), Ben Purvis (So / OG), Jordan Sanders (Jr / Raider), Thomas Scully (Jr / TE) and Camari Williams (Sr / WR).

Chatman Has Solid Debut
•    Brandon Chatman (So / SB) had a solid collegiate debut in the season opener against Notre Dame.
•    Chatman carried the ball 8 times for 30 yards, while catching a pair of passes for 41 yards, including a 39-yard reception that set up Navy's lone score.

Lavatai Makes It All The Way Back
•    Tai Lavatai (Sr / QB) suffered a devastating injury last year when he sustained a season-ending knee injury in the eighth game of the year against Temple (Oct. 29).
•    Lavatai missed all of spring practice, but worked throughout the spring and off-season to be healthy for the start of fall camp. He didn't stop there. He fought for and won the starting quarterback job after starting fall camp 3rd on the depth chart.
•    Lavatai has started all 19 games he's played in for Navy.

The Lane Train
•    If you asked the Navy coaches to point out the best player on the field for the Mids, more often than not they would point to Rayuan Lane III (Jr / S).
•    Lane III has already started 19 games in his career (6 Fr / 12 So / 1 Jr).
•    As a sophomore, Lane III finished third on the team in tackles (71) and pass breakups (4). He also forced 2 fumbles, recovered 2 fumbles, recorded 2.5 tackles for loss and had a sack.
•    In the season opener against Notre Dame, Lane III showed he was as good as anybody on the field, making 5 tackles, breaking up 2 passes and causing a fumble.
•    Lane III is a big-time hitter with 4 caused fumbles over his career.
Jacob Impresses In First Extended Playing Time at Linebacker
•    Kyle Jacob (Jr / LB) was one of Navy's more impressive players on defense in the season opener against Notre Dame.
•    Seeing his first real extended time at linebacker, Jacob recorded a career-high 7 tackles and had a tackle for loss against the Irish.

Harbour Plays Well In Opener
•    Will Harbour (Sr / LB) recorded 8 tackles, including a tackle for loss, in Navy's season opener against Notre Dame.
•    The 8 tackles were just one off his career high of nine set against Air Force in 2021.