CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

Navy vs. Penn State

Navy and Penn State have 37 meetings on file, the first in 1897; Penn State leads the series 19–⁠17–⁠1 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Penn State 8–⁠2.

Navy wins
17
Penn State wins
19
Ties
1
Earliest on file
1897
Longest streak
6 Penn State
Current streak
1 Penn State
Last 10 meetings
Penn State 8–⁠2
Most recent
2012

The series at a glance

’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1890s3–⁠0
1900s5–⁠4
1910s1–⁠0–⁠1
1920s1–⁠3
1940s3–⁠2
1950s1–⁠0
1960s2–⁠5
1970s1–⁠4
2010s0–⁠1
Average margin
15.6 points; 16 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At Navy
14–⁠10–⁠1 Navy’s record at home
At Penn State
9–⁠3 Penn State’s record at home
Shutouts
12

Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.

Games that tell the story

  1. Navy’s biggest win1900: Navy 44, Penn State 0by 44 points
  2. Penn State’s biggest win1971: Penn State 56, Navy 3by 53 points
  3. Upset1974: Navy 7, Penn State 6Navy had a 16% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  4. Upset1901: Penn State 11, Navy 6Penn State had a 32% chance, by our ratings before kickoff

Coach against coach

YearsNavySeriesPenn State
1904–⁠1906Paul Dashiell2–⁠1Tom Fennell
1921–⁠1924Bob Folwell1–⁠3Hugo Bezdek
1961–⁠1964Wayne Hardin1–⁠2Rip Engle
1969–⁠1972Rick Forzano0–⁠4Joe Paterno

Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Navy’s side (Dashiell 2–⁠1 against Fennell). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of Navy and Penn State, 1897 on1300150017001900192019401960198020002020

Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.

From the newspapers

  • The Alexandria gazette's story of the 1902 game: NEWS OF THE DAY.

    1902 · Alexandria gazette, Alexandria, D.C., Nov 3, 1902

  • The Evening capital's story of the 1903 game: NAVY PLAYS Bad BALL. The Pennsylvania State College Eleven Victorious BY Heavy Score.

    1903 · Evening capital, Annapolis, Md., Nov 2, 1903

  • The Evening capital's story of the 1904 game: MIDD|ES GIVE BIG SURPRISE VISITORS MAKE A PLUCKY SHOWING. The Middies Down Pennsylvania State College Eleven BY Score of 20 To 9.

    1904 · Evening capital, Annapolis, Md., Nov 7, 1904

  • The The Washington times's story of the 1905 game: NAVY OUTPLAYED PENN STATE TEAM Made Better Showing Than Yale Against 1t. YEcKLEY'S 80-YARD RUN Without 1t State Would Have Been Blanked-Middies Line Held Well.

    1905 · The Washington times, District of Columbia, Nov 5, 1905

  • The The Washington times's story of the 1907 game: MiddieS Win In the Last Two Minutes OutgeneraIed by Penn State, But Luck Wins Out.

    1907 · The Washington times, District of Columbia, Nov 17, 1907

Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The earliest meetings with a story on file; each game’s page has the full text.

Photos

From the rivalry’s and its games’ categories on Wikimedia Commons (free licenses only, each credited), and libraries and archives found through the Digital Public Library of America (each under its holder’s rights statement).

Every game

Sep 15, 2012Penn State 34, Navy 7at Penn State
Sep 21, 1974Navy 7, 8Penn State 6at Penn State
Sep 22, 19737Penn State 39, Navy 0at Navy
Sep 23, 197211Penn State 21, Navy 10at Penn State
Sep 18, 197114Penn State 56, Navy 3at Navy
Sep 19, 19707Penn State 55, Navy 7at Penn State
Sep 20, 19693Penn State 45, Navy 22at Navy
Sep 21, 196810Penn State 31, Navy 6at Penn State
Sep 23, 1967Navy 23, Penn State 22at Navy
Nov 13, 1965Penn State 14, Navy 6at Penn State
Sep 19, 1964Navy 21, Penn State 8at Penn State
Sep 22, 19629Penn State 41, Navy 7at Penn State
Sep 23, 1961Penn State 20, Navy 10at Penn State
Oct 15, 1955Navy 34, Penn State 14at Penn State
Nov 15, 19478Penn State 20, Navy 7at Navy
Nov 16, 1946Penn State 12, Navy 7at Navy
Oct 13, 19452Navy 28, Penn State 0at Navy
Oct 7, 1944Navy 55, Penn State 14at Navy
Oct 16, 19433Navy 14, Penn State 6at Navy
Nov 1, 1924Penn State 6, Navy 0at Navy
Oct 20, 1923Penn State 21, Navy 3at Penn State
Nov 3, 1922Navy 14, Penn State 0at Navy
Nov 12, 1921Penn State 13, Navy 7at Penn State
Nov 15, 1913Navy 10, Penn State 0at Navy
Nov 18, 1911Navy 0, Penn State 0at Navy
Nov 14, 1908Navy 5, Penn State 0at Navy
Nov 16, 1907Navy 6, Penn State 4at Navy
Nov 3, 1906Penn State 5, Navy 0at Navy
Nov 4, 1905Navy 11, Penn State 5at Navy
Nov 5, 1904Navy 20, Penn State 9at Navy
Oct 31, 1903Penn State 17, Navy 0at Navy
Nov 1, 1902Penn State 6, Navy 0at Navy
Oct 26, 1901Penn State 11, Navy 6at Navy
Nov 10, 1900Navy 44, Penn State 0at Navy
Oct 21, 1899Navy 6, Penn State 0at Navy
Oct 22, 1898Navy 16, Penn State 11at Navy
Oct 23, 1897Navy 4, Penn State 0at Navy

Every game is listed as played on the field.