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Navy vs. Pittsburgh

Navy and Pittsburgh have 40 meetings on file, the first in 1912; Pittsburgh leads the series 22–⁠15–⁠3 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Pittsburgh 6–⁠4, and Navy has won the last 2.

Navy wins
15
Pittsburgh wins
22
Ties
3
Earliest on file
1912
Longest streak
6 Pittsburgh
Current streak
2 Navy
Last 10 meetings
Pittsburgh 6–⁠4
Most recent
2015

The series at a glance

’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1910s1–⁠3–⁠1
1930s0–⁠2
1950s1–⁠1
1960s6–⁠2–⁠1
1970s3–⁠7
1980s1–⁠5–⁠1
2000s1–⁠2
2010s2–⁠0
Both ranked
3 meetings: Navy 2, Pittsburgh 1; 1 both in the top 10
Average margin
13.7 points; 14 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At Navy
8–⁠10–⁠1 Navy’s record at home
At Pittsburgh
12–⁠4–⁠2 Pittsburgh’s record at home
Neutral sites
3–⁠0 Navy first
Shutouts
4

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

Games that tell the story

  1. Navy’s biggest win1962: Navy 32, Pittsburgh 9by 23 points
  2. Pittsburgh’s biggest win1988: Pittsburgh 52, Navy 6by 46 points
  3. Upset1975: Navy 17, Pittsburgh 0Navy had a 25% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  4. Upset1954: Pittsburgh 21, Navy 19Pittsburgh had a 27% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  5. Upset1961: Pittsburgh 28, Navy 14Pittsburgh had a 33% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  6. Ranked showdown1963: Navy 24, Pittsburgh 12No. 3 Pittsburgh at No. 10 Navy
  7. Ranked showdown1979: Pittsburgh 24, Navy 7No. 17 Navy at No. 12 Pittsburgh
  8. Ranked showdown1978: Navy 21, Pittsburgh 11No. 15 Pittsburgh at No. 18 Navy

Coach against coach

YearsNavySeriesPittsburgh
1961–⁠1964Wayne Hardin2–⁠1–⁠1John Michelosen
1966–⁠1968William Elias3–⁠0Dave Hart
1969–⁠1972Rick Forzano1–⁠3Carl DePasqua
1973–⁠1976George Welsh1–⁠3Johnny Majors
1977–⁠1979George Welsh1–⁠2Jackie Sherrill
1983–⁠1985Gary Tranquill1–⁠1–⁠1Foge Fazio
1987–⁠1989Elliot Uzelac0–⁠3Mike Gottfried

Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Navy’s side (Hardin 2–⁠1–⁠1 against Michelosen). 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 Pittsburgh, 1912 on130015001700192019401960198020002020

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 New-York tribune's story of the 1912 game: Middies Stick to Line Plays and Beat Pittsburgh

    1912 · New-York tribune, New York [N.Y.], Oct 27, 1912

  • The Evening capital and Maryland gazette's story of the 1913 game: PITTSBURGH ELEVEN TARTAR FOR MIDDIES o,.,iro Football Game Of Season a ScoreIess Tie. VISITORS STRONG DEFENSE. Al They Uacorked Clever Variety ,tFsney Plays Navy Contingent Pleased. However,

    1913 · Evening capital and Maryland gazette, Annapolis, Md., Oct 6, 1913

  • The Evening star's story of the 1914 game: TRIMMING FOR NAVY Pittsburgh University Out plays Middies, 13 to 6. HOT CONTEST AL THE. WAY Smoky City Foot Ball Men Play an Open Game, With a Varied Attack.

    1914 · Evening star, Oct 11, 1914

  • The Evening capital and Maryland gazette's story of the 1915 game: NAVY'S WORST DEFEAT IN RECENT YEARS Was Administered in Saturdays Football Game by Pittsburgh Team. SCORE AZ TO IL. The Game Had Spectacular Features Few Crumbs Of Consolation Left to NAVY Contigent

    1915 · Evening capital and Maryland gazette, Oct 11, 1915

  • The Evening star's story of the 1916 game: P|TTDEFEATSNAW BY ONLY ONE POINT Midshipmen Put Up Brilliant Game Against PennsyIvanians Losing, 19 to 20. WHELCHEL STAR OF TEAM

    1916 · Evening star, District of Columbia, Oct 15, 1916

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).

Every game

Dec 28, 201521Navy 44, Pittsburgh 28Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumMilitary Bowl
Oct 26, 2013Navy 24, Pittsburgh 21at Navy
Sep 19, 2009Pittsburgh 27, Navy 14at Pittsburgh
Oct 18, 200823Pittsburgh 42, Navy 21at Navy
Oct 10, 2007Navy 48, Pittsburgh 45at Pittsburgh
Oct 14, 19899Pittsburgh 31, Navy 14at Pittsburgh
Oct 22, 1988Pittsburgh 52, Navy 6at Pittsburgh
Oct 24, 1987Pittsburgh 10, Navy 6at Navy
Oct 25, 1986Pittsburgh 56, Navy 14at Pittsburgh
Oct 26, 1985Navy 21, Pittsburgh 7at Navy
Oct 27, 1984Pittsburgh 28, Navy 28at Pittsburgh
Oct 22, 1983Pittsburgh 21, Navy 14at Navy
Oct 27, 197912Pittsburgh 24, 17Navy 7at Pittsburgh
Oct 28, 197818Navy 21, 15Pittsburgh 11at Navy
Oct 15, 197717Pittsburgh 34, Navy 17at Pittsburgh
Oct 23, 19762Pittsburgh 45, Navy 0at Navy
Oct 25, 1975Navy 17, 17Pittsburgh 0at Pittsburgh
Oct 26, 1974Pittsburgh 13, Navy 11at Navy
Oct 27, 1973Pittsburgh 22, Navy 17at Pittsburgh
Nov 11, 1972Navy 28, Pittsburgh 13at Navy
Oct 9, 1971Pittsburgh 36, Navy 35at Pittsburgh
Oct 10, 1970Pittsburgh 10, Navy 8at Navy
Oct 11, 1969Pittsburgh 46, Navy 19at Pittsburgh
Oct 19, 1968Navy 17, Pittsburgh 16at Navy
Oct 28, 1967Navy 22, Pittsburgh 21at Pittsburgh
Oct 15, 1966Navy 24, Pittsburgh 7at Pittsburgh
Oct 16, 1965Navy 12, Pittsburgh 0Neutral site
Oct 24, 1964Pittsburgh 14, Navy 14at Pittsburgh
Oct 26, 196310Navy 24, 3Pittsburgh 12at Navy
Oct 27, 1962Navy 32, Pittsburgh 9Neutral site
Oct 28, 1961Pittsburgh 28, Navy 14at Pittsburgh
Oct 8, 1955Navy 21, Pittsburgh 0at Navy
Oct 16, 1954Pittsburgh 21, 9Navy 19at Pittsburgh
Nov 17, 1934Pittsburgh 31, Navy 7at Navy
Oct 14, 1933Pittsburgh 34, Navy 6at Pittsburgh
Oct 14, 1916Pittsburgh 20, Navy 19at Navy
Oct 9, 1915Pittsburgh 47, Navy 12at Navy
Oct 10, 1914Pittsburgh 13, Navy 6at Navy
Oct 4, 1913Navy 0, Pittsburgh 0at Navy
Oct 26, 1912Navy 13, Pittsburgh 6at Navy

Every game is listed as played on the field.