As the dust settles from over the weekend, college football and fans impatiently wait for the clock to strike at 2:00 P.M. every Monday afternoon. Reason? AP Polls. Week 9 mania wrapped up with its fair share of upsets, celebrations, and more upsets. And the latest rankings just touched a frayed nerve once again.

Over the weeks, we have had discussions regarding underdogs who haven’t received due recognition. Remember how David Pollack struck a chord on Kalani Sitake’s program? Adding to that list. Count the Navy as well, whose 7-0 winning streak into the season, and how there hasn’t been much chatter about it. Neither on the podcasts nor on the panels. To their disappointment, they were snubbed from the AP polls as well.

However, with the Navy’s unscathed 7-0 record, they couldn’t climb into the top 25 teams across the nation. Of the 60 voters ranking their 25 best teams on a 1-25 point system, Navy received a total of 86 points, while the No. 25th-ranked Memphis received 130 points.

The Navy competes in the American Athletic Conference and boasts an undefeated record within the conference matchups and a 2-0 record in road games.

Over the season, the Navy Midshipmen have been undefeated so far. CFB journalists vote the AP poll rankings, not only based on the W/L record but also on the strength of the schedule and the margin of victory. Even though the Navy is undefeated in ACC, they have yet to face a ranked opponent. Edging out the VMI Keydets, UAB Blazers, Tulsa Golden Hurricane, Rice Owls, Air Force Falcons, Temple Owls, and Florida Atlantic Owls. But they haven’t found much mention in the CFB conversations, have they?

Quarterback Blake Horvath, so far, has recorded 1,063 yards for seven touchdowns along with an additional 12 rushed TDs. He has completed 60-93 attempts, with a QB rating of 72.0. Following the weekend’s victory over Florida Atlantic, the Washington Post further added, “The Mids also won for the 77th straight time when leading through three quarters, adding to the longest streak in the country.” The great streak is still not enough for now.

As per ESPN, the Midshipmen have an FPI of -2.4. The Football Power Index is a measure of team strength, which further acts as the best predictor of the programs’ performance further down the season. Ohio State has an FPI of 27.1. According to the AP guidelines, the voters are “urged to base their votes on performance, not reputation or preseason speculation; to avoid regional bias, for or against; to pay attention to head-to-head results; and to make significant changes if desired,” as stated on the AP News official website.

But fans, who are usually excited for the AP Poll release, are not thrilled with the Navy not being included in the Top 25.

Calls mount against AP polls for the Navy snub

This isn’t a lone episode of outcry. Back in January this year, the Navy was excluded from the final AP 25 rankings. A 10-3 record, with a four-year streak under the .500 mark, they had an impressive 2024 run. This season again, they have been subbed off the list in the post-week 9 AP poll. One netizen commented. “Leaving undefeated NAVY out of the Top 25 is about as UnAmerican as it gets.” The fans are frustrated, and it seems kinda obvious.

As expected, Ohio State topped the charts, followed by Indiana, Aggies, and so on. Another X user commented under the post. “What more does Navy need to do?” Behind Texas A&M, the programs listed below have incurred one or more losses in the season. An individual commented,” Hilarious that @NavyFB isn’t in the top 25 at 7-0. #RollGoats.” Last week’s polls had the same issue.

After week 8, only six teams were undefeated. Texas A&M (7-0), BYU (7-0), Georgia Tech (7-0), Navy (6-0), Ohio State (7-0), and Indiana (7-0). But only one of them was unranked. No points for guessing, it was the Midshipmen program. Even their alum was upset. That’s why a fan commented and raised the pertinent question. “Will Navy ever get ranked?” This season, they are continuing to break old records.

Navy last won 10 straight in 1959-60 and is 7-0 for the first time since ’78. When the efforts for the program are not recognized, definitely the fans will raise an issue. One individual further took it up a notch and tagged analyst Josh Pate over the Navy snub. “@JoshPateCFB not very American of AP poll voters leaving out Navy.” Pate regularly shares his takes on the AP Poll rankings and every development happening in college football on his show, ‘Josh Pate’s College Football Show.’

The series of questioning continued. Another one wrote, “Where are Navy, Iowa, and Washington???” Iowa and Washington have a 6-2 record through the season. For Navy fans, there could be a silver lining. After week 7, they only had 11 receiving votes from the AP poll. Despite still being outside the top 25, the votes have increased significantly to 86.