Navy vs. Air Force Preview: Midshipmen Seek Third Straight Win Amid Road Struggles

Air Force and Navy will meet for the 59th time on Saturday afternoon, and the Midshipmen are looking for their third consecutive win over the Falcons. In order to do that, Navy will have to overcome some recent road struggles.

The schedule hasn't been kind to Navy in the first month of the season. The Midshipmen defeated Towson at home in Week 1, and they haven't played in Annapolis since. This is the third consecutive road game for Navy, and the team's journey has taken it from Boca Raton to Birmingham to Colorado Springs. The Midshipmen have lost their first two road games, so they're trying to end this stretch on a high note, but there are injury questions at quarterback.

Air Force, on the other hand, just notched a huge Mountain West road win over Nevada. The Falcons ran for 363 yards in that game while quarterback Liam Szarka totaled 261 yards and three touchdowns. Air Force will need more of that against Navy if it's going to snap its two-game skid against Navy and a tough stretch in service academy matchups generally.

This should be another tightly contested matchup between the service academies, so tune in to CBS at noon ET on Saturday to catch all the action.

College football picks: Predictions against the spread, odds, betting lines for top 25 games in Week 5

Brandon Marcello

Navy vs. Air Force: Need to know

Navy struggling on the road: The Midshipmen haven't fared well away from Annapolis lately. They're 1-4 in their last four road games, with the only win coming against Memphis on Nov. 27 of last year. This road-weary Navy squad needs to regroup this weekend because another loss would mean a 1-3 start. The good news for the Midshipmen is that they have one true road game in their next six contests after this matchup with Air Force.

Air Force's service academy losing streak: The Falcons haven't fared well in their last Commander-in-Chief's Trophy games. They're 0-5 in that stretch, and their last win came against Navy all the way back in 2023. Both losses last season were of the agonizing variety as Air Force lost to Navy and Army by a combined six points. Can it get one or two more plays against Navy on Saturday? That's certainly the hope for Troy Calhoun.

Braxton Woodson banged up: Navy quarterback Braxton Woodson suffered a sprained ankle in Week 2, and he hasn't seen any meaningful action since then. Woodson did suit up and go through warmups with the Midshipmen last week, but he only made a brief cameo appearance in the game itself. Perhaps that's a good sign Woodson will return to handle starting duties against Air Force. If not, Jackson Gutierrez will get the nod for the second consecutive game.

Where to watch Navy vs. Air Force live

Date: Saturday, October 3 | Time: 12 p.m. ET

Location: Falcon Stadium -- Colorado Springs, Colorado

TV: CBS | Live stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App

Streaming on Paramount+ Premium

Navy vs. Air Force prediction, picks

Is there any question about what the pick will be here? As I'm sure my colleague Tom Fornelli will point out on the "Cover 3 Podcast," the under is 56-15-4 in service academy matchups since 2001. These two teams love to run the football, and that clock will be winding all afternoon. Take the under and hope we don't get too many explosive plays or defensive touchdowns. Pick: Under 46.5