Maryland Showdown in Annapolis: Navy Opens 2026 Season Against Towson
Two Maryland football programs meet Saturday afternoon when the Towson Tigers make the short trip to Annapolis to face the Navy Midshipmen at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
For Navy, Saturday represents the beginning of a new chapter following an outstanding 2025 season. For Towson, it represents an immediate opportunity to respond after a heartbreaking opening-week loss and potentially produce one of the biggest wins of the Pete Shinnick era.
Maryland Sports Blog covers both programs, and there are plenty of reasons for fans on both sides to be interested in this matchup.
The matchup
Towson Tigers (0-1, 0-1 CAA) at Navy Midshipmen (0-0, 0-0 American)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland
TV: CBS Sports Network
The schools have met only once previously in football.
Navy defeated Towson 41-13 in Annapolis on Aug. 30, 2008. That game became memorable in Navy history when Shun White rushed for a then-school-record 348 yards on only 19 carries while scoring on runs of 33, 87 and 73 yards.
Navy totaled 558 rushing yards that afternoon.
Eighteen years later, the programs finally meet again.
Towson already battle-tested
Towson has something Navy does not have entering Saturday: a full game of live experience in 2026.
The Tigers opened their season Aug. 27 against Maine at Johnny Unitas Stadium and found themselves trailing 21-0 late in the second quarter.
Instead of folding, Towson responded.
The Tigers scored the final 18 points and had multiple opportunities in the fourth quarter to take the lead before ultimately falling 21-18.
Towson actually outgained Maine 379-329. The Tigers accumulated 267 passing yards and limited the Black Bears to 199 through the air.
Two turnovers proved costly, including a fumble on Towson’s final possession.
The loss was disappointing, but the second half gave Shinnick and his staff plenty to build on entering Annapolis.
Andrew Indorf could be a major factor
Sophomore quarterback Andrew Indorf is one of the biggest reasons Towson should enter Saturday believing it can move the football.
Indorf completed 15 of 21 passes against Maine for 267 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
That is an average of more than 12 yards per passing attempt.
It was also his fifth career game with at least 200 passing yards.
Towson cannot expect to consistently win at the line of scrimmage against Navy simply by trying to run directly into the Midshipmen defense. Indorf’s ability to create explosive plays through the air gives Towson another avenue.
If Navy commits extra defenders toward stopping the run, Indorf must make the Midshipmen pay.
If he can duplicate the efficiency he showed against Maine while protecting the football, Towson has a chance to make this game uncomfortable for Navy deep into the afternoon.
Cleveland Charlton gives Towson a major downfield threat
The player Navy’s secondary must locate immediately is Cleveland Charlton.
The 6-foot-5 redshirt sophomore made his first career Towson start against Maine and immediately delivered a breakout performance.
Charlton caught four passes for 136 yards and a touchdown.
Two of his receptions went for more than 50 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown pass from Indorf during Towson’s comeback.
At 6-foot-5, Charlton presents exactly the type of matchup that can cause problems on the outside.
Towson does not necessarily need 10 or 12 catches from Charlton. What the Tigers need are explosive plays.
A couple of 30-, 40- or 50-yard completions can completely change field position and prevent Navy from controlling the game with long offensive possessions.
Charlton could be Towson’s biggest offensive X-factor Saturday.
Kemarrion Battles gives Towson balance
Towson also showed it can run the football.
Sophomore Kemarrion Battles carried 18 times for 89 yards against Maine, averaging just under five yards per carry.
Battles played in all 12 games as a freshman in 2025 and rushed for 374 yards and three touchdowns while adding 138 receiving yards.
His workload appears ready to increase significantly this season.
Battles also showed his value as a receiver against Maine, catching two passes for 59 yards.
That versatility becomes particularly important against Navy because Towson must avoid becoming predictable.
Screens, swing passes and checkdowns to Battles could become an effective way to slow Navy’s defensive pressure and get one of Towson’s best athletes into space.
Towson’s biggest offensive key: stay on schedule
Towson cannot afford repeated second-and-12 or third-and-long situations.
Navy’s defense traditionally thrives when it can force opponents into obvious passing situations and bring pressure from different areas.
That means the Tigers need positive yardage on first down.
Battles does not necessarily need to rush for 150 yards, but Towson needs its running game to remain credible enough to keep Navy from completely focusing on Indorf.
The Tigers also need to protect the football.
Towson’s comeback against Maine ultimately stalled because of turnovers. Against an opponent that wants to control possession, giving Navy additional drives could be devastating.
Towson defense faces a completely different challenge
Preparing for Navy is unlike preparing for almost anyone else on Towson’s schedule.
The Midshipmen’s option-based offense forces defenders to remain disciplined on every snap.
One defender takes the quarterback.
Another handles the dive.
Another must account for the pitch.
One missed assignment can turn what appears to be a three-yard run into a 50-yard touchdown.
Towson defensive coordinator Darian Dulin has some background dealing with service-academy concepts. Navy’s own game notes point out that Dulin was Abilene Christian’s defensive coordinator when the Wildcats played Air Force in 2016.
That familiarity could help, but execution will matter far more than familiarity.
Bryan Lodge, Seth Chestnut and the Towson defense
Towson had several defenders stand out against Maine.
Linebackers Seth Chestnut and Jaydyn Johnson finished with seven tackles apiece, with Chestnut contributing 1.5 tackles for loss.
Defensive back Marquis Cooper broke up two passes.
Navy presents a completely different assignment.
Towson’s linebackers will be tested constantly by misdirection, motion and option reads. The Tigers must tackle well because missed tackles against Navy frequently become explosive runs.
The defensive line also has to resist the temptation to chase the football.
Assignment discipline will be everything.
Navy enters 2026 with expectations
Navy is coming off one of the finest seasons in recent program history.
The Midshipmen finished 11-2 in 2025, ranked No. 23 in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls.
Navy won the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy, defeated Army, won the Lambert Trophy as the best team in the East and beat Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl.
The Midshipmen averaged 31.5 points and 415.6 yards per game.
Even more impressive was Navy’s ground attack.
The Midshipmen averaged 285.6 rushing yards per game while averaging 5.8 yards per attempt and scoring 41 rushing touchdowns.
Navy returns 12 starters and 46 letter winners from that team.
The program also received votes in both major preseason polls, showing that expectations remain substantial in Annapolis.
But this is a different Navy offense
This is one of the most important parts of Saturday’s game.
Fans should not expect to simply see the same Navy offense that dominated stretches of the 2025 season.
Blake Horvath is gone after producing one of the great quarterback seasons in school history.
Horvath rushed for 1,200 yards and 16 touchdowns last season while throwing for 1,580 yards and 12 scores.
Navy also lost two exceptional offensive weapons in Eli Heidenreich and Alex Tecza, who have since continued their football careers with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tecza finished his Navy career with 2,236 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns.
That is an enormous amount of production walking out the door.
Saturday will provide the first real look at how Navy intends to replace it.
It is Braxton Woodson’s offense now
Senior quarterback Braxton Woodson enters the season as Navy’s starter.
Woodson has been waiting for this opportunity.
He has appeared in games throughout his career and has already started three times, so he is not an inexperienced player suddenly being thrown into the position.
Woodson rushed 44 times for 414 yards and six touchdowns last season.
That is an incredible 9.4 yards per carry.
Against VMI, Woodson rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns on only seven attempts.
Against South Florida, he rushed nine times for 103 yards with touchdown runs of 64 and 20 yards.
He also started against Notre Dame, rushing 23 times for 101 yards and a touchdown.
For his Navy career, Woodson enters 2026 with 760 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
Now he gets the opportunity to run the offense full time.
Woodson’s explosiveness changes the equation
Towson’s first responsibility will be defending Navy’s option assignments correctly.
The second will be preventing Woodson from reaching the second level.
Woodson has already demonstrated that he can turn a crease into a long touchdown.
Towson’s safeties cannot become spectators.
If Woodson gets through the first wave of defenders, the Tigers need someone waiting to prevent a 20-yard gain from becoming a 60-yard touchdown.
Navy will test Towson’s discipline repeatedly.
The Tigers may defend the option correctly eight consecutive times. The ninth snap can still become a touchdown if one player loses his assignment.
Vic Listorti gets his opportunity
Senior running back Vic Listorti is another name Towson fans should know.
Listorti entered fall camp listed first on Navy’s running back depth chart after injuries severely limited his 2025 season.
He played only five games and had three carries for 17 yards after dealing with a hamstring injury.
Listorti entered this season on the Comeback Player of the Year watch list.
With Tecza gone, Navy needs someone to become a dependable presence in the middle of its ground game.
Saturday could provide the first indication that Listorti is ready to become that player.
Navy still has plenty of experience
This is not a total rebuild.
Woodson is a senior.
Senior safety Giuseppe Sessi joins Woodson as a team captain.
Senior offensive lineman Hoke Smith is a position captain, while Coleman Cauley provides veteran leadership at linebacker.
Navy also returns experienced defenders such as Ira Oniha and Phillip Hamilton.
The Midshipmen may be replacing superstar production, but they are not replacing the entire team.
There are veteran players throughout the roster who spent last season inside an 11-win program.
That matters.
Navy offensive line could be a major advantage
Perhaps the least glamorous but most significant advantage Navy possesses is its offensive line.
The unit entered the preseason highly regarded nationally, and Navy’s system depends on its offensive line playing with precision and consistency.
Towson has to avoid getting physically worn down.
If Navy repeatedly earns four, five or six yards on first down, the Midshipmen can essentially run their entire playbook.
That allows Woodson to operate the option, creates opportunities for Listorti inside and eventually sets up play-action passes over the top.
For Towson, winning first down defensively might be the most important statistic in the game.
Navy cannot overlook Towson
The biggest danger for Navy may be assuming this game will take care of itself.
Towson already had its wake-up call.
The Tigers fell behind Maine 21-0 and spent the rest of the evening fighting their way back.
Navy has not played a game yet.
That means Towson could conceivably be sharper during the opening quarter.
The Tigers have already experienced full-speed tackling, quarterback pressure, special teams, fourth-down decisions and fourth-quarter football.
Navy has only practiced.
If the Midshipmen start slowly and Towson hits a couple of explosive passes, this could become a much different game than expected.
Towson’s path to an upset
Towson absolutely has a path to making this competitive.
It starts with Indorf.
If he protects the football and connects with Charlton for explosive plays, Towson can move the ball without needing to sustain 15-play drives.
Battles must provide enough production on the ground to keep Navy honest.
Defensively, Towson needs to force Navy behind schedule and create third-and-long situations.
Most importantly, the Tigers cannot give Navy extra possessions.
A realistic upset formula would look something like this: win the turnover battle, hit several explosive passes, force Navy to punt four or five times and stay within one possession entering the fourth quarter.
If Towson accomplishes those things, pressure begins shifting toward the home team.
Navy’s path to victory
Navy’s formula is simpler.
Control the line of scrimmage.
Run the football.
Control the clock.
Make Towson defend the option for four quarters.
Woodson does not need to replicate Horvath immediately. He simply needs to make the correct reads, protect the football and use his explosiveness when opportunities develop.
If Navy establishes the run and begins producing drives of eight, nine or 10 plays, it can shorten the game and leave Towson’s offense watching from the sideline.
That would put tremendous pressure on Indorf to score every time he gets the football.
Five keys to the game
1. Towson’s explosive passing game vs. Navy’s secondary
Charlton averaged 34 yards per reception against Maine. Navy cannot allow multiple deep completions.
2. Towson’s option discipline
This is probably the biggest matchup of the afternoon. Every Tigers defender must know his assignment.
3. Braxton Woodson
Navy’s new starting quarterback has already flashed big-play ability. Now we see what the offense looks like with him running the show from the opening snap.
4. Turnovers
Towson had two turnovers against Maine. Navy’s style makes every possession valuable. The Tigers cannot repeat that.
5. The first quarter
Towson already has game experience. Navy does not. An early Tigers touchdown could create immediate pressure inside Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
MSB Take
This is exactly the type of game Maryland Sports Blog should be excited to cover because there is something meaningful on both sidelines.
For Navy, Saturday begins the process of proving that last season was not simply the result of one exceptional group of players.
Horvath, Heidenreich and Tecza were special. Replacing them will not happen with one player. Woodson, Listorti and several others now get an opportunity to establish their own identities.
Navy still has enough returning experience to expect another successful season, but Saturday is the first test.
Towson should not view this trip as simply an opportunity to collect an FBS paycheck and move on.
The Tigers showed something against Maine.
Falling behind 21-0 and scoring the next 18 points demonstrated toughness. Indorf looked dangerous. Charlton emerged as a legitimate deep threat. Battles gave the offense balance.
Now Towson has to eliminate the mistakes that prevented the comeback from becoming a victory.
Navy should be favored. The Midshipmen are at home, have more FBS-level depth and are coming off an 11-win season.
But Towson has enough offensive talent to make this interesting, particularly if Navy experiences some early-season growing pains while transitioning to Woodson at quarterback.
For Navy, this is about beginning another run toward the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy and American Conference contention.
For Towson, this is an opportunity to make a statement that could completely change the feeling surrounding its season.
Either way, Maryland gets a rare in-state football matchup Saturday afternoon, and MSB will be following both sides.
Prediction
Navy’s depth, offensive line and rushing attack should eventually become the difference, especially as Towson’s defense spends more time dealing with the option.
However, Towson’s passing attack gives the Tigers a legitimate chance to land some punches.
Expect Indorf and Charlton to create at least a couple of explosive plays and keep Towson competitive early before Navy begins controlling the line of scrimmage.
Prediction: Navy 34, Towson 21
