It was only a matter of time before Navy made its presence felt in The American.
The Midshipmen (7-1) barged their way into the Associated Press top 25 this week for the first time since 2004, landing at No. 22 in the AP and No. 23 in the USA Today coaches' poll after they cruised by nationally ranked conference rival Memphis, 45-20, last Saturday before a crowd of 55,212 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
The impressive road victory made a powerful statement to the voters, who had only given the Midshipmen one vote the week before.