College Football
Army-Navy Game Preview
The Army-Navy Game will feature the 119th game in the series of this historic rivalry. Three years ago Army finally beat Navy to end the Midshipmen’s 14-game winning streak in the series. Now, the Black Knights have a two-game winning streak in the series and are on the verge of their second straight 10 win season. On the other hand, Navy is 3-9 and hopeful to play spoiler to Army’s season. Who wins the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy this year?
Triple Option Day
There is no secret at what offense shows up for the Army-Navy Game: Triple Option football. Both squads are going to run the ball down each other’s throat and hope they catch the opposing squad sleeping for a big gain or touchdown. Neither squad is going to air it out except to keep the opposing defense honest. Assignment football for both squads is mandatory.
Defense
Army has the better of the defenses on paper. The Black Knights are allowing just over 300 yards a game (194 passing, 107 rushing) on defense. Navy is allowing over 438 yards a game (249 passing, 189 rushing). This will be all about the trench battles in this game. The team with more leverage in the trenches will win and you have to like Army’s odds for winning when looking at the numbers.
Traditions
The Army-Navy Game has many traditions. One of the most noticeable is at the end of the game the teams come together and sing to the losing team’s side first then the winning team’s fans after. This is known as “Honoring the Fallen.” According to Blake Stilwell of the We Are The Mighty website, “it’s a simple act of respectful sportsmanship that reminds everyone they’re on the same side.” I highly recommend checking out his article on the traditions of the Army-Navy Game that will interest most college football fans.
Prediction
Honestly, this game could go either way. Army clearly enters as the favorite based off of the win-lose column, but Navy isn’t going to be an easy out. On paper, Army has the better defense and even took Oklahoma to the wire earlier this year. The game has been decided by seven points or less the previous four meetings, but I think this year Army wins by 10!
Final Score: Army 31 Navy 21
Photo credit to Michael Smith via Flickr
