Navy fullback Alex Tecza (46) celebrates his touchdown against Charlotte during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Annapolis, Md. (Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Nick Wass)
While upsets, a generational running back and the new playoff format have been the storylines that have swept the college football world this season, one has stood out to me more than the rest: Army and Navy are in this year’s playoff race.
To give a little history lesson for those who are not familiar with the Armed Forces football programs, the two play what is arguably the best rivalry in all of American sports. After conference championship week, they meet at a neutral field surrounded by cadets and play an hour of rough and tumble-football. The rivalry game always has beautiful uniform combinations, with each school paying homage to some aspect of the U.S. military, often outside the school’s usual color combinations.
Usually, the game is meaningless. Traditionally the two are duking it out to attempt to make a bowl game, but this year, the armed forces are dominating college football.
Entering Week 8 of the college football season, both Army and Navy are ranked in the top 25 and sitting pretty with the Black Knights at 7-0 and the Midshipmen at 6-0.
Last week, the two became ranked for the first time this season. The historical significance is that both Army and Navy are ranked in the same AP Top 25 for the first time since 1960.
The two play some of the most complex, ridiculous, well-orchestrated football in the sport right now. The Midshipmen and Black Knights barely throw the ball at all and instead ram a diverse package of run plays into their opponent’s throat the entire game until their spirit breaks.
What makes the Army-Navy rivalry game incredible is that both do the same thing, running the ball with trickery and explosiveness and then whipping out a pass every 10th play, attempting to catch the opponent off guard. They do it all game with the score ending usually in the mid to high… teens.
It’s fantastic and I hope it never changes.
Both teams have dominant quarterbacks, but not in the traditional sense… Army’s senior quarterback Bryson Daily has passed for only 629 yards and seven touchdowns on the year but has run the ball for 909 yards and 19 TOUCHDOWNS.
NINETEEN!
The guy is on pace for 33 regular-season rushing touchdowns.
Navy’s junior quarterback Blake Horvath isn’t much different, passing for 888 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 654 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Army averages a mind-boggling 54 rush attempts per game and has racked up a ridiculous 2,568 rushing yards on the season with 16 different rushers, nearly 600 yards more than the second-best rushing offense, UCF. The Black Knights have churned out those dominating rushing games into 31 touchdowns on the season.
Navy is not far behind, sitting with the seventh-best rushing offense with 1,649 yards in one fewer game, still averaging a whopping 46 rush attempts a game.
While the box score for the two’s rushing games is incredibly impressive, the scoreboards are even crazier. They might as well pilot the tanks and aircraft carriers they’re learning to use on the field, decimating their American Athletic Conference opponents en route to victory.
The Black Knights are outscoring their opponents by an average of over 28 points, while the Midshipmen are winning by an average of around 25 points.
Navy got into a shootout earlier this year with one of the AAC pre-season favorites in Memphis, beating them 56-44. The Midshipmen have a massive chance to prove they are legit later this week, taking on No. 12 Notre Dame at MetLife Stadium.
Army will also get the chance to take down Notre Dame as the two meet at Yankee Stadium on November 23.
With the AAC looking lackluster, there is a very real possibility that the two go undefeated throughout conference play, which would result in a conference championship game the week before Army-Navy week.
It is quite boring that the traditional rivalry game won’t end up having CFP implications unless played in the AAC championship. To be perfectly honest, the two being in the same conference for the first time ever and possibly playing in the conference championship game has made their rivalry week much less special.
Even though the normal rivalry won’t have the same implications, these two meeting in a conference championship game would still be electric with possibly a playoff berth on the line.
It wouldn’t be the same as meeting at a neutral field surrounded by the future of our military, but a game where the winner would be immortalized as one of the first members of the 12-team playoff would be incredible.
This year, two of the mightiest and most honorable rivals in college football are playing for even more. If they meet in the AAC championship game, we could see an undefeated Army or Navy duking it out with the likes of Georgia, Tennessee or LSU in the playoff.
Nothing more American than the Army vs the SEC playing in the CFP.
“And I’m proud to be an American. Where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died
who gave that right to me and I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today. Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land. God Bless the U.S.A.”- Lee Greenwood.
“God Bless the U.S.A.”
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