Army might have won the conference, but Navy has the opportunity to get the last laugh.
The college football landscape shifted dramatically in 2024 and service academies were no exception. Both Army (11-1) and Navy (8-3) generated early-season buzz for their fast starts to the season as longshots to make the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff bracket.
Navy will welcome the Black Knights to Landover on Saturday in the 125th meeting between the two programs, their first as dueling members of the American Athletic Conference. Nearly just as rare is the timing of each program’s success. Only twice before 2024 have both Army and Navy won eight or more games in a season: 2016 and 1996. The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy isn’t the only thing on the line this year, even with Navy coach Brian Newberry’s players trying to downplay it.
“Every Army-Navy Game has that certain feel to it,” senior linebacker Colin Ramos said at practice Monday. “Yeah, they’ve had a great season. So, that motivates you a little bit. But I think we approach it the same way we have.”
Army, which joined the American Athletic Conference this season to increase its chances at a CFP berth, showed it belonged by going undefeated in conference play before beating Tulane, 35-14, in the league’s championship game on Friday. The Black Knights will be ranked 19th in the country by the Associated Press poll when they take the field Saturday.
While Navy’s hopes of seeing Army in the title game were dashed by late-season losses to Rice and Tulane, the Midshipmen will get a rare crack at their conference champion. Conference title games are typically the final contests held between inter-conference foes with bowl games pitting unrelated teams against each other, but the unique status of the Army-Navy Game creates an exception in the schedule.
Because of that quirk, Army was able to clinch the AAC title without having to go through Navy. A win Saturday won’t change the final standings, but after Army started 8-0 and Navy began 6-0, a win for either team will go down as a signature victory supporting their impressive 2024 campaigns. The expanded playoff isn’t going anywhere and, in an era when a committee of athletic directors, media members and former coaches and players decides who makes it, a lasting memory could go a long way in helping their bid next year.
“The excitement’s there,” Navy junior fullback Alex Tecza said. “Earlier in the season, we were both undefeated and all those posts, seeing those on Instagram and whatnot, Twitter, I think that just builds the juice. It builds the hype. I’m just super excited. It’s gonna be fun.”
Though Navy’s stumbles in November cost them an AP Top 25 ranking, the Midshipmen have stabilized while quarterback Blake Horvath dodged a major rib injury. The junior signal caller is expected to be under center Saturday after missing the Nov. 29 contest at East Carolina, setting up an intriguing quarterback duel with AAC Offensive Player of the Year Bryson Daily taking snaps for Army.
The Black Knights enter the game on a two-game winning streak against Navy, last falling to the Midshipmen when this year’s seniors were freshmen in 2021. The rivalry will always hold a special meaning for those connected to either military branch, but the weight this year’s contest holds is the greatest it’s been in years.
“Both teams [are] coming in with a lot of momentum, having our best seasons of the past few years,” Navy senior cornerback Deshaun Peele said. “I would say it’s definitely more juice with this game. But we don’t want to treat it like something it isn’t. At the end of the day, it’s just another one of our games for us.”
125th Army-Navy Game
Saturday, 3 p.m.
at Northwest Stadium, Landover
TV: CBS
Radio: 1430 AM
Line: Army by 6 1/2
©2024 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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