Only One Way To Play Navy Vs. Army

Navy vs. Army, 3:00 ET

Rivalries are buried deep into our blood. Whether we like it because we went to a school and were told to hate their rival, or because of some other made up reason, rivalries provide an extra interest in a game. With so many storied histories of teams and matchups, we might lose focus of today's matchup. However, this game is one of the premier rivalries because of so many great men and women who have worn the uniforms these schools have off of the field. We've reached that time of the year where we get the Navy vs. Army game. 

This game has been going on since 1890. 1890! There have been 124 meetings as of December 2023 and that puts us at this being the 125th matchup between the two. Navy comes into this game with an 8-3 record. Navy spent a bit of time in the top 25 rankings. They won the first six games of their season, but didn't really face anyone that was all that significant. In fact, their only ranked matchups this season saw them get embarrassed. They were crushed by Notre Dame on a neutral field, losing the game 51-14. They then lost 35-0 to Tulane, who was ranked 25th in the nation at the time. The team still relies on running the ball to get their work done, having rushed the ball 506 times compared to throwing just 157 times. Their quarterback is their primary running option with Blake Horvath rushing the ball 133 times for almost 900 yards and 13 touchdowns. Horvath also has thrown for 11 touchdowns this season. He does have four interceptions for the season, with three of them coming in the past four games. Horvath missed most of the game against Tulane and missed the most recent game for the Navy. I believe he will be in this one. 

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 11: Xavier Arline #7 of the Navy Midshipmen runs with the ball against the UAB Blazers at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on November 11, 2023 in Annapolis, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)

Army is currently ranked as the 22nd team in the nation which isn't actually super surprising considering that most teams this season seemed to have been ranked at one point and moved up and down in the standings. Army comes into the game with an 11-1 record. They lost to Notre Dame as well, and it was a fairly similar fashion, losing 49-14. They haven't beaten any officially ranked opponent, but they did take down Tulane, so they beat one of the opponents that took out Navy. This team is also going to run the ball as often as possible. They've rushed the ball 661 times this year compared to throwing the ball just 97 times. Their primary option is quarterback Bryson Daily who ran for 1,480 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also has tossed eight touchdown passes on just 45 completions. 

This game has two teams that want to run the ball as much as possible. That typically means that the clock will run the entire time and result in lower scoring. We know that both teams are going to rush constantly, but I do think they have a chance to mix in a few passes to throw off their opponent a bit. The total is just 39.5, but the teams haven't scored 40 points in a game against each other since 2013. I'll back the under here. Even with good offenses, I don't see it going over. 

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