Army-Navy happens Saturday in a game featuring two bowl-bound teams with a combined 19 wins – and a spirit of competition that’s among the most recognizable in sports.
Army’s football team won the American Athletic Conference championship in its first year in the league, rolling past Tulane 35-14 on Dec. 6. The Black Knights will take an 11-1 record and the No. 22 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings into the Dec. 28 Independence Bowl against Marshall.
Meanwhile, fellow service academy Navy is 8-3 and has a date with Oklahoma on Dec. 27 in the Armed Forces Bowl. But neither team is looking back this week. Both are fully focused on what is the biggest game on their schedule each season – and what is one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports: the Army-Navy game presented by USAA. And for the first time in the history of the game, a veteran service organization is a sponsor. The American Legion has taken on an associate sponsorship this year and will have several activities related to the game happening this weekend, including promotion of its Be the One veteran suicide prevention program.
On the field, the two teams will meet at 3 p.m. ET at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., on Dec. 14 in a game again nationally televised by CBS. The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy is at stake, to be clinched by the winner for the first time since 2017.
“It was a big game on Friday night. A big victory for our team. Certainly a source of pride for our program,” said Army coach Jeff Monken during his weekly press conference. “But there is no bigger game in the world than this one. This game rolls around each year, and we have an opportunity to talk about this rivalry and talk about this game and what it’s like. It’s almost indescribable: the intensity on each play of this game. And I’m certain this Saturday will be no different.”
It's the same feeling for his counterpart. “This is the most exciting time of the year for us,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said during the game’s media day event. “Obviously, winning the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, this game, is our most important goal in our program. Something that we talk about year-round.
“For me, it’s an honor and a privilege just to be a part of it. It’s a great responsibility. Obviously, I want to make sure we’re as prepared as well as we possibly can be. And I feel like we are.”
The two teams enter the game with the most combined wins in the rivalry’s 125 years and the best winning percentage since 1945, when Navy was 7-1-1 and Army finished 9-0 while capping back-to-back Associated Press national championships.
Army comes in having only lost to No. 5 Notre Dame and presents challenges on both sides of the ball. The Black Knights rank first nationally in rushing offense (314.4 yards per game), 10th in total defense (297.9) and seventh in scoring defense (15.0).
Record-setting quarterback Bryson Daily ran for a school-record 29 touchdowns this season and accounted for a record 37 scores. He’s rushed for 1,480 yards and completed 45-of-78 passes for 877 yards and eight TDs.
Running back Kanye Udoh also went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark this season, while slotback Noah Short has a combined 846 yards rushing and receiving. He and wide receiver Casey Reynolds both average more than 19.5 yards per catch.
“The offensive line is very good, very physical up front. The quarterback’s a special player. They’ve got really good skill around him as well. It’s going to be a great challenge to defend them,” Newberry said. “I think the biggest difference for them offensively this year is when they have in rare occasions gotten behind the sticks, they’re able to get themselves out of those situations, converting on third down at a high clip, and third and long, which for an academy team is a little bit unusual.”
Defensively, Army’s stout defense is led by linebackers Andon Thomas (88 tackles), Kalib Fortner (66 tackles) and Elo Modozie (5.5 sacks). Safety Casey Larkin has four interceptions along with his 42 tackles.
“They’re a top-10 defense in the country,” Newberry said. “They’re the most complete, well-rounded Army football team, best Army football team I’ve seen since I’ve been here. I got here in 2019 (as the defensive coordinator).
“We’ve got to be even keeled, understand there’s going to be some ups and downs during the course of the game. There’s going to be some adversity. You’ve got to welcome that and move onto the next play.”
Navy is led by quarterback Blake Horvath, who missed his last game due to an injury but will be back this weekend. Horvath has rushed for 895 yards and 13 touchdowns while also passing for 1,154 yards and 11 TDs. He’s averaging 16.7 yards per completion, relying often on slotback Eli Heidenreich (36 catches, 597 yards, five scores).
Heidenreich also has rushed for 402 yards, while fullback Alex Tecza (501 yards, seven TDs) provides the yards up the middle.
“Offensively, what (Navy offensive coordinator Drew Cronic) has done with the offense is so different. Really a break from what traditionally has been done at academies with the offense,” Monken said. “He still has a lot of the option elements, a lot of the same option elements we incorporate. But then, being able to spread teams out, and the misdirection plays they have the flood routes with multiple receivers. Hiding guys. They’re just really good at what they do.”
The Midshipmen are led on defense by linebackers Colin Ramos (110 tackles, three sacks) and Kyle Jacobs (84 tackles, three interceptions), while cornerback Dashaun Peele adds 39 tackles and four interceptions.
“Defensively they are a really good football team, and they have been for many years,” Monken said. “They’re tough to execute against. Active, fast. Play hard. And they’ve got good players.”
Although Navy leads the series 62-55-7, Army has won six of the past eight games. But five of those six games have been one-score victories, as was Navy’s in 2021.
“This will be my 11th year at Army, and every (Army-Navy Game) just seems like it’s been a slugfest,” Monken said. “There’s been some great battles, some really close games. I’m anticipating a game very much like that, that it’s just going to be blow for blow. There’ll be one team standing at the end.”
And once again, it won’t be just a football game that those who watched have witnessed.
“It’s a special game. It’s a celebration of our armed forces,” Newberry said. “These young men, they’re going to serve and lead in our armed forces when they’re done here. For us to represent ourselves in the right way and make people proud to watch us on the field and the way we play the game is very important.”
Monken said whoever wins will remember that feeling for a long time after the game ends. “For our senior class, the opportunity for them to leave here with a victory in this game … is a source of pride they’ll carry with them for a lifetime,” he said. “I hope we’re able to get there and get to the victory circle. I’m certain that the other team is feeling the same way, and they want to do the same for their seniors and their team. That’s what makes it such an incredible rivalry.
“This rivalry, it transcends the boundaries of just one season … and I guess just this week. It is 365 days a year. And it’s the same for the other team.”
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