The 125th meeting between No. 22 Army and Navy will mean a little more for both teams when they collide on Saturday in Landover, Md.
For the first time in seven years, whichever team wins the game will also secure the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, the annual prize awarded to the school with the best record in inter-service academy play.
The Midshipmen (8-3) took the first step toward securing the hardware on Oct. 5, when they traveled to Air Force and trounced the Falcons 34-7. The Black Knights (11-1) followed suit on Nov. 2, churning out a 20-3 home win over Air Force despite playing without star quarterback Bryson Daily.
Army won the trophy last year and has enjoyed a historically successful campaign this season, their first in the American Athletic Conference.
The Black Knights marched to their first 9-0 start since 1996 and won all eight of their conference games before routing Tulane 35-14 in the AAC title game last Friday in West Point, N.Y.
Army has already matched a program record with its 11 wins and is headed to the Independence Bowl to face Marshall on Dec. 28, but the Black Knights’ season largely hinges on Saturday’s result.
“No matter what kind of a season we’ve had, losing this game makes the season a bit of a disappointment,” Army coach Jeff Monken said.
Monken’s squad has thrived behind Daily, whose 1,480 rushing yards lead the nation’s top ground attack (314.4 yards per game). Daily’s 29 rushing touchdowns are tied with Boise State running back and Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty for the most in college football.
The Black Knights have smothered opponents to just 15.0 points per game, the seventh-fewest in the nation. Andon Thomas is the unit’s top tackler (83), while fellow linebacker Kalib Fortner has a team-high 8.5 tackles for loss.
Army will dig in against a new-look Navy offense that has keyed the program’s turnaround after four straight losing seasons.
Like the Black Knights, the Midshipmen still rely on the triple option, but first-year offensive coordinator Drew Cronic has added some extra pop by implementing a more modernized version of the scheme that incorporates more passing plays and spread-out formations.
Navy has thrived under the new system, scoring 32.3 points per game this year after managing just 17.7 last season.
Quarterback Blake Horvath leads the Midshipmen with 895 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground to go along with 1,154 yards and 11 scores through the air. He missed Navy’s last regular-season game against East Carolina with a back injury but said he is good to go for Saturday.
Horvath has never started an Army-Navy game, but the junior signal-caller knows he and his teammates have to treat it like any other contest.
“Don’t press,” he said. “Don’t make this game bigger than it is. It is a big game, but don’t psych yourself out.”
A win for the Midshipmen would snap a two-game losing streak to the Black Knights and bring the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy back to Annapolis, Md., for the first time since 2019.
“It would just bring a whole new level of pride to a style of football that we’ve looked to get back to this season,” Horvath said.
Regardless of Saturday’s result, Navy will finish with its first winning record since going 11-2 in 2019. The Midshipmen will also make their first bowl appearance since that year when they battle Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 27.
