One of college football’s great traditions returns for 2024, with the No. 18 Army Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen meeting for the 125th time at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md.
Army (11-1) is having one of its best-ever seasons, having won the American Athletic Conference. The Black Knights are headed to the Independence Bowl to take on Marshall, and have had a solid hold on national rankings in the last two months. The only team to best Army this season has been College Football Playoff-bound Notre Dame, and head coach Jim Monken’s team could make history by winning 12 games in a single season for the first time.
Navy (8-3) has clinched a spot in the Armed Forces Bowl against Oklahoma, but taking down Army is always the top goal in Annapolis. Doing so will require recovering the strong performances the Midshipmen put on early in the season in a 6-0 start. Since then, blowout losses to Notre Dame and Tulane have slowed down head coach Brian Newberry’s group, though Navy will enter this game on the back of a solid road win against East Carolina.
Here are odds, how to watch, and what you need to know for the 125th edition of the Army-Navy game:
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ESPN Analytics give Army the edge for Saturday, with the outlet giving the Black Knights a 65.9% chance of winning. Navy, meanwhile, is being given a 34.1% shot at getting what would be its third win in the series since 2016.
Reed Wallach writes: “The familiarity between both teams is quite high as each runs similar concepts with a triple option scheme on offense. While this type of scheme usually throws teams for a loop, the service academies are prepared for this as the team practices against it all the time… For what it’s worth, the under is 45-10-1 since 2006 when service academies play.”
Eric Froton writes, “The Army vs. Navy Under has been a long time meme-play among CFB gambling enthusiasts. However Navy has gone Over the 38.5 game total 8 times, while Army is a cool 9-3 to the Over as well. SP+ has this game pegged at 31-23, for a total of 54 points. I’m taking the value and betting this game to go Over the 38.5 game total.
Kyle Vander Schauw writes: “I do expect [Blake] Horvath to be active for Navy, but a nagging back issue for a run first quarterback against a talented Army defense is going to hurt the Midshipmen offense. Lastly, the dynamic duo of [Bryson] Daily and [Kanye] Udoh is going to wear down the Navy defense and allow Army to win and cover the spread.”
Army is favored to beat Navy, per odds from BetMGM. Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering betting promos in 2023.
All odds as of Tuesday, Dec. 10.
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