Army and Navy are dominant for the first time in forever—and a peculiar College Football Playoff scenario could put a newfangled spin on this old-fashioned rivalry.
As a 1994 graduate of THE Military Academy, I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate this article. Army-Navy rarely gets the respect it deserves except from those who’ve been. Thank you for shining a bit of light on this wonderfully storied rivalry.
Great stuff Rodger. Grew up watching Army/Navy in the 60s and 70s with my dad, who was an Army WWII vet. It's great to see them both have success this year.
Great article (coming from a former Navy player). So, if Army and Navy both finish the season 9-1 (losses to ND), where is the AAC Championship game played? What is the tie-breaker? The score against Air Force LOL
I looked up the tiebreaker situation! If they’re tied the game be played at the team with the higher CFP ranking. Good news for you is Navy’s AD is on the playoff committee which makes the rankings they’ll use. Bad news is he’s not allowed to vote on Navy. If neither team is ranked they’ll go to a composite of various computer rankings like SP+.
Makes sense, but odd thing is Army is ranked ahead of us right now and haven't played a team with a winning record. We've both clobbered common opponents, but as least we have played Memphis. I'm sure it will all take care of itself. If either of us can beat Notre Dame then that team should leap Boise State.
There are 5 military academies each with sports teams. Add USMMA and Coast Guard please both D3. They play in the Secretaries Cup in Nov a kind of D3 Army vs Navy game. Same rigorous standards for their athletes.
Seriously, if Army and Navy meet in a conference championship game, they should just call off the usual scheduled one. The conference championship game should get a bigger TV audience and more general interest.
I thought a lot about how they should just axe one. But ultimately, they have to play the first one (bc of the Playoff and conference champion) and they have to play the second one (bc of the TV deal and they’ve already sold out the stadium bc people plan around that game for months) so they’re kinda stuck.
Army and Navy play for their true championship on the second Saturday in December each year. Conference title? Playoff berth? That's all gravy. They could face off in a parking lot and their 70k+ crowd would still show up.
Rodger, this was terrific. Thank you for it.
The Army-Navy game is the best game in college football. The thought having two games played is even better. Go Army, Beat Navy!
As a 1994 graduate of THE Military Academy, I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate this article. Army-Navy rarely gets the respect it deserves except from those who’ve been. Thank you for shining a bit of light on this wonderfully storied rivalry.
Great stuff Rodger. Grew up watching Army/Navy in the 60s and 70s with my dad, who was an Army WWII vet. It's great to see them both have success this year.
Fantastic article! Well worth the read.
So good, Rodge. So good.
I want to watch someone from 1945 read this whole thing
You’re an idiot
Soooo effing good. Bravo from a dude thats been in love with the Army/Navy game for 3 decades. #GoNavy
Great story. Thank you.
Great article (coming from a former Navy player). So, if Army and Navy both finish the season 9-1 (losses to ND), where is the AAC Championship game played? What is the tie-breaker? The score against Air Force LOL
I looked up the tiebreaker situation! If they’re tied the game be played at the team with the higher CFP ranking. Good news for you is Navy’s AD is on the playoff committee which makes the rankings they’ll use. Bad news is he’s not allowed to vote on Navy. If neither team is ranked they’ll go to a composite of various computer rankings like SP+.
Makes sense, but odd thing is Army is ranked ahead of us right now and haven't played a team with a winning record. We've both clobbered common opponents, but as least we have played Memphis. I'm sure it will all take care of itself. If either of us can beat Notre Dame then that team should leap Boise State.
There are 5 military academies each with sports teams. Add USMMA and Coast Guard please both D3. They play in the Secretaries Cup in Nov a kind of D3 Army vs Navy game. Same rigorous standards for their athletes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretaries_Cup
Seriously, if Army and Navy meet in a conference championship game, they should just call off the usual scheduled one. The conference championship game should get a bigger TV audience and more general interest.
I thought a lot about how they should just axe one. But ultimately, they have to play the first one (bc of the Playoff and conference champion) and they have to play the second one (bc of the TV deal and they’ve already sold out the stadium bc people plan around that game for months) so they’re kinda stuck.
Army and Navy play for their true championship on the second Saturday in December each year. Conference title? Playoff berth? That's all gravy. They could face off in a parking lot and their 70k+ crowd would still show up.
Already sold out, you can't just cancel it.