The Army-Navy game, which is traditionally the last regular season college football game before the bowls start, is one of the greatest traditions in the sport. The Black Knights and Midshipmen have met each other every year since 1930 in a rivalry that dates back to 1890.
The atmosphere of the game is truly unique as people from both service academies come to the game, march with each other and engage in all sorts of traditional chants and activities in honor of their academies. The game has been heralded among college football fans as a classic rivalry and it continues to be broadcast to a national television audience on CBS every year.
However, the rivalry has become amazingly lopsided in recent time and the 2015 edition of the match is expected to be like that once again. The 2015 game, which will take place on December 12 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, will be against a Navy team that was in the running for one of the New Years’ bowl games and an Army team with just two wins.
What Are the Odds?
The betting odds for the Army-Navy game are expected to be rather lofty when the competition between the two teams is considered. Navy is expected to be a -15 favorite in this game. Moneyline bets are not expected due to the extremely lopsided nature of the game.
What Makes Navy Special?
Navy has a 9-2 record and finished second in the American Conference’s West Division. In fact, the only conference loss for the Midshipmen was to Houston, the AAC champion and the team that has the best chance to by the one Group of Five team that will play in a New Years’ bowl game.
The Midshipmen have gotten 330 rushing yards per game, a total that is the second-highest in the sport. Navy has been trying to get quarterback Keenan Reynolds to receive serious consideration for the Heisman Trophy. He set the NCAA FBS record for the most offensive touchdowns in one’s college football career. He had nineteen rushing touchdowns plus six passing touchdowns. Chris Swain also had ten rushing touchdowns.
What About Army-Navy?
Army is 2-9 this season and has lost its last four games. The Black Knights focus more on the running game above all else as the team’s 920 passing yards are nothing compared to the 2,794 rushing yards for the team. The running back position is one by committee as three players have 300 or more rushing yards this year. Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw has 468 rushing yards and five touchdowns while having just 429 passing yards.
If anything, it may be next to impossible for Army to win the Army-Navy Game for the first time since 2001, thus making it easier for the line for this game to be rather high. Navy will certainly have -20 or higher odds in terms of the overall line. Of course, this could work as a game that might help people take Keenan Reynolds a little more seriously in terms of thinking about who should be the Heisman Trophy winner.