Today at 3:00, arguably the best rivalry game in college football (or all of sports, depending on who you ask), will be played in Philadelphia, PA. The Army Black Knights vs the Navy Midshipmen. Army's record this season is a very disappointing 2-9 while Navy this season has went 7-4.
This rivalry game originated in 1890, and has been an annual ritual since 1930. Army had been the winner of the feud until 2004 when Navy tied the series record up. Since 2002 Navy has won every game they've played against Army, now winning the overall record 58-49-7. Last season Navy defeated Army by six points, 27-21.
Although Army is only 2-9, surprisingly they are ranked number one in the nation for most rushing yards per game, with an average of 369.8. They will look to use that ground game to surprise Navy, and break that 10 game winning streak.
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| QB Trent Steelman is Army's leading rusher this season. |
Navy isn't bad with rushing either. They're ranked sixth in the nation with an average of 285.5 rushing yards per game. It looks like it's going to be quite the rushing game this afternoon.
Army is led by senior quarterback Trent Steelman. Steelman only has 619 yards passing, with one throwing touchdown and two interceptions. Not the best stats for a QB. But, the senior has 1,152 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns. Impressive for a player on a team that is only 2-9.
Meanwhile, Navy is led by freshman quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who has 754 yards passing, with eight touchdowns and only one interception. He also has 585 rushing yards and has recorded nine rushing touchdowns.
Although both QBs have been impressive on the ground, both teams have capable running backs as well. Army has junior running back Raymond Maples, who has over 1,000 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and sophomore running back Larry Dixon, who has 778 yards rushing and punched the ball into the endzone six times.
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Navy QB Keenane Reynolds has passed and rushed for a
combined 17 touchdowns this year. |
Navy also has a duo of impressive rushers. Senior running back Gee Gee Greene, who has recorded 750 rushing yards and three touchdowns, as well as sophomore fullback Noah Copeland, who has 592 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
I have always said that with rivalry games, you can throw all records out the window. Especially depending on how much animosity the two teams have toward each other, whether the teams are batting at .500, or undefeated, these types of rivalry games can go one way or the other.
In most games defense is the key in one way or the other. It's going to be a huge factor here today. With both teams being very impressive with their rushing games, I'd think it's safe to say that whoever can shut down the other's rushing game is going to walk away with the victory in Philadelphia. Although Navy has a much better record than Army, I think Trent Steelman and the rest of the Black Knights are going to be hungry to take the Midshipmen down for the first time in a decade.
The game will be broadcast at 3:00 PM ET on CBS. With this being the last regular season game this year, and a huge rivalry game, with two teams very capable of putting up impressive rushing stats, I'd label this game as a must see.
- Matt Lytle
@mattlytle
After much consideration, watching clips, looking at stats, and our team voting for who they thought deserved each award, we are pleased to announce the Project College Football Awards!
