2024 Army vs. Navy preview

Through all the changes that have been made to college football, there will always be one constant.

Army. Navy.

America’s Game.

The weekend after Selection Sunday allows the most respectful rivalry in sports to take center stage as the Black Knights and Midshipmen battle it out for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.

But the 125th meeting is one of the most anticipated in a long time.

Army just capped off an American Conference championship victory over Tulane in their just first season after joining. They also come into this game ranked for the first time since 2018 and their 11 wins are the most they have had in program history entering the rivalry as well.

For Navy, the Midshipmen finished third in the American just missing out on a potential consecutive two-game set between the two programs. Their eight wins are the most they enter the game with since 2019.

Of course, we can not talk about this rivalry without talking about running the football.

Navy enters the game with the nation’s eighth-best rushing offense averaging 247.7 yards per game. Army’s average blows that out of the water.

With a staggering 314.4 yards per game, the nation’s best running team is 47 yards ahead of the next-best team, Jacksonville State.

Navy is going to half to keep the two-headed monster of Bryson Daily and Kanye Udoh contained if they want any shot at breaking the Black Knights’ two-game winning streak in the rivalry.

The two combined for 284 yards and five touchdowns on the ground in their victory over Tulane last week.

With a run defense that gives up 159.9 yards per game, the Midshipmen are going to need their best defensive showing of the season to quell Army’s ground game.

On the flip side, Army is going to be tasked with stopping Blake Horvath. He is the first quarterback since Malcolm Perry in 2019 to surpass 1,000 passing yards in a season.

He also leads Navy’s rushing attack with 895 yards and tops the team with 25 total touchdowns.

Save for the Notre Dame game, the cadets have been stellar defensively all season as they give up just shy of 300 yards a game.

Notre Dame was a common opponent for both teams this year. They both ended up getting blown out by the Irish with both margins of victory being similar.

But that was Army’s only loss of the year while Navy would drop games to Rice and Tulane further down the road.

Another commonality the two teams share is that they are both bowl-bound in 2024. Army will play Sun Belt Conference champion Marshall in the Independence Bowl and Navy draws Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl.

But I can assure you they are not thinking that far ahead right now. They are thinking about what it will take to win the game on Saturday.

And it will be won with the same formula it takes to win every other Army Navy match.

Run the ball well and play good defense.

And whichever team can do it the best will sing second.

Chase Fisher is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ctf5198@psu.edu.