weekend preview# 15: the off-season: your official Navy vs. Army information station

Usually I post these on Thursday but I just couldn't wait to dig in to this match up.


Navy vs. Army

One of the country's oldest and most intense rivalries takes place this weekend as the Navy Midshipmen take on the Army Black Knights at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. This may be the best game played in that stadium all year with the way the Eagles have been playing, seriously.

Although the game is played for nothing more than bragging rights it still figures to be an intense game as rivalries always are.

Army comes into the game a very disappointing 2-9 with the only two wins coming over Boston College, another horrendous team, and rival Air Force. Surprisingly, Army hasn't been that bad on offense, ranking #41; rather the problem lies on defense where they rank a dismal 89. This has to be one of the most bizarre stats I've ever come across but Army ranks dead last in passing and dead first in rushing. The quarterback for Army, one Trent Steelman (an ownage name btw) boasts a 106 quarterback rating only throwing 1 touchdown all season however he is a good rusher gaining nearly 8 yards per attempt.

Practice, or severe attendance problems? Both?

Navy on the other hand comes in to the game with a respectable 7-4 schedule and a win against rival Army would probably mean it was a successful season while Army is playing more to salvage theirs. Navy is a more well-rounded team, but not really in a good way. They rank pretty far down the list in both total offense and total defense. However, strikingly enough, they are very similar to Army in that they rush the ball extremely well, #6, but cannot pass at all, #117. Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds is a slightly better passer, (and I use slightly in the friendliest way possible) throwing for 8 touchdowns on the season. He is also not as good of a rusher as his Army counterpart rushing for nearly 5 yards per attempt. One of the most telling stats for this team however is the fact that the kicker has the most points of anyone on the team. At least he's reliable.

Hoping to avoid having to swab the poop-deck.

So, from the eyeball test this game should be pretty high scoring and almost entirely rushing with maybe some passes for comedic effect. The most important stat in the game is rushing defense where Navy has a clear advantage ranking #60 while Army is once again nearly dead last, #118.

Early lines have Navy up by 7 and I would expect that to increase to about 10 when all is said and done. If I were betting I would definitely have Navy covering and they should be able to win outright.

There really isn't much of a reason to watch this game other than the historical tradition and the fact that we are entering the final stages of the football season so you should be soaking up as much as you can.

This game will also answer the question, "What happens when a team decidedly mediocre in almost everything goes up against a team decidedly terrible in everything?" My guess is lots of points.