The annual tradition continues on Saturday when the Navy Midshipmen (8-3, 6-2 CUSA) take on the No. 22 ranked Army Black Knights (11-1, 8-0 CUSA) on Saturday at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
Despite both programs playing their final regular season contests of the year, their bowl destinations are assured. Army will play in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl against Marshall on December 28 while Navy will play in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl against Oklahoma on December 27.
This year’s matchup features the highest number of combined wins (19) in the history of this storied rivalry. For the 125th year, will Army or Navy win this matchup? We’ll cover that and our three favorite player prop bets for Saturday’s contest.
Army has a two-year starter helming the offense in senior quarterback Bryson Daily. The 6-foot senior from Abernathy, Texas, has thrown for 1,790 yards in his career at Army, including 877 yards this season.
Against Tulane, the Black Knight signal-caller recorded 17 passing yards on two completions. That comes after throwing for 190 yards on 17 passes against UTSA the week prior. On the year, Daily has five games where he’s surpassed 100 passing yards for the contest.
Navy will not be the sixth game. The Midshipmen have struggled at times to limit opponents from running the football, and Saturday’s contest will be no different. Expect Daily to run for more than 100 yards against the Midshipmen while he will
Navy achieved their 8-3 record off the legs and arm of junior quarterback Blak Horvath. The 6-foot-2 junior has completed 58.5 percent of his passes for 1,154 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.
On the ground, Horvath has rushed for a team-best 895 yards and 13 touchdowns on 133 carries. He’ll get the ball plenty against Army, and for the seventh time this season, he’ll go over 61 rushing yards to cover this player prop bet.
Army has a strong running back in sophomore Kanye Udoh behind Daily. The 6-foot athlete has 165 carries for 1,064 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, bringing his career total to 1,588 rushing yards total in two seasons.
His 6.4 yards per rush average is among the best on his team, showing why Udoh is capable of leading the charge. After his 158-yard outing against Tulane, bettors should expect him to have at least 73 yards on Saturday to cover this player prop bet.
Usually, rivalry contests are toss-ups as the two teams have a real dislike for each other. This rivalry is a little bit different. While the games often come down to a final score, Army has been victorious in six of their past eight outings.
Army has won by six or more points in half of those wins. The Black Knights have traditionally struggled with putting away their Navy brethren, but this year’s squad is special. Expect Army to pull away late, beating the Midshipmen by at least one touchdown on Saturday.