Army Beats Navy For Third Year In A Row

Despite having nothing to do with the race for college football’s national championship, the annual Army-Navy game remains a storied rivalry game in college football. These days, it’s the last regular season college football game. The series between the two military academies dates back to November 29th, 1890, when Navy beat Army 24-0 at West Point, no less. Of course, each team also plays the Air Force each year, but the Colorado Springs based Falcons have only played Army since 1959 and Navy since 1950 (the Air Force was originally part of the Army and did not have a separate academy until the 1950s). In 1972, the winner of the this series has been awarded the Commander in Chief’s Trophy.

The Between 2002 and 2015, Navy beat Army 14 straight times in football, but on December 8th, 2018, the Black Knights topped the Midshipmen 17-14 for Army’s third straight win in the series. Perhaps appropriately, Army stayed on the ground: quarterback Kelvin Hopkins, Jr. threw just nine passes, completing four for 61 yards. Hopkins led Army’s 222 yard rushing attack with 64 yards on 18 carries, plus he scored a pair of touchdowns. Navy was just five of 17 passing, for 81 yards. The Midshipmen rushed for 127 yards. The Black Knights won the Commander in Chief’s Trophy; Army beat Air Force on November 3rd, also by a 17-14 score.

The Black Knights closed out the regular season with a record of 10-2, losing only to Duke 34-14 in the season opener, and to then #5 Oklahoma 28-21, both on the road. Army is ranked #22 in the country and will play Houston in the appropriately named Armed Forces Bowl on December 22nd.