LANDOVER, Md. — Army and Navy have a combined 19 wins in 23 games so far this season, when they have reemerged as nationally relevant college football programs.
For the first time since 2017, the two military academies are both going to a bowl game.
None of that matters much to players and coaches for either team right now — not with the 125th rendition of the Army-Navy game on deck Saturday.
“It’s a game and a season really all of its own,” Army coach Jeff Monken said. “We’ve had a good year. You make it a great year by winning this game coming up on Saturday. Frankly, that’s just the way it goes around here.”
Monken’s Black Knights are ranked 19th in the the AP Top 25 after routing Tulane to win the American Athletic Conference championship game last week. They’re 11-1, unbeaten in the AAC in their first season in the league, and their only loss came to College Football Playoff-bound Notre Dame. Sun Belt Conference champion Marshall (10-3) awaits in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 28 in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Navy (8-3) will face Oklahoma (6-6) in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 27 in Fort Worth, Texas, to cap its first winning season since 2019. Still, there’s no way the Midshipmen are looking past this rivalry game — which will not count in the AAC standings, although both Army and Navy are now members of the league — to the Sooners of the Southeastern Conference.
“Oklahoma’s not on our mind right now because it’s all Army-Navy,” Midshipmen linebacker Colin Ramos said. “This is our No. 1 goal, and then after that, we’ll have about a week and a half, two weeks — whatever it is — to prepare. Right now, it’s Army-Navy.”
Ramos said beating Army would define Navy’s season even more than the previous eight victories. Fellow senior captain Daba Fofana notices that importance when he feels the intensity of each practice leading up to this game.
“It’s definitely amped up,” Fofana said. “We put a lot of emphasis on it naturally, but our mentality to deal with the big stage and just to play like we do, it’s another game. We’ve played this since we were young kids.”
Monken, in his 11th year at West Point, refuses to apologize for making the Army-Navy game a talking point 365 days a year. He ends some conversations with the phrase “Beat Navy” — just as many others on the flipside of the rivalry close with “Beat Army.”
Army would love to beat Marshall, too, but standout quarterback Bryson Daily has been proud of how he and his teammates have avoided getting ahead of themselves in recent months. He expects nothing less in the most anticipated showdown of the year.
“You come here to play in this game: the biggest stage possible, millions of people watching and a sold-out NFL stadium,” said Daily, whose 29 touchdowns are tied for the most in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision with Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty, Boise State’s star running back. “Records don’t matter. Rankings don’t matter. All that goes out the window for the Army-Navy Game.”
Army is a 6 1/2-point favorite on BetMGM Sportsbook for Saturday’s game at Northwest Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Washington Commanders in Landover a few miles outside the nation’s capital. All the success so far has not prevented athletic director Mike Buddie from feeling nervous about this weekend.
“Thrilled that we’ve had the season that we’ve had, but the beauty of this game is this is the one that matters,” Buddie said. “They know that this is big game, and our guys know this is a big game. We’re hoping we can stay focused the way we’ve been able to do so far and make Saturday really special, but it won’t be easy.”
Navy coach Brian Newberry called this “the most complete, well-rounded Army football team, the best Army football team” he has seen since arriving in Annapolis in 2019 as defensive coordinator. After a few games he’d like to have back, including a lopsided loss to Notre Dame, this is still a winner-take-all chance to capture the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy that has gone to Army and Air Force in recent years.
“Winning the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy, this game, is our most important goal in our program,” said Newberry, who took over as head coach before the 2023 season and went 5-7 in his debut campaign.
Facing a talented SEC opponent like Oklahoma in a bowl game in the fertile recruiting ground of Texas is important, too, but he added without hesitation: “We’ll worry about that on Monday.”