EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Cadets and Midshipmen who will play in Saturday’s Army-Navy football game were no more than toddlers during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Still, they understand the significance of remembering that day when they meet at MetLife Stadium in the 122nd renewal of one of college football’s biggest rivalries.
“It is awesome to be here to honor those firemen and policemen and people that were there,” Navy senior linebacker Diego Fagot said. “To play in such an environment at MetLife, it’s so very humbling and I am honored to be a part of it.”
Army (8-3) has put together a run in the series since Jeff Monken took over as coach in 2014 and started to rebuild a program that ended up losing 14 in a row to Navy from 2002 to 2015. The Black Knights have won four of the past five, including a 15-0 win last year when they hosted the game in West Point, New York – a rare on-campus series meeting forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most of the games have been close.