Army-Navy Game Open Thread

We generally don’t cover a whole lot of college football here, but we’ve done an Open Thread for this one for the past few years, and I know there are folks out there that have a rooting interest in it one way or the other.

Today is, technically, the final day of the regular season in college football, and it will feature the 118th meeting between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen. Things will get underway at Lincoln Financial Field at approximately 2:00 PM Central time.

Now, as we say every year, if you’re looking for fast-paced, run and gun, high-flying offense. . .well, this isn’t your thing. Of the 120 FBS programs, Air Force is 118th in passing, averaging 91.2 yards/game. Now, that sounds like a paltry number, but they’re practically the ‘98 Vikings compared to Army, who is 120th in the nation in passing with just 30.5 yards per game. Army has only completed 18 passes all season, with nearly half of those completions coming in one game, and has had four games this season where they’ve completed zero passes. They’re 3-1 in those four games, and in their victory over the Air Force Academy, didn’t even attempt a pass (though I suppose when you’re putting up nearly 400 rushing yards, you really don’t have to).

But, if you like ground and pound football, then the kids might say that this is your “jam.” In terms of yards per game, these are the top two rush offenses in college football. Army is on top with an average of 368.1 yards/game, while Navy is second with 347.5 yards/game. These two teams have also combined for 77 rushing touchdowns (43 for Army, 34 for Navy).

For this game, where the ground game will be front and center, it seems appropriate that we’re going to get some snow from the sounds of it. Temperatures in Philadelphia are forecast to be in the low 30s with snow starting at some point during today’s contest.

Last year, Army snapped the longest losing streak that either team has endured in this series, as they broke a 14-game drought with a 21-17 win.

Both of these teams already have their bowl assignments. Army is slated to take on San Diego State in the Armed Forces Bowl on 23 December, while Navy will take on Virginia in the Military Bowl on 28 December.

We’re a little more than an hour and a half away from kickoff in Philadelphia. If you’re going to be watching the game anyway, feel free to hang out here and talk about it!