Army-Navy series heads to New England with bragging rights, coveted trophy at stake
America’s Game is taking a detour to celebrate America’s founding.
The 124th edition of the Army-Navy Game will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots. It marks only the third time in a series dating back to 1890 that the contest will be played outside the mid-Atlantic region: Chicago’s Soldier Field hosted in 1926 and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, hosted in 1983.
The game will recognize the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, the spark of the American Revolution.
There is great excitement for the sold-out contest, which will be televised nationally by CBS Sports (WCBS-2 in New York) at 3 p.m. ET Saturday.
More: Army, Navy unveil special uniforms, helmets for annual college football clash next month
For the players and coaches from both academies, this has always been more than just a football game and there is much at stake. Both clubs are 5-6 and desperate to reach a .500 record that will ease the disappointments of the 2023 season. Army has won its last three and Navy two of its last three.
Outside all of the pomp and circumstance it still boils down to one thing: winning.
“Their guys are going to come into that game sky high and playing as hard as they can,’’ Army coach Jeff Monken said, “and hopefully our guys will come into the game sky high and playing as hard as we can and that's what makes the game so great. It's intense. It's physical. It's a group of guys on each side just fighting as hard as they can to win.’’
There will be no postseason bowl action for either school, but at least Army has the opportunity to bring home the coveted Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for only the 10th time in the academy series dating back to 1972 and first since 2000. Army dethroned 2022 champ Air Force with a stunning 23-3 win over the Falcons on Nov. 4, which was also played at an NFL stadium, Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High. A Navy win, though, would leave the trophy in Colorado Springs.
The CIC series has turned into a defensive slog, with the last 45 meetings going under on the point spread. Army is a 3-point favorite with an over/under of 27.5 points. Monken said he’s glad to have many seniors with playing experience and added this is the healthiest any of his teams has been at this stage of the season.
For Monken, this will be his first Army-Navy game without Ken Niumataolo on the other sideline – the Mids’ former head coach was let go after the 2022 season and is now serving as the director of leadership at UCLA. Navy defensive coordinator Brian Newberry was promoted to head coach. Newberry says his team is “locked in” and ready to play.
There is a bit of a mystery headed into this matchup which has been typically played with triple option offenses. Army turned to a shotgun-style option this season and it hasn’t had the success rate that was expected. In its last outing against Coastal Carolina on Nov. 18, Army ran its former under-center option the entire game to the tune of 365 yards rushing – that move was sure to have Navy guessing on which offense Army will utilize on Saturday.
“It's pretty unique how we can go back and forth in that,’’ said Army quarterback Bryson Daily. “We have the guys capable of doing that. I think it's going to be really beneficial to us to be able to give them different looks.’’
There will be a notable difference in experience at quarterback: Navy senior Xavier Arline will be playing his fourth Army-Navy game while Daily has never taken a snap in the series.
“I’m excited,’’ Daily said. “It's a special game … it's games like this (why) I committed here. … It’s a chance to play on a big stage, in front of a lot of people, a lot of people watching on TV.
“It's just managing emotions and realizing that it's really just another football game. It takes the same thing to win this one as the previous one. But I am excited. It's going to be awesome going out there with my boys.’’
Twice, Arline rushed for more than 100 yards against Army (109 in 2020, 102 in 2022).
“He's a pretty quick guy, pretty shifty,’’ said Army defensive back Quindrelin Hammonds. “He's a great athlete and he can really make plays with his feet. So going against a guy like that … just make sure you work on your fundamentals when you're trying to get him down.’’
Running back Hayden Reed is expected to return to the Army lineup but wide receiver Isaiah Alston is doubtful and linebacker Spencer Jones is out. The rest of the Army projected lineup remains the same.
More: College football TV, radio, web schedules for 2023
The last time the series was tied was 2004. Navy won in 2005, the fourth contest in a 14-game domination by the Midshipmen. Under Monken, Army has won five of the past seven games, including a 20-17, double-overtime affair in Philadelphia last season.
X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army Navy football clash in New England for first time
