Army vs. Navy: How to watch, odds, preview for one of college football’s biggest rivalries

Army has just one box left to check in its best modern-era season. At 11-1, the Black Knights won the AAC title in their first year as members and ended the season ranked 22nd in the final CFP rankings. Now they can put a bow on it all in the 125th Army-Navy Game, where the Black Knights are comfortably favored over Navy and could make it three wins in a row over their service academy rivals.

Army vs. Navy

At 8-3, the Midshipmen are having a fine year of their own but could go from underdog to longshot if star quarterback Blake Horvath can’t play. The junior is Navy’s do-everything engine, leading the team with 895 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns while throwing for another 11 scores and 1,154 yards. But he’s been dealing with a rib injury and back spasms since late September and hasn’t played since November 16, when he left the Tulane game early. Without him, Navy will have a hard time keeping up with the Black Knights’ rushing machine.

Both schools are run-first offenses, but Army is far and away the most prolific running attack in the country. The Black Knights average 314.4 rushing yards per game, and the next closest team (Jacksonville State) averages 267.3. Navy is eighth in the country at 247.7 yards per game.

While the two academies have similar attack plans, Army’s defensive edge is significant. The Black Knights are 11th in the country in rush yards allowed per game and 28th in EPA per rush at -.04. Navy is much more generous, allowing 160 ground yards per game (85th) and ranking 83rd in opponents’ EPA per rush.

Army has two 1,000-yard runners in quarterback Bryson Daily and running back Kanye Udoh, and the pair have 39 touchdowns between them. Daily also has 877 yards and eight touchdowns through the air and isn’t battling multiple injuries like Horvath.

There are simply too many advantages on either side of the ball for Army, and the spread will only widen if Horvath is out. The listed point total is below 40, which could be surprising for a game featuring two teams averaging 32 points per contest, but this matchup hasn’t produced 40 points since 2013.