One of the greatest rivalries in both college football and all of sports takes place Dec. 14 when Army and Navy meet at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The two service academies will be meeting for the 120th time since 1890 in front of nearly 70,000 fans and a world television and radio audience.
The Army-Navy game, presented by USAA, will be televised by CBS Sports and broadcasted by the Westwood One radio network, with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. Prior to the game, CBS Sports Network will air Inside College Football: Army-Navy March-On, which will included the march-on of the Brigade of Midshipmen at 12:10 pm and the march-on of the Corps of Cadets at 12:40 pm.
Here are 10 things to know about this year’s Army-Navy game and the history leading up to it.
1. The Cadets and Midshipmen played the first Army-Navy football game Nov. 29, 1890, on “The Plain” at West Point. Navy had been playing organized football since 1879 and won 24-0 against the newly established Army team. (via army.mil)
2. Army won Associated Press national titles in 1944 and 1945, and won a share of the national title in 1914, 1916 and 1946. In both ’44 and ’45, Army was ranked No. 1 and Navy No. 2 heading into their annual game; Army won both games. Navy also won a share of the national championship in 1926. (via army.mil)
3. The 1963 Army-Navy game was postponed one week following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The game was played a week later, at the insistence of his widow Jacqueline, and a Roger Staubach-led Navy squad downed Army 21-15. The Midshipmen finished the season ranked No. 2 in the country and lost to No. 1 Texas 28-6 in the Cotton Bowl. (via si.com)
4. During its first season in 1973, Episode 20 of the hit TV series “M*A*S*H” was titled “The Army Navy Game.” In the episode, Navy wins 42-36 in what was the 53rd game of the series. The actual 53rd game was a 7-0 Navy win and took place in 1952. (via ncaa.com)
5. The 1983 game was played in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., the only time the game has been played west of the Mississippi River. The nonprofit Army-Navy ’83 Foundation was set up to attract donations to cover the estimated $6 million it cost to hold the game.
6. In 2015 Keenan Reynolds did what no other Navy quarterback has ever done: beat his archrival four times. Reynolds both ran and passed for more than 110 yards, leading the Midshipmen past Army 21-17. Reynolds finished fifth in Heisman voting that year, guiding Navy (11-2) to its best record in program history. Reynolds had started the rivalry game since his freshman year, winning 17-13, then 34-7 as a sophomore and 17-10 his junior season.
7. Navy enters this year’s game 9-2 and ranked 23rd in the College Football Playoff Rankings, and 21st by the Associated Press. Army is 5-7 after going 29-10 the previous three seasons.
8. Navy leads the all-time series 60-52-7. Army has won three straight games in the series by a combined 12 points, ending Navy’s 14-game winning streak from 2002-2015.
9. Both teams will be wearing special uniforms this year. Navy will wear a throwback uniform reminiscent of the academy’s 1960s teams – which produced Heisman Trophy winners Jim Bellino (1960) and Roger Staubach (1963) – while Army’s uniform honors soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division.
10. The Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy is on the line Saturday for the 48th time in the series. The trophy is awarded to the service academy – either Army, Navy or Air Force – with the best record after playing their two rivals. If Navy defeats Army, the Midshipmen would win the trophy for the 16th time in school history and for the 11th time in the last 17 years. If Army wins, the three academies will share the trophy, which would remain in West Point for another year.
