Cadets take the field before the 2011 Army-Navy game at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. Army lost to Navy that year by six points; a columnist at one of the largest sports websites says this year’s game won’t be anywhere near that close. (Staff photo by Mike Morones)
The U.S. Military Academy enters its 2014 football season with a new coach, an experienced roster (all major statistical leaders are back from 2013) and a high-ranking cheering section.
But about a week before the Black Knights’ annual spring game and five months before the season starts, a columnist for a major sports site has found Army lacking, at least when it comes to the year’s biggest — or, depending on your level of fandom, only — game.
Bleacher Report ranks the Army-Navy rivalry as one of “10 College Football Rivalry Games That Won’t Even Be Close in 2014.” It’s not exactly a controversial conclusion given Navy’s winning streak over the Black Knights, which was extended to a series-record 12 games with a 34-7 drubbing in December. It doesn’t help that Navy’s returning quarterback is the subject of Heisman Trophy talk, or that the Black Knights have finished above .500 exactly once since going 10-2 in 1996.
But before last year, the two previous Army-Navy games were decided by a combined 10 points. And Bleacher Report’s claim that Army coach Jeff Monken is about to get “his first introduction to what this game is all about” could be debated. Strongly.
The post has more than 62,000 views and 300 comments since it went live Thursday, but we want your take on the rivalry, which will re-ignite Dec. 13 in Baltimore. Have you already ruled out an upset, or are you buying the turnaround talk? Let us know in the comments.
2 Comments
….He may be right but he is not accounting for the rivalry itself. I have followed Army-Navy before he was born and more than once a favored team was upset inexplicably. Of course when those happen, sports prognosticators seek the shadows of anonymity hoping every one forgets what they predicted. .
Realy nice post great.