The storied rivalry between the Army and Navy continues on the gridiron this Saturday, These teams first played in 1890 and the Navy leads the all-time series 62-53-7.
This is not Michigan vs. Ohio State as appointment television, rather this is about a simpler time with little trash-talking and bravado and more about just wanting to win without worrying about NFL aspirations.
We have three distinct stories to tell about this rivalry, so let’s begin.
Navy Midshipmen vs. Army Black Knights
Saturday, December 10, 2022 – 03:00 PM EST at Lincoln Financial Field
The History of The Commander-in-Chief Trophy
Since 1972, Army, Navy, and Air Force have met annually. Air Force General George B. Simler, a former Air Force Academy athletic director, was the person who came up with the idea of awarding a trophy in the games played by service academies.
This trophy is as fiercely fought for as any of the so-called bigger brand name rivalries and each school has a special place to display it when they have it for a year.
This season, the Army vs. Navy contest will not have any bearing on who wins this trophy, as the Air Force beat both schools this season. The trophy will be on display at the university just outside of Colorado Springs for the first time in six years. However, this will not take away from the intensity of this battle.
Here is the historical breakdown of ownership of the CIC trophy.
- Air Force - 21
- Navy - 16
- Army – 9
In the years where the teams split the three outcomes, which has happened five times, the previous winner retains the trophy.
Dominate Betting Trend Marked Rivalry
The reason why the Midshipmen have a significant lead in the season is that from 2002 to 2015, they defeated the Army 14 straight times. The Navy was going through a stellar period of their football prowess while the Black Knights were experiencing a sorry stretch.
In the first nine matchups of the streak (8-1 ATS), the closest the Army got was losing by 12 points and the average winning margin for the Navy was a smashing 27.2 points a game. In the remaining five encounters, the Cadets had their chances and just came up short in posting a 4-1 ATS mark.
The nightmare ended in 2016 when Army was a six-point underdog at New York betting sites and won 21-17. It was a day that anyone associated with the school or that part of that branch of service will never forget. The Black Knights won two more after that and are 4-2 (3-3 ATS) since breaking the losing streak.
New Betting Trend Even Longer and Wilder
While that was a remarkable or forgettable period for both universities, the current angle is strictly for football bettors studying the NCAAF odds.
This skirmish has seen the Under be the correct side 16 consecutive times. One can say what you will about the football teams running very similar offenses and the defense practices against that style of option offense every day, but this many in a row are hard to fathom.
It is almost impossible to conceive that in the second year of this totals period, sportsbooks had a posted total of 64 in 2007 and there were subsequently four other totals in the 50s with the highest total reached at 48 in 2010-11.
The oddsmakers got serious about trying to end this streak in 2018 posting a 38.5 and they were not close with the score of 17-10. The past two years had totals of 36 and those did not work either with 15 and 30 for the final total scores.
Some have questioned why the betting odds are not at 30 to combat this amazing trend, but a number that low would be pounded on the Over by everyone's NCAAF picks.
This year’s total did fall all the way to 33.5 or 34 depending on the book and as this article was posted, the total was sitting at 32.5. Will the streak finally end?
Calculators
