Navy vs. Army

                                                                                         

Midshipmen -11 vs. Black Knights

The historic Army-Navy game will take place this Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. The game used to be "THE" game of the year, but as the military academies emphasis on sports waned in the mid to late 1960's, the significance of the game on a national championship standpoint lessened. But the power, pageantry and significance of the game is still palpable.

Saturday's meeting will be the 108th meeting in the series. Historically the rivalry has been extremely tight. Navy holds a slight 52-49-7 edge, largely because of the Midshipmen's recent success of winning six straight and nine out of the last 11. The Black Knights last won in 2001 in the old Veterans' Stadium.

Navy (7-4) appear headed for a bowl game and were nationally ranked until they were beaten by their old rival Notre Dame on November 15. After a 10 day break, they returned to dominate Northern Illinois in their building 16-0 on November 25. Navy continues to use a stellar defensive squad to offset the number one ranked rushing offense.

Shun White and Eric Kettani have been the best 1-2 punch in college football this season. White has gained 873 yards and seven touchdowns and Kettani has contributed 807 yards and three scores as a full-back. In the Northern Illinois victory, it was Kettani's show as he gained all 92 yards and a touchdown while White only garnered one carry.

Army (3-8) has lost three straight and four of their last five. The Knights took last week off after a 30-3 throttling at the hands of Rutgers on November 22. Many predicted a better season for Army as they were facing a softer than usual schedule, but they have fallen into the trap they have been stuck in for the better part of a decade.

As with many arch-rivals, a bad season can be partially forgiven by winning the last game of the season versus your bitter rival. This will definitely be the case for Army if they can pull the upset this week.

Army will be considered the home team at the neutral site game at Lincoln Financial Field.

InSpin.com

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