The Navy Midshipmen face the Army Black Knights Saturday afternoon in a classic college football rivalry at Lincoln Financial Field. The Midshipmen are currently 9-2 and are looking to pick up their 14th straight win over the Black Knights. Army has had a disappointing season and is riding a four game losing streak into their meeting with Navy on Saturday.
The Midshipman are coming off a tough loss to AAC Champions Houston, and head coach Ken Niumatalolo will look for his team to bounce back with a strong performance against Army. Navy's senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds was named the AAC player of the year, and has had a record-breaking season. The Midshipmen quarterback broke the NCAA record for career rushing touchdowns and has continued to dominate in Niumatalolo's triple option offense with 83 rushing touchdowns in four seasons.
Reynolds can become the first quarterback to win this rivalry four consecutive seasons, and he will look to put pressure on Army's defense by keeping them confused with the triple option.
Reynolds led his conference with 19 rushing touchdowns this year, and the Midshipmen backfield is filled with talented options. Fullback Chris Swain has been an impact player for the Midshipmen this year and has rushed for 847 yards and 10 touchdowns. The 6-foot-1, 245-pound senior fullback is used heavily in goalline situations and is coming off a two-touchdown performance against Houston.
The Black Knights lost by a touchdown a year ago, and head coach Jeff Monken will look to have his team fired up, as he will try to end Navy's winning streak this weekend. Monken has played three different quarterbacks this season, and it's unclear who be under center Saturday against the Midshipmen. Quarterbacks Ahmad Bradshaw and A.J. Schurr have started the majority of the games for the Black Knights this year before they both got hurt. Freshman quarterback Chris Carter started the regular season finale against Rutgers and managed to throw for 140 yards and touchdown in the loss. It will be interesting to see who Monken puts under center Saturday, but the Army head coach likely won't announce the decision to keep a competitive advantage.
The Black Knights will look to get running back Aaron Kemper plenty of carries early, as he leads the team with 506 rushing yards this season. Kemper rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown against Rutgers and will look to make his presence felt on Saturday. The 2-9 Black Knights have clearly struggled this season, but a win over Navy and ending the Midshipmen's streak would be a huge statement for this program.
Army against Navy college football is ingrained in American history, and it's only fitting that they are the only two teams to play this Saturday. The game starts at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time, and you can watch the live broadcast here. To listen to the Midshipmen's radio broadcast, click here, and for the Black Knights' radio broadcast, go here.
