Army-Navy Series:
- Game will be held at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Game will start at 3:30 PM ET on 12/8
- Series is led by Navy 60-51-7
- Army holds current win streak of 2
Offensive Players to Watch:
Army: Darnell Woolfook sits as the starting running back for the Black Knights this season. Woolfolk has shown a great ability to follow his blocks and find holes that many can’t read. This season, Woolfolk has 823 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns. He has been the real focus for this Army offense with their triple option package. Look out for Woolfolk to extend his rushing attack on this Navy defense that gives up 249.3 rushing yards a game.
Navy: Malcolm Perry plays the role of running back for the Navy Midshipmen. As the starting running back, Perry has definitely impressed the fans with his speed-heavy rushing ability. With this tendency to break away fast, Perry has amounted 1,035 rushing yards with 7 touchdowns mixed in. Although this Navy season hasn’t gone well, don’t be surprised if Perry gives a great performance in this meaningful game.
Defensive Players to Watch:
Army: Cole Christiansen has ran the outside linebacker position all year for this Army unit. The Army Black Knights run a 3-4 defense and have a surplus of linebackers, but Christiansen takes the lead of them all. So far, Christiansen has gathered 65 total tackles, 10.5 tackles-for-loss, and 1.0 sacks. If Army is to fully stop this Navy offense, then their linebacker core needs to be strong. This will all start with Christiansen doing his part on the outside clogging those rushing lanes.
Navy: One of the most impact players for the Navy team has been Taylor Heflin in his four years. Heflin runs the linebacker position for the Midshipmen’s 3-4 defensive scheme. Heflin has worked his way up to 93 total tackles, 9.0 tackles-for-loss, and 3.0 sacks this season. And for an Army team that likes to run the ball a lot, it seems we might see a break-out game from Heflin. Watch for this young man to sniff out any Army runs going his way.
The Basics
Both of these are essentially the same machine with different parts and motivation. Army has had an incredible season and sit at 9-2, while their counterparts at Navy only sit at 3-9. I expect this to be a close game, like always, but Army taking control late. Look for Army to do what they’ve done to most of the teams on their schedule: beat them. There is not a lot to think Navy will now find motivation, even in the biggest game of their season.
Score Prediction
27-17 Army
Photo Credits: https://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/12/5_things_you_might_not_know_ab.html
