Army-Navy Preview

December 7, 2022 by NavySports.com

Army and Navy meet for the 123rd time in series history, for the 90th time in Philadelphia and for the 14th time at Lincoln Financial Field (67,594) when the two square off on Saturday at 3:00 pm. The Army-Navy Game presented by USAA is the eighth-most played rivalry in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The game was listed as a 'pick-em' contest at most sportsbooks on Monday, but moved in favor of Navy early in the week. On Wednesday, FanDuel Sportsbook had the Midshipmen favored by 2.5 while the Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com has Army by 3.94 points.

•    Navy leads the all-time series against Army 62-53-7, is 45-40-4 against Army in Philadelphia and 11-2 against the Black Knights at Lincoln Financial Field. Overall, Navy has won 18 of the last 23 contests against Army, including 2 of the last 3.
•    Navy has had three weeks to prepare for Army for the first time since 2013 (Navy beat Army that year 34-7). Navy is 4-0 in the Niumatalolo era when having 3 weeks to prepare. Twice during the Niumatalolo era Navy has had just one week to prepare (2016 when Navy was in the AAC Championship Game and 2020 during the pandemic) and the Mids lost both of those games.
•    The winner of this year's Army-Navy game will be the best Service Academy team not on NCAA probation. Air Force is currently serving 2 years probation for recruiting violations during the pandemic.
•    Navy and Army are two of the winningest programs in FBS history. Navy has won 733 games all-time, which ranks 25th, while Army has 720 wins, which stands 29th.
•    With 10 wins, Navy's Ken Niumatalolo is the winningest coach in the history of the Army-Navy game. College Football Hall of Famer and former Army coach Col. Earl "Red" Blaik is second on the list with 8 wins. Niumatalolo is also the winningest coach in Navy history with 109-career wins, which is 54 more wins than second-place George Welsh, who is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
•     Navy's 11 opponents this year are a combined 71-50 (.587), which is the 26th-toughest schedule in the country based on opponent winning percentage (does not include games against Navy). Navy faced 8 teams headed to a bowl.
•     The ELO strength of schedule rankings by WarrenNolan.com has Navy's schedule as the 33rd toughest in the country.
•     The Mids faced two teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 when they played them - #20 Notre Dame and #17 UCF. Navy's win over then-#20 UCF was the sixth top-25 win in the Niumatalolo era.
•    The Navy defense ranks 4th in the country against the run, giving up just 85.6 rushing yards per game. It is even more impressive when you take into account Navy has played two of the top-eight rushing offenses in the country (#1 Air Force and #8 UCF) and will face a third on Saturday in Army (#2 at 304.4). Navy has given up just 6 rushing touchdowns which is tied for the 3rd fewest in the country. The Mids are holding their opponents to 3.1 yards per carry which ranks 7th nationally. Navy has held the opposition to under 100 yards rushing in 7 games, including in each of the last 4.
•    Navy starting quarterback Tai Lavatai was lost for the year in the first quarter of the Temple game (Oct. 29) with a left knee injury. Backup quarterback Xavier Arline, who came on to finish the Temple game and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 23-yard run in overtime, has started the last 3 weeks against extremely tough competition (at Cincinnati, vs. Notre Dame in Baltimore and at UCF) and played well. He rushed for 87 yards on 12 carries against Cincinnati; rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries while completing 2 of his 4 pass attempts for 57 yards and a touchdown before leaving with an ankle injury against Notre Dame and ran for a touchdown in Navy's 17-14 upset at #17 UCF. Arline is a two-sport athlete for Navy, as he is also a starting attackman on the lacrosse team. Arline initially committed to North Carolina to play both lacrosse and football, but after a change in the Tar Heel football coaching staff, he decommitted and signed with Navy.
•    Navy starts a combined 4 seniors on offense and defense, a mark that is tied with Cal, Louisiana Tech, North Texas and Temple for the third fewest in the country. The Mids have 17 juniors (10 off, 7 def), 20 sophomores (8 off, 12 def) and 2 freshmen (1 off, 1 def) on the two-deep.
•    Navy has beaten both Temple and UCF this year without completing a pass. The Mids are 8-1 in the Niumatalolo era in games they have not completed a pass.
•    Senior striker John Marshall was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against UCF. He recorded 10 tackles, a school-record 4 sacks, a school-record tying 4 tackles for loss and forced a fumble that set up the game-winning field goal. Marshall, who was the only unanimous selection on the All-American Athletic Conference team, leads the Mids in tackles (88), tackles for loss (18.5), sacks (10.5), pass breakups (7) and quarterback hurries (6). He is the school record holder for most sacks in a single season with 10.5 this season, while his is 18.5 tackles for loss are the fourth most in program history. He is tied for 3rd in the country in tackles for loss per game, averaging 1.7 per contest, and fifth in sacks per game, averaging 0.95 per contest.
•    The Navy defense has produced a school-record 32 sacks this season. In its last two games, Navy has recorded 10 sacks - 5 vs. Notre Dame and 5 at UCF, 9 of the 10 coming in the second half.
•    Navy is 69-19 under Niumatalolo when scoring first and 89-6 when entering the fourth quarter with the lead.

Scouting Army
5-6 Overall
Head Coach: Jeff Monken

•    The Black Knights enter the Army-Navy game on a roll, having won two-straight contests by a combined total of 78-24.
•    Army has played a much tougher schedule this year with wins over Villanova (49-10), Colgate (42-17), Louisiana-Monroe (48-24), bowl-bound UConn (34-17) and UMass (44-7), while dropping games to bowl-bound Coastal Carolina (38-28), bowl-bound and Conference USA Champion UTSA (41-38 OT), Georgia State (31-14), bowl-bound Wake Forest (45-10), bowl-bound Air Force (13-7) and bowl-bound and Sun Belt Champion Troy (10-9).
•    Fifth-year senior quarterback Tyhier Tyler leads the rushing attack with 601 yards and 12 touchdowns (#25 nationally) on 120 carries (5.0 yds / carry). Junior Tyson Riley, who started out as a fullback but moved to slot back due to injuries at that position, has rushed for 435 yards and 2 touchdowns on 93 carries. It is not known if Riley will play fullback or slot back this week.
• Army is #2 in the country in rushing offense, averaging 304.4 yards per game. Its offensive line has done a great job of avoiding negative plays, ranking 9th nationally in tackles for loss allowed (3.8).
•    Tyler has completed 8 of his 16 pass attempts for 301 yards and 2 touchdowns, while backup senior quarterback Cade Ballard is 18-36 passing for 335 yards and 2 touchdowns. Tyler has thrown 1 interception, while Ballard has 2 on the year. Army is the nation's leader in passing yards per completion, averaging 22.3 yards.
•    Army is 20th in the country in fewest turnovers with 13.
•    Third-year sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Alston has 16 catches for 269 yards and a touchdown, while junior Ay'Juan Marshall has 6 receptions for 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
•    The Army defense is led by junior linebacker Leo Lowin (84 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery) and senior safety Marquel Broughton (78 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions).
•    Broughton is a key part of a secondary that is #6 in the country in passing yards allowed (172.3).
•    Senior outside linebacker and projected first-round NFL draft pick Andre Carter II has amassed 37 tackles for the Black Knights, while leading the team in tackles for loss (7) and sacks (3.5).
•    Fourth-year junior defensive back Cameron Jones has recovered 2 fumbles this year, which ranks 22nd nationally.
•    Army special teams has blocked 2 punts this year, which is tied for the 13th most in the country.
•    Third-year sophomore running back Tyrell Robinson and sophomore running back Miles Stewart each have a punt returned for a touchdown.
•    Army is averaging 4.7 penalties per game, which ranks 22nd nationally. It ranks 12th in fewest penalty yards per game, averaging 37.9 yards per game.
•    Army's kickoff return and punt return defense have been strong this year, ranking 9th in the country in kickof return defense and 10th in punt return defense (16.5 yds / kickoff return and 2.8 yds / punt return).