Army Black Knights Notes
#19 ARMY MEETS NAVY FOR 125TH TIME, HAVING THE MOST COMBINED WINS BETWEEN THEM
#19 (AP) Army (11-1, 9-0) won the American Athletic Conference Championship, going 9-0 in conference play in its first season as a member of the conference, taking down Tulane, 35-14 on Dec. 6. Monken’s unit won its conference matchups by an average score of 35.5 to 13.38. QB Bryson Daily has been the driving force for Army, who, with his 29 rushing touchdowns is tied for the FBS lead with Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty. Daily and his Joe Moore finalist offensive line have led Army to only its second 11-win season in school history (2018), both coming under Head Coach Jeff Monken. Army is 15-1 in its last 16 games dating back to last season. Army and Navy enter the contest with a combined record of 19-4, the most wins ever combined coming into the Army-Navy Game. Navy (8-3, 6-2) began the season 6-0 before suffering back-to-back losses at the hands of Notre Dame and Rice. Navy QB Blake Horvath has accounted for 24 touchdowns (13 rushing, 11 passing). Horvath’s 1,154 passing yards are the most by a Navy player since Will Worth threw for 1,397 yards in 2016.
1ST AND 10
• Army won its first-ever conference championship last week, defeating Tulane to win the American Athletic Conference, in its first season as a member of the league. •Army accepted a bid to play in the Independence Bowl vs. Marshall on Dec. 28 in Shreveport, La. Marshall won the Sun Belt Conference. • Army is ranked #19 (AP Poll), #22 (CFP) and #18 in the Coaches Poll (Dec. 8). • Army has maintained a spot in the AP Top 25 for nine consecutive weeks, the longest stretch since being ranked each week of the 1958 season. •With a win, Army would capture its 12th victory of the season, the most ever in a single season in program history. If Army reaches 13 wins, it would be the most ever in a season by a service academy team •Army and Navy enter the historic game with the most combined wins between the two programs with 19 (19-4, .826). • It is the fifth time both programs came into the game after already receiving bowl bids (1996, 2010, 2016, and 2017). • Army has won six of the last eight meetings vs. Navy since 2016, including the last two games. • Army is 15-1 in its last 16 games dating back to last season. • A win would give Army its 11th outright Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy title (1972, 1977, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1996, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2023). • The trophy is on the line between Army and Navy for the first time since 2017 and just the fifth time since 1978 that the Army-Navy Game will be a winner take all game for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy as both teams have already beaten Air Force this season. • Monken and the Black Knights are 12-4 in his last 16 service academy games dating back to the Army-Navy Game in 2016. •This is the second-time Army and Navy have played at Northwest Stadium, home of the Washington Commanders, also meeting in 2011, a 27-21 Navy win. • QB Bryson Daily’s 29 rushing touchdowns are tied for the FBS lead with Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty. Daily has played in two fewer games than Jeanty. Last week, Daily broke the AAC record for most rushing touchdowns in a season. • With one more rushing score, Daily will become the sixth player in NCAA history to total 30+ rushing touchdowns in a season.
WINNER TAKE ALL CIC GAME
Army and Navy have both defeated Air Force this season. This means for the first time since 2017 and just the fifth time since 1978 that the Army-Navy Game will be a winner take all game for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
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Navy Midshipmen Notes
OPENING KICK
• Navy (8-3) and American Athletic Conference Champion #22 (CFP), #19 (AP), #18 (Coaches) Army (11-1) meet on the gridiron for the 125th playing of the Army-Navy Game presented by USAA on Saturday at 3:00 pm at Northwest Stadium (62,000) in Landover, Md. Navy leads the all-time series 62-55-7, including a 1-0 mark in the only game previously played at Northwest Stadium. The Army-Navy game is the eighth-most played rivalry in the FBS. • The winner of Saturday’s game will win the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy which is presented annually to the winner of the football competition among the three major service academies (Navy, Air Force and Army) and is named in honor of the President of the United States. Navy has won the CIC Trophy 16 times, while Army has won it 10 times. • If Navy can win its final 2 games, it would become just the 6th team in school history to win at least 10 games in a season, joining the teams from 1905 (10-1-1), 2004 (10-2), 2009 (10-4), 2015 (11-2) and 2019 (11-2). • This is the 1st time since 2017 that both Army and Navy can win the CIC Trophy heading into the Army-Navy game and just the 8th time ever (1972, 1977, 1978, 1996, 2005, 2012, 2017). The first year of the CIC Trophy was in 1972. • A win over Army would give Navy wins over 2 ranked opponents for the 1st time since 1958 when Navy defeated #8 / #7 Rice 20-7 and #14 / 12 Michigan 20-14. Navy defeated #24 (Coaches) Memphis 56-44 earlier this year. • Navy was predicted to finish 11th in the American Athletic Conference and ended the year tied for 3rd with Memphis (Navy beat Memphis head-to-head) with a 6-2 mark. Navy faced teams who finished 2nd, tied for 3rd, 5th and two of the three teams tied for 6th. • Landon Robinson (Jr. / NG), Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB) and Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S) were named First-Team All-AAC by the head coaches. Justin Reed (Sr. / DE), Dashaun Peele (Sr. / CB) and Riley Riethman (Sr. / P) were named to the second team. The Mids did not have a player selected to the third team, while Connor McMahon (Sr. / OT)and Ben Purvis (Jr. / OG) were named honorable mention all-conference. • Navy is the only FBS team in the country that had just 2 home games in the final 9 regular-season contests. • Navy is the only FBS team in the country that did not play a one-score (8 points or less) game this year. • Navy’s 355 points scored in its 11 games this season are 143 more than it scored in its 12 games last year (212). • Navy has scored a touchdown on the 1st play of a drive 5 times this fall which is tied for the 3rd most in the FBS. • Navy is averaging 247.4 rushing yards per game, the 8th-best average in the FBS and the program’s best since 2019 when it averaged a school-record 360.5 rushing yards per game. Army leads the nation, averaging 314.4 yards per game. • Navy is 30-35 (.857) in the red zone with 28 (.800) of those scores resulting in touchdowns. Navy’s first 20 red zone trips resulted in TDs before settling for a field goal against Charlotte. Navy is #2 in the country in red zone touchdown percentage (.800), just behind Indiana (.818). Army is 4th at .776. • In Navy’s 8 wins this fall, the Mids have outscored the opposition 94-7 in points off turnovers (14-7 vs. Bucknell, 7-0 vs. Temple, 7-0 vs. Memphis, 7-0 vs. UAB, 7-0 vs. Air Force, 31-0 vs. Charlotte, 14-0 vs. USF, 7-0 vs ECU). In the 3 games Navy has lost, the Mids have been outscored 48-0 in points off turnovers (27-0 by Notre Dame, 7-0 by Rice and 14-0 by Tulane). • Riley Riethman’s (Sr. / P) 44.4 career punting average (218 punts, 9,685 yds) is the best in school history (min. 50 att.). He owns 4 of the 5-best single-game performances in Navy history (min. of 5 punts). Riethman is 5th in the nation in punting average this fall, averaging 46.0 yards per punt, which would be a school record. • Eli Heidenreich (Jr. / Snipe) and Alex Tecza (Jr. / FB), who grew up in Pittsburgh and have known each other since the first grade, have combined to score a touchdown for Navy in 16 of the last 21 games dating back to the 2023 season. With 5 touchdown catches this year, Heidenreich is just one off the school record for single-season touchdown catches which has been done by 4 different players. • Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S) made his 41st-consecutive start at safety for the Mids against East Carolina which is the longest active streak for a safety in the FBS and second longest by a player in the secondary. Lane III has 3 forced fumbles this year which is tied for the 10th most in the FBS. Sporting News named him to its Midseason First-Team All-America Team, while he was also named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. • DaShaun Peele (Sr. / CB) became the 1st player in school history to return 2 interceptions for a touchdown in the same game in the Mids’ win over Charlotte. It was the 3rd time this year Navy returned an interception for a touchdown, as Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S) had an 86-yard interception return for a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the game against Memphis that clinched the victory for the Mids. Peele leads the Mids with 4 interceptions. • Blake Horvath (Jr. / QB) has thrown 11 touchdown passes on the year which is tied for the 3rd most in school history. Alton Grizzard, who threw 12 in 1990, is 2nd and record holder Ricky Dobbs threw 13 in 2010. • Horvath needs 105 yards rushing to become the 1st Navy player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2019 when Malcolm Perry rushed for 2,017 yards. He is the 1st Navy quarterback to surpass 1,000 passing yards in a season since 2019 when Malcolm Perry threw for 1,084 yards. Horvath’s 1,154 passing yards are the most by a Navy player since Will Worth threw for 1,397 yards in 2016. • Horvath is the No. 6 graded runner (all positions, min. 125 att.) according to Pro Football Focus, while Lane III is the No. 5-rated safety (min. 675 snaps) and Heidenreich is the No. 2-rated receiver among all position players (min. of 50 targets). Connor McMahon (Sr. / OT) is the 9th-best offensive tackle and the best pass blocker (min. 625 snap counts) among offensive tackles.
A LOT TO PLAY FOR
• If Navy can win its final 2 games, it would become just the 6th team in school history to win at least 10 games in a season, joining the teams from 1905 (10-1-1), 2004 (10-2), 2009 (10- 4), 2015 (11-2) and 2019 (11-2). • A Navy win over Army would give the Mids the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy and a trip to the White House with victories over Air Force and Army. Navy has won the CIC Trophy 16 times overall, but just once in the last 8 years (2019). • A win in the bowl game would give Navy just its 11th bowl win in school history and its first since 2019.
BETTER GET USED TO THE ROAD
• After opening the season with 3-consecutive home games, the Mids will have played 7 of their final 9 regular-season games away from home (5 road, 2 neutral site). • Navy is the only FBS team in the country that had just 2 true home games in the final 9 contests.
SUCCESS IN THE RED ZONE
• Navy is 2nd in the country in red zone touchdown percentage, scoring a touchdown 80 percent of the time (28 TDs / 35 att.). • Navy’s defense is tied for 3rd in red zone defense, giving up just 28 scores (14 touchdowns, 8 field goals) in 40 attempts
QUICK STRIKES
• Navy has scored a touchdown on the first play of a drive 5 times in its 11 games this season. • Daba Fofana (Sr. / FB) scored on a 49-yard run against Bucknell, while Brandon Chatman (Jr. / Snipe) scored on a 42-yard screen pass from Blake Horvath (Jr. / QB). • Horvath and Alex Tecza (Jr. / FB) scored on back-to-back runs of 62 and 65 yards against Temple. • Horvath did it again against Memphis, going 90 yards on a keeper. • The 5 touchdown scores on the first play of a drive are the 3rd most in the FBS.
PROTECTING THE LEAD AT HOME
• Navy has won 72-consecutive games at home when leading after 3 quarters, the nation’s longest streak. • The last time Navy lost at home when leading after 3 quarters was Oct. 23, 1999, when the Mids led Akron 29-13 and lost 35-29.
