The Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen won’t play in a bowl game this season, but that unfortunate fact only makes their 2011 meeting that much more important.
Army Black Knights vs. Navy Midshipmen – Saturday, December 10
Sports betting line: No line
Why Army Will Win
The college football betting experts who have followed the Independents this year know that it’s been a very bad season for the indies and the service academies as well. Neither Notre Dame nor BYU have had a particularly successful autumn – both schools have won eight games at this point in time, but neither team has looked impressive or played anywhere close to its capabilities. The same can be said of both Army and Navy. The boys from West Point and Annapolis both reached bowl games last season – Army in the Armed Forces Bowl and Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl. In 2011, the Brave Old Army Team and the Midshipmen will stay home for the holidays. Only Air Force will represent the service academies in a bowl game, and the Falcons barely qualified for the postseason at 7-5.
Within this larger reality, it’s a point of concern for Navy that it couldn’t even reach the .500 mark this season. Quarterback Kriss Proctor has consistently missed wide-open receivers and has failed to give the Midshipmen the passing game they need in order to ring up big point totals. Navy’s offense simply hasn’t found the groove that past Navy offenses have managed to attain a few times each season. No one’s expecting Navy to average 40 points a game, but the Mids have failed to score 35 or even 31 points in a number of games when they wound up scoring just 24. Failing to tally those extra seven to ten points has made the difference between a 5-7 year and an 8-4, bowl-bearing year. Army is definitely playing a less effective Navy squad, and that’s how the Black Knights can break a nine-game losing streak in this series.
Why Navy Will Win
When you do your homework and assess your sportsbook review on this game, you have to realize that while Navy is much weaker than it’s been in the past, Army has endured a noticeable decline as well in 2011. Army went 7-6 last year but is now sitting at 3-8, mired in gridiron misery. It’s true that the Black Knights will be fired up for this game, and it’s also true that in a typical Army-Navy game (at least over the past two years), Army stays in the fight for at least two quarters, usually two and a half. However, the Black Knights – last in the nation in passing yards – just don’t have the big-play capability to threaten Navy’s defense. Army also commits just enough mistakes – usually a key turnover at the wrong time – to give the Midshipmen they breathing room they need. Navy is a mediocre team, but Army is worse. The burden of proof is definitely resting on the shoulders of the Black Knights in this contest.
Who Will Win
It’s hard to pick a team that hasn’t won college football’s most traditional and time-honored rivalry since 2001. Until proven otherwise, Navy should beat Army again.
College Football Betting Pick: Navy