Army-Navy picks and best bets for Saturday’s rivalry game

The Army Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen will close out the regular season with one of the best games of the college football year annually. Army will move on to play the Missouri Tigers in the Armed Forces Bowl on December 22nd, and Navy’s season will end on Saturday. The Black Knights will enter with a four-game winning streak, and Navy lost two of their last three contests. After the Midshipmen won 14 consecutive games in this series, Army won four of the last five heading into this weekend.

Here’s all the data you’ll want, and a pick for the game!

SP+ Rankings

Army: 59 overall, 52 offense, 44 defense
Navy: 103 overall, 114 offense, 90 defense

Injury update

Army

RB Anthony Adkins - Questionable (undisclosed)

Navy

No new injuries to report

ATS/Total

Against The Spread

Army: 6-5 ATS
Navy: 7-4 ATS

Total

Army: Over 5-6
Navy: Over 5-6

Returning/Overall Talent from 247Sports

Army: 129 overall, 128 offense, 129 defense
Navy: 130 overall, 129 offense, 128 defense

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: Army -7
Total: 34.5
Moneyline: Army -305, Navy +240

Opening line: Army -7.5
Opening total: 35

Weather

65 degrees, 14 MPH wind, 70% chance of rain

The Pick

Under 34.5

I’m not sure what the number is that would force me to take the over, but 34.5 is not low enough. Three of the last four games in this series went under that number of points. Shoutout to Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports and the Cover 3 Podcast who constantly reminds bettors of this trend.

Since 2005, the under cashed at a record of 40-9-1 in service academy games. With the triple-option offenses, the clock is constantly running with long drives without a ton of explosive plays, which leads to limited possessions and less points.

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