The Army Black Knights take on the Navy Midshipmen on Saturday in one of the great sporting events of the year. The game kicks off at 3:00 p.m. ET in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Midshipmen are listed as six-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at O/U 38.5 points. Below is my full preview, prediction and best bet for the Army-Navy Game.
Army at Navy prediction, preview
Army Preview
It has been a solid season for Army. Jeff Monken has been coaching this squad for over a decade and knows how special this Army-Navy game is. Army defeated Air Force earlier this season, so it would be in line for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy if it took down Navy. Army enters this game as an underdog after a great season from Navy, but this game is almost always tight between these two teams. The Black Knights are a hard team to blow out, only losing one game all season by more than one score. They beat Kansas State, took North Texas to overtime and only lost to Tulane by seven points. Quarterback Cale Hellums is starting the Army/Navy game for the first time, and he will need to rise to the occasion for the Black Knights to get the win.
Navy Preview
It has been a fantastic season for Navy. The Midshipmen were in contention in the competitive American Conference until the final two weeks of the season. They took down a couple of the best teams in the conference, Memphis and South Florida, and had one of the most electric offenses in the American. Most service academies are the slowest-paced teams in the country, run the ball a large majority of the time and play tough defense. However, Navy ranks 24th in the country in total offense and bottom-five in the American in total defense. Blake Horvath is one of the best passers that Navy has had in recent history and adds an element to the offense that service academies typically don’t have. Horvath won this game for Navy last season and is hoping to make it back-to-back wins.
Army at Navy pick, best bet
My best bet for the Army/Navy game is a two-leg same-game parlay. The two legs are Navy on the moneyline and the Navy team total over 20.5 points. This Navy offense is one of the best in school history, averaging 32.5 points per game this season. The ability to work passing plays into this offense has made it much harder for Army to defend them. These games were famously low-scoring for years because of the familiarity between the two teams and the lack of total possessions. However, Navy’s new offense has made it much tougher for Army to game plan. Navy won this game 31-13 last season on the back of an incredible Blake Horvath performance. Horvath should perform just as well this time around, rack up at least 21 points for his team and secure the win over Army for the second straight season.
