Lost in the early shuffle of a chaotic college football season is the resurgence of Army and Navy, two of the nation’s premier service academies. Should they exit Week 5 with a win each, they will start the season 4-0 together for the first time since 1945.
The odds at least favor this historic start. Army is a 12.5-point favorite for its Thursday night road game against Temple, while Navy enters Saturday’s road game at UAB as a 3.5-point favorite.
It’s been an impressive, albeit quiet, turnaround for two historic giants. One could be forgiven for allowing Army and Navy to slip from the national conscience — until the second weekend in December, that is.
The road for each program to get to this point has been laid brick by brick. The Black Knights haven’t made the postseason since 2021 and were 12-12 in the two years after. The Midshipmen underwent a coaching change from Ken Niumatalolo two years ago following a third straight losing season. Navy’s former defensive coordinator and safeties coach, Brian Newberry, succeeded him and went 5-7 in his first year, capping the 2023 season with Navy’s third loss to Army in four years.
But Navy is two wins away from exceeding its highest win total since 2019, and Army is off to its best start since 2021. This miniature Renaissance underscores a unique approach to modern college football, and the importance of conference affiliation in the 12-team College Football Playoff era.
Divergent paths back
Army and Navy deal with similar challenges. Rigorous service academy requirements make it virtually impossible to benefit from the transfer portal, but each team has seen a handful of its stars make an early exit since lawsuits took a sledgehammer to the NCAA’s ability to adjudicate transfer eligibility.
Navy, at least, has to contend with conference foes that can take both premier players from the FCS and those trickling down from Power Four programs. Army, which joined the American in 2024, had similar roadblocks on its independent schedule.
Even so, the Black Knights and Midshipmen have taken different paths to their 3-0 starts. Newberry’s squad has scored at least 38 points in each of its three games and leads the AAC (10th nationally) with a whopping 47.7 points per game. The Midshipmen are one of just four FBS programs (including Army) to average at least 300 yards rushing per contest.
Army, meanwhile, has leaned on its suffocating defense — a signature of coach Jeff Monken — to dominate. The Black Knights have yet to allow more than 14 points in a game. They lead the AAC in both total defense (271.3 yards per game) and scoring defense (9.3 points per game), and they held their last two opponents (conference foes Florida Atlantic and Rice) to under 100 yards rushing combined.
College Football Playoff on the mind
Army and Navy are the only remaining undefeated teams in the AAC and 2-0 in conference play. That opens the door for either team think about a run at one of the five College Football Playoff auto bids.
The road is certainly wide open for both teams. Navy and Army still have to play Notre Dame, which gives them an opportunity to earn a signature win that at least equates to a triumph over a power-conference team, even if the Irish are technically independent.
Outside of Notre Dame and Navy, North Texas is the only remaining opponent on Army’s schedule that currently boasts a winning record. Navy has some tough tests remaining, but it already cleared arguably its biggest hurdle by beating Memphis — the preseason AAC favorite and an early leader for the Group of Five’s playoff spot — 56-44 in Week 4.
Though Army and Navy share the AAC, the Army-Navy Game still counts as a nonconference contest, so each team will have played a full eight-game league schedule by the time the AAC Championship Game rolls around. That means the Black Knights and Midshipmen could theoretically play two weeks in a row if they finish in the top two of the final AAC standings.
Only one of those games would count in the selection committee’s eyes. The playoff’s executive board already determined that, since neither Army nor Navy wanted to move the traditional date of the Army-Navy Game, the result will not factor in the College Football Playoff process.
That does mean Army and Navy would have to make it to the AAC Championship Game to reach a 12-game minimum before Selection Sunday on Dec. 8. Making it that far, and boasting a 12-0 record — or maybe even 11-1, provided that one loss is against Notre Dame — would make either team an enticing playoff candidate.
