College Football Betting – Army/Navy Preview & Pick
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It’s not the sports betting event of the year but no one can deny that Army/Navy is a fun rivalry in college football. I recent years, it’s been a track meet for Navy. Can Army, once again an underdog, pull off a shocker this time around?
Army Black Knights vs Navy Midshipmen
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Army Navy odds favorite: Navy -14
It doesn’t take a football expert to figure out what’s on the line in this matchup. It’s the equivalent of Super Bowl betting for these two teams, who meet for the 110th time in their history. Navy holds the historical edge at 53-49-7 but has owned Army in recent years, winning the last seven meetings. Last year, the Midshipmen shut the Black Knights out 34-0.
Army is in tough but it still has the personnel to compete in theory. Its rushing attack ranks 14th in the country. That stat is a bit skewed since its offense is ridiculously run-heavy, however. Quarterback Trent Steelman attempted only 90 passes all year, throwing for just three scores. He did, however, carry the ball 191 times for 690 yards and five scores. You could argue that part of the reason Army runs so often is because it does so very well.
It will be interesting to see if Army finally removes Steelman’s shackles and lets him air it out this week, as Navy’s defensive weakness is against the pass, not the run. The Midshipmen’s No. 60 pass “D” allowed 365 yards to Hawaii. If the freshman Steelman can showcase improved ability as a passer, Army may put some points on the board.
Offensively, Navy is quite similar to Army – only better. The Midshipmen rank third in the nation in rushing and quarterback Ricky Dobbs is a scrambling machine. He carried the ball a ridiculous 252 times for 23 scores and has good support out of the backfield from Vince Murray, how had 884 rushing yards of his own and gouged Hawaii for 248 yards in one game.
On paper, this matchup seems quite predictable. It’s clear that Army isn’t a joke anymore, so the team that lost 72-3 over the last two years to Navy won’t show up. However, it’s also clear that Navy is just a better version of Army. We should thus expect a decent football game but not a particularly close one either. Navy should cover the NCAA football betting spread.
Pick: Navy -14
