NFL Show
The Army Black Knights take on the Navy Midshipmen in one of the country's best rivalry showdowns from Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday afternoon. Army comes in one win away from getting to .500 on the season, while Navy knows that their hopes are dashed toward a similar type of finish. With that said though. After a lengthy winning streak for the Midshipmen, Army was able to string together three wins in a row, though it has been back and forth over the last few seasons. Navy has won two of the last three and in this rivalry, it remains to be seen if they can make it consecutive wins yet again.
Navy limps into this one with a 4-7 record on the season, though a win the last time out might just be enough to propel this group forward. On the road a few weeks ago, the Midshipmen were able to take down UCF, while taking Notre Dame to within three points the week prior. While the wins have struggled to come along this season, this team hasn't stopped fighting. Four of their seven losses have come by ten points or less and their recent run of strong play is timed up perfectly with their biggest game of the season. After grabbing the upset last season in this one as well, this team has quite a bit of confidence on their backs that they'll be carrying in.
Unfortunately, the pressing concern for this group is the quarterback position. Tau Lavatai (knee) is the only player appearing on the injury report this week, though it's a massive absence. As the team's starting quarterback, he leads the team in pa ssing and is third in rushing, taking away a major key towards their success.
While the world did gaze with deep amaze
At those fearless men but few
Who bore the fight that freedom's light
Might shine through the foggy dew#GoNavy | #BeatArmy | #RollGoats pic.twitter.com/miTEusDqpP— Navy Football (@NavyFB) December 7, 2022
While all eyes are usually on the Navy's ground game, this game will be dictated by both sides of things. While the Midshipmen rank seventh nationally in rushing yards per game, the change at quarterback has slowed them down of late. It helps that Army's rush defense is one of the worst in the country, as well as having the fourth-best running defense. Their balance in controlling the ground on both sides of the ball certainly helped them against UCF and should come into play again in this one. John Marshall (88 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 1 interception) is sure to have an impact on this one and the more he can get invovled, the better the chance that Navy comes out on top.