Navy Sinks Army For 14th Straight Time, 21-17

Stat of the game: Oregon’s equipment team was jealous watching this rivalry. In the end, Navy and the Midshipmen sang second, sending Army home for another long, dark bus ride to West Point.

Navy survived a scare from Army on Saturday in a 21-17 win at the Linc in the 116th edition of the Army-Navy game. He escaped a rush and followed with an 8-yard touchdown run with 4:41 left in the game to lift Navy to a 17-13 victory. Black Knights receiver Edgar Allen Poe caught five of those passes for 121 yards and a touchdown.

Niumatalolo handed bottled waters reserved for players and staff to security guards at the gate to help them cool off on a warm day.

Reynolds had support from not just teammates but also national pundits who questioned why major college football’s all-time rushing touchdowns leader was not invited to the awards presentation; in past years there have been up to six finalists.

Army had a lead.

“We’re an institution, and we’re certainly a football program, that’s steeped in team and not about ‘me.’ All of a sudden, it’s become about that”, Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said before the game. Following a 39-yard completion from quarterback Chris Carter to DeAndre Bell that got the ball to Navy’s 33-yard line, Carter fumbled the snap on the next play, and the Midshipmen recovered.

There were probably some out there that thought the Army Black Knights would be in some serious trouble on Saturday early on against the Navy Midshipmen, but that has been anything but the case.

The first five drives of the second half ended with a punt. “I’m absolutely positive we’ve got a room full of guys in there that are going to find a way to win”.

Reynolds’ second rushing TD was his 85th career score, the most for any FBS or FCS Division I player.

The defense made it stand by pitching a shutout in the second half as well as collecting three turnovers, all in the fourth quarter, including Daiquan Thomasson’s interception with 2:10 remaining.

Today will mark the final regular season game for Heisman Trophy candidate Keenan Reynolds, who holds the NCAA record with 83 rushing scores to go along with 4,279 yards. Navy’s two Heisman winners, Roger Staubach in 1963 and Joe Bellino in 1960, each served four years, as was customary at the time. We have to channel that and use it in a positive manner going into this game against Navy. People say it’s America’s game and I definitely feel it is worthy of that title.

“This football team has never lost to Navy and that is the way we have to approach it”, he said.

Navy is ranked number twenty-one in the nation thanks to a 9-2 record for the season.

The chances kept coming, and Army finally looked like it was in business when Carter hit Tyler Campbell for a 35-yard pass with under three minutes left.

With Saturday featuring the classic annual football game between Army and Navy, ESPN College Gameday is in Philadelphia and had current Midshipman coach Ken Niumatalolo on set.