5 most intriguing Army-Navy rivalry football games of all time
With 124 meetings, Army-Navy is one of the biggest rivalries in college football. The game is so big that the Black Knights and the Midshipmen get an entire Saturday to themselves, with no other FBS games on schedule.
Over the years, the academies have seen Heisman Trophy winners and national championships, yet a season's success usually comes down to beating their archrival in December.
As teams prepare for the 125th Army-Navy game, here are some of the most intriguing games in series history.
The five most intriguing games of all time
#5. 2022: The first overtime game
This Army-Navy game has featured seven ties. However, since no match had ended in a tie after regulation since 1981, the 2022 meeting was the first to go into overtime. The Black Knights and the Midshipmen scored on their opening possession, but Navy running back Anton Hall Jr. fumbled the ball inches from the goal line on their second possession. Army's Nate Smith recovered the football.
The Black Knights ran the ball on three straight plays before Quinn Maretzki kicked the game-winning 39-yard field goal to put the final score at 20-17. Army was outgained 284 yards to 153 but won the game anyway.
#4. 1983: Army-Navy goes to LA
The Army-Navy game has been held in many cities across America. However, most of the games have taken place along the East Coast. Yet in 1983, the teams headed to the Rose Bowl for the only game in the series that was played west of Mississippi.
The Navy destroyed the Army, 42-13, in front of over 81,000 fans. The game wasn't memorable so much for what happened on the field, but rather the location.
#3. 1963: A mourning nation, Roger Staubach and the introduction of instant replay in a classic
This game almost didn't take place after President John F. Kennedy was shot on Nov. 22, 1963. After discussions, the game was pushed back one week and ultimately played on Dec. 7.
The Roger Staubach-led Midshipmen hung on for a 21-15 win after Army unintentionally ran out the clock at the Navy 2-yard line. The 1963 Army-Navy game was also the first to use instant replay in a telecast. CBS Director Tony Verna used recorded footage of an Army touchdown run so viewers could see it again. Replay was only used for that play.
The win meant the Mids would face unbeaten Texas in the Cotton Bowl for the National Championship. Texas went on to win 28-6. Had Army won the game, they would have ended up in Dallas playing the Longhorns.
#2. 2016: Army ends the skid
In what was by far the longest winning streak in series history, Navy arrived at the 2016 edition with 14 consecutive wins. Most of them were non-competitive football games.
But after coming close a few times, the Black Knights finally broke through in 2016. The Army ran the ball for 316 yards, and Ahmad Bradshaw scored on a 9-yard run with six minutes to play to put West Point ahead for a final score of 21-17.
Since that game, Army has won six of eight meetings over the Navy and earned four Commander-in-Chief's Trophy.
#1. 1926: A tie in one of the greatest games ever played
In the first half of the last century, Army and Navy were among the best programs in college football. In 1926, both teams arrived at Chicago's Soldier Field, close to the top of the rankings. Navy arrived undefeated, while the Cadets had only lost a 7-0 game versus Notre Dame.
The Midshipmen came out swinging and took a 14-0 lead, but West Point responded with 21 unanswered points. Navy scored again in the fourth quarter to tie the game.
As the Fighting Irish lost on that same day to Carnegie Tech, the Midshipmen claimed the national title.