Army football battles Navy in 125th meeting of storied rivalry

When Army West Point football head caoch Jeff Monken was asked to describe the Army-Navy game to someone who was going to watch American football for the first time, he said it is two groups of people who have a great disdain for each other and willing to do whatever it takes to beat the other.

“We hand everybody a sledgehammer and say ‘OK, this side, you get to hit that side as hard as you want with a sledge hammer.’ And after that swing, the other side they get hit this side with sledge hammer as hard as they possibly hit you. And we just keep doing that until there was only one guy standing, and his team gets to win. That’s about what this game is,” Monken said during his weekly press conference at West Point on Monday.

The 125th meeting of the storied rivalry will take place this year at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland – home of the Washington Commanders. It’s the second of three trophies up for grabs for the Black Knights this season.

Army captured The American Football Championship on Friday by defeating Tulane 35-14. Later this month, the Black Knights will play Marshall in the Independence Bowl.

But nothing is more important to Monken and his team than defeating Navy and retaining the Commander-In-Chief trophy this Saturday.

“I will tell you that no matter what kind of a season we’ve had, losing this game makes the season a bit of a disappointment,” Monken said. “I hope we don’t have to experience that. We’re going to fight like crazy to try to win the game. But that’s the reality of it.”

The Black Knights, No. 22 in the College Football Playoff Ranking, bring an 11-1 record into the matchup against an 8-3 Navy. Army and the Midshipmen enter the matchup with the most combined wins with 19 between the two programs.

“I rather play an 11-1 conference champion Army football team than a 6-6 Army team, so it’s going to be a great challenge,” said Brian Newberry, Navy’s head coach, during the Army-Navy Media Luncheon at Northwest Stadium on Tuesday. “We got our hands full, but we’re excited about it.”

This Saturday will be a chance for the Black Knights to sing second for the third year in a row. Army has won six of the last eight meetings since 2016.

If Army captures its 12th victory of the season, it would be the most ever in a single season in program history.