OUR PICK
ARMY
Navy Midshipmen vs. Army Black Knights NCAAF Betting Odds:
Spread:
Navy +7(-112)
vs. Army -7(-108)
Total:
Over 40(-110)
Under 40(-110)
Betting odds provided by Sportsbetting.ag
Navy vs. Army Pick:
Let’s go back to September and the Army and Oklahoma game. As 28.5 underdogs, Army took Oklahoma to overtime in one of the closest calls for Oklahoma all season long. Army was able to exploit a porous Sooners’ rush defense, which played right into their obvious strength. While it was obvious what Army were going to do, the Sooners couldn’t stop what Army was doing.
Quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. ran for 102 yards and a score to control the game. The real standouts of the game was the defense. They held Kyler Murray to just 165 yards passing and 71 yards rushing. There aren’t many teams who can say they held him in check. Alabama may be able to join a small group of teams at the end of the month, though.
The defensive side of the ball has been the difference maker for the Black Knights in 2018. Despite having to play the top-rated offense in college football, Army are 11th with just 301 yards allowed per game. They’ve also given up only 18.7 points per game. Army naturally know the offensive scheme of Navy. Expect the Midshipmen to run into a whole lot of issues moving the football in this game. Navy are 104th in the FBS with 361 yards gained per game.
Offensively Army gets the edge in this matchup. There is an even bigger edge defensively between these two programs. Navy are 100th in the nation with 438 yards per game. They’ve allowed Air Force and Tulane, option teams, to move the ball as well.
The Black Knights held Air Force to just 14 points, while Navy allowed 35 in a 35-7 loss. The Midshipmen must find a way to keep the combo of Hopkins Jr. and Darnell Woolfolk. They will moderately, but I don’t think that’s going to be enough given the tough Army defense they’re going to have to navigate against. Navy will be excited, of course, but will that be enough? This game likely is going to be close for a half, though expect Army to pull away for a 30-17 or thereabouts in the final quarter for their third win in a row over Navy.