Pride. Passion. Bravery. Selflessness. Commitment. Welcome to the 124th edition of college football’s greatest rivalry: the Army-Navy Game.
Ahead of the clash between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen, we’ve got the latest college football betting odds, DFS picks, and an Army-Navy Game prediction.
Army-Navy Game Betting and DFS Preview
All odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook and correct as of Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. Want to take advantage of the Army-Navy Game odds? Visit the College Football Network live college football odds page to place bets in your state.
- Spread
Army -2.5 - Moneyline
Army -148, Navy +124 - Over/Under
27.5 points - Game time
3 p.m. ET - Location
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA - Predicted Weather at Kick
36 degrees, 6 mph winds, partly sunny - How to Watch
CBS, FuboTV
Looking to make some money on the Midshipmen? Can you bank on the Black Knights? If you’re going to take advantage of the Army-Navy Game odds, consider some of the following factors before you part with your hard-earned cash.
Army enters the 124th edition of the Army-Navy Game as a narrow favorite to repeat their win of 12 months ago. However, it’s the Midshipmen who hold the head-to-head advantage in this most bitter of rivalries, leading the series 62-54-7 ahead of the clash in Foxborough. Both teams are 5-6 right now, and our money is on the Midshipmen to hit .500.
While our Army-Navy prediction goes into greater detail on how this game will be won, Army has covered just once as a favorite this season, helping fuel our conviction of taking Navy with the points. They’ve twice been a single-digit favorite, losing to Louisiana-Monroe and Boston College. The Midshipmen covered convincingly last time as a 2.5-point underdog.
Wrapping up the Army-Navy Game odds with the points total, the clock-draining nature of service academy option football often results in low-scoring games. As a result, it’s been 20 years since the game tallied over 40 points. Defense is the strength of both teams, so even the 27.5-point line might be outside of their reach on Saturday.
Top DFS Picks and Fantasy Plays
Army Depth Chart | Navy Depth Chart
- QB Bryson Daily, Army
- QB Xavier Arline, Navy
- QB Braxton Woodson, Navy
- RB Kanye Udoh, Army
- RB Tyrell Robinson, Army
- RB Jakobi Buchanan, Army
- RB Markel Johnson, Army
- RB Alex Tecza, Navy
- RB Daba Fofana, Navy
- RB Brandon Chatman, Navy
- RB Eli Heidenreich, Navy
- WR Noah Short, Army
- WR Casey Reynolds, Army
- WR Jayden Umbarger, Navy
- WR Camari Williams, Navy
- TE Josh Lingenfelter, Army
- TE Thomas Scully, Navy
If you’re new to DFS, Fanduel’s one-game contests allow you to select four Flex positions in one-game slates from the quarterback, running backs, wide receivers, and tight end positions. One-game slates give you an MVP that scores 1.5x the points of a normal player.
Starting your Army-Navy Game picks with MVP contenders, it’s difficult to look past Army quarterback Bryson Daily. The Black Knights have experimented with a more traditional offense at times this season, leading to Daily throwing for 859 yards and six scores. Meanwhile, his dual-threat ability has accounted for another seven touchdowns and 821 yards on the ground.
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As a result, Daily has the most fantasy points of any player lining up in the Army-Navy Game, tallying 170.46 points. That said, Army has had difficulties stopping the run this season, which could lead you toward Navy running back Alex Tecza. The true speedster has averaged 6.2 yards per carry this year, rushing for five touchdowns and tallying 111.2 fantasy points.
Other players worth considering include Navy true freshman quarterback Braxton Woodson who ripped off a huge play for his first rushing touchdown against SMU last weekend. He also secured his first 100+ yard rushing game. Meanwhile, Tyson Riley and Jakobi Buchanan handled heavy workloads last time out. Buchanan is second on the team with three touchdowns.
Prediction for the Army-Navy Game
Okay, so we’ve furnished you with the Army-Navy Game odds and some DFS picks. Now, it’s time to close this thing out with our prediction. Can Army overcome the Midshipmen to win the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy? Will Navy end their first year under Brian Newberry with a statement win to finish the campaign with a 6-6 record, their first time finishing .500 since 2019?
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Army has endured a rollercoaster of a season, losing as a substantial favorite to Louisiana-Monroe to open the campaign, going through a five-game losing streak in the middle of the year, but ending strong by knocking off Air Force and Coastal Carolina as part of a three-game win streak that they carry into the 124th edition of the Army-Navy Game.
Jeff Monken’s team has found success late in the year by returning to what has historically made Army successful. The academy tried to evolve with the times this season, opening the year by attempting to incorporate more passing elements into their offensive schemes. As a result, they’ve averaged more pass attempts this year than in any season in recent history.
Reverting to a pure option offense down the stretch has paid dividends and likely means we’ll see more of a traditional Army-Navy Game than we might have expected at the start of the year. The Midshipmen also tried to incorporate more passing elements into their offense this year, but the meat of that unit remains in the ground game with their stable of slotbacks.
Offensively, Army has an edge heading into the game. They’re averaging 20.8 points per game compared to Navy’s 18.3, with the Midshipmen ranking 122nd in the nation for scoring offense. Despite the Black Knights’ experimentation with a switch in offensive identity, they still boast better yards per carry, rushing touchdowns, and rushing yards per game numbers than Navy.
On the face of it, Army holds a slight defensive advantage too, outperforming Navy by allowing 22.0 points per game compared to the Midshipmen’s 22.9 points per game. However, that statistic alone doesn’t tell the full story of the Navy defense in the first year under former defensive coordinator Newberry.
Built in the image of their new head coach, Navy has pitched three shutouts this season, an incomparable achievement across the landscape of college football. Linebacker Colin Ramos is a tone-setter while leading a group of seven players with multiple sacks.
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The Midshipmen have been one of the best teams in the nation at stopping the run this year, allowing just 3.57 yards per carry and 12 touchdowns. Both rank in the top 30 in all of college football, which feels pretty significant when you consider that the Army-Navy Game is all about grinding, physical, football on the ground.
Meanwhile, they have talent in the secondary should Army attempt to utilize the passing talent of quarterback Daily. Rayuan Lane and Dashaun Peele both have four interceptions this season. Standout safety Lane is an athletic and physical force in all phases of the game, who has tallied seven pass breakups and two forced fumbles to go with his interceptions.
Although Army comes into the game on a rich run and with the opportunity to claim the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy for just the 10th time, Navy’s defensive strength could be the difference maker, giving the Midshipmen their 63rd victory in the Army-Navy Game.
Prediction: Navy 14, Army 10