In 122 previous contests, the game built around the week after the conference championships has never gone to overtime.
Army had won five of the last seven meetings, going on their own run in the series after Navy rattled off 14 straight and 17 of 19 dating back to 1997. The Black Knights (also previously known as the Cadets) have not won by more than 16 (or two scores) since a 27-7 victory in 1986.
The Midshipmen however have 10 wins by more than two scores over the same timeframe.
The Black Knights will enter the 2023 season as just one of four independent schools competing at the Division I-A level. The others being Notre Dame, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Notre Dame finds more and more pressure to join a conference like the ACC, where they are affiliated in soccer, track and field, baseball and basketball. Connecticut and Massachusetts have been historically two of the worst teams in Division I-A over the past decade, despite UConn’s upcoming matchup against Marshall in the Myrtle Beach Bowl next Monday, December 19.
BYU joins the Big 12 after next season, while Liberty and New Mexico State are headed to Conference USA.
With the game tied 10-10 after regulation, Navy was poised to take the lead in the second overtime period. Running back Anton Smith Jr. fumbled at the one yard line, meaning a field goal from Army would be all that was needed. A 39-yard-kick from Army kicker Quinn Maretzky led to the black and gold faithful storming the field at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The Army/Navy game is the only annual college football game with a rotating neutral venue each season. While Florida and Georgia play in Jacksonville at “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party,” the Knights and Midshipmen take over an NFL stadium the second Saturday in December each year. The game will make stops in the homes of the New England Patriots (2023), Washington Commanders (2024), Baltimore Ravens (2025) and New York Jets and Giants (2027) before returning to Philadelphia, where 90 previous matchups have been held.
The 2022 matchup was certainly at the opposite end of history, featuring 19 punts between the two teams. Army’s only touchdown in regulation came off a blocked Navy punt that was returned 31 yards. Thankfully neither team can punt in overtime under the NCAA system.
The loss cost Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo his job early Sunday morning. Niumatalolo leaves after 15 seasons the Naval Academy’s all-time leader in wins with 109. There were three double-digit winning seasons and six bowl wins during Niumatalolo’s tenure in Annapolis. Niumatalolo also won six Commander In Chief Trophies, which is awarded to the team with the best overall record between the three service academies (Army, Navy and Air Force).
You are only as good as your most recent record, and Niumatalolo’s Midshipmen finished 4-8 each of the past two seasons, despite 11 wins against their rivals.
Niumatalolo is the opposite of what Ohio State fans endured in the 1990’s at Ohio State. Cooper coached the Buckeyes to 111 wins over 13 years, but 2-10-1 against Michigan. At least twice Cooper’s loss to Michigan cost Ohio State an opportunity at the National Championship.
One team has to lose every Saturday during the college football season, since ties were eliminated by the NCAA after the 1995 season. Not one person watching or attending loses with the Army/Navy Game.
That is unless you count the uniforms for this year's game that looked more like Oregon against the Montreal Alouettes.
-JC24