There are normally two picks to make in the Army-Navy Game: the underdog and the under. Eight of the last 10 meetings have been decided by one score, while 17 of the last 18 have gone under. The Black Knights and Midshipmen spend all season preparing for this, and that shows on the field. But a funny thing has happened under Jeff Monken: Army has pulled away. Army is 6-2 in the last eight meetings winning three of the last six by a touchdown. And this team may be better than each that preceded it. Navy is in the midst of its best year since 2019, but it's lost to the two best teams it faced by a combined 86-14. Go Army. Beat Navy.

Despite Army's American title, we don't see much separating these two. The Mids upgraded significantly this season, too, adding Wing-T elements to the offense as imported by first-year OC Drew Cronic, who arrived from A-AA Mercer (where he was head coach). Now-healthy Navy QB Blake Horvath was posting big numbers all season and making nearly as many plays as ballyhooed West Point counterpart Bryson Daily. Navy's recent win (sans Horvath) over a hot East Carolina also impressed. Upsets have been commonplace in this rivalry throughout the decades and an expected fanatical effort from Annapolis, finally playing one of these vs. Army closer to home (in Landover at the Commanders' stadium this week) might be another plus. Play Navy (at Landover, Md)

There are trends in college football, and there is this: The last 10 Army-Navy meetings have resulted in a points total under 40. Because of the sky-high stakes, coaches turn conservative in their play-calling, and they do not throw much to begin with. The Black Knights average fewer than eight passes per game by QBs and have advanced the fewest yards by air than any FBS member. The Midshipmen might be airing it out compared to prior iterations but still average just 14 tosses per outing by QBs and rank just three spots ahead of their rivals for passing yards. The clock simply does not stop that often, which sets up another sub-40 outcome for the total.

Where the Black Knights have an advantage over Navy is in their ability to play consistently stout defense. Army's defense is one of the best in the country and does a great job of getting off the field. On the other side of the ball, they have two of the more explosive talents in QB Bryson Daily and RB Kanye Udoh.

Army has won the last two meetings against Navy and six of the last eight. They've covered eight of their 12 games this season. The most recent comparisons showing the disparity between the armed forces this year happened in their games against Tulane. When Army faced Tulane on December 6th they won 35-14. When Navy faced Tulane on November 16th they lost 35-0. Army is led by quarterback Bryson Daily who tossed eight touchdown passes but where he does his damage is in the running game where he had a 5.6 average, 29 TDs, and 1,474 yards. Army has the No. 1 rushing team in the nation averaging 314 yards per game. Army is in another class than Navy this year. Army covers.

It just doesn't feel right to pick an over in the battle for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy this year, but these two offenses have been fun in 2024. Both are averaging more than 32 points per game, but I'm especially impressed with Army, who I've faded a few times of late though they dominated last week in the AAC Championship Game. Expect another fine performance from Jeff Monken's crew, who should be singing second (alma maters after the game - the best tradition in college football). Army 27, Navy 17.