Army vs Navy 2019: Can Army Keep Rolling?

As we enter the last few weeks until the beginning of the 2019 NCAA football season, we also begin the countdown to one of the most celebrated rivalries.  On December 14, 2019 two teams will gather at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia to write another chapter.  Army and Navy will meet for the 120^th time on that Saturday.  This rivalry arguably has the most pageantry surrounding the game.  From the March On, to the joy of singing your alma mater second, nothing compares to watching the Army vs Navy game.  As we look ahead to December, we begin to dissect what 2019 will hold for two of our service academies.  It’s time to preview the Black Knights and Midshipmen.

Army:

Army enters 2019 coming off a historical season.  The Cadets won 11 games last year and finished in the Top 25 for the first time since 1996.  Army defeated Navy for the 3^rd straight year and won their second consecutive CIC Trophy.  Army also finished the regular season undefeated at home.  This is the second year in a row the Black Knights have accomplished this feat.  What a turnaround we have seen from this Army program.

It all started back in 2009 when the Black Knights hired Rich Ellerson.  Ellerson immediately found some success by almost taking Army back to a bowl game.  The Black Knights finished 5-7 but were competitive against their rivals from Annapolis.  Ellerson continued to show sparks of turning Army around.  He guided the Black Knights to a bowl game in 2010 and two years later led Army to a victory over Air Force.  This was the Black Knights first win over the Falcons since 2005.  Unfortunately, after 2010, Ellerson only managed 8 wins in three years and none of those eight wins included Navy.  Army would lose three of the next four meetings by an average of 8 points.  The Black Knights decided to make a change in 2014, bringing in Jeff Monken.  Monken picked up where Ellerson left off, still showing that competitive nature against Navy.  Monken could not get over the hump either, losing his first two meeting against the Middies by an average of 5.5 points.  The dam finally broke Army’s way in 2016 when the Black Knights finally defeated Navy.  The momentum did not stop there as in 2017 Army won their first CIC trophy since 1996, which was punctuated by a 14-13 thriller, in the snow, over Navy.  Monken kept the train rolling last year as Army finished 2018 with their best finish in the last 10 years.  The pendulum has officially swung in Army’s favor.

Army’s Returning Players

Army begins 2019 looking to add to what they have built at West Point.  For the 4^th straight year, the Black Knights have their quarterback coming back.  Kelvin Hopkins Jr. returns to continue to drive the tank.  Army adds returning running backs Connor Slomka and Kell Walker.  The Black Knights defense will have some pieces to fill in with only four returning starters.  Army will also have a new signal caller on defense with John Loose taking over as defensive coordinator.  Previous coordinator Jay Bateman did a whale of a job transforming this Army defense into one of the most dominating we have seen in recent history.  The pressure will be on Coach Loose to pick up the pieces and put the puzzle back together defensively.

Army’s Schedule in 2019

Army’s schedule is a favorable one in 2019.  The Black Knights should be able to get to 4-1 heading into a road game against Western Kentucky.  The only loss to this point is a week 2 matchup with Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines.  Army was able to take Oklahoma to overtime last year.  You cannot sleep on this Army team, but I feel Michigan can come out on top.  The Black Knights will drop their game to the Hilltoppers making them 4-2.  Army will bounce back with wins over Georgia State, San Jose St. UMass, and VMI.  Throw in a loss to Hawaii and that leaves Army with an 8-3 record.  I am leaving the two games against Air Force and Navy as toss ups.  I know Army has had success against these two teams the last three years, but anything can happen when these rivals get together.  After shutting out Air Force in 2017, Army only won by three last year.  Despite, arguably, being the better team over Navy the last three years, the Black Knights have had to fight and scrap to get out of there with the victory.  Best case, for the third straight year, the Black Knights win 10 games.  Worse case you split these two games a finish 9-4.  Army will look to keep the tank rolling in 2019.  Look for Monken and company to break more records this year as they continue to form into the most dominating service academy in college football.

Navy:

            The last two seasons have been un-Navy like for the Midshipmen.  We have not seen seasons like this since Paul Johnson took over in 2002.  The Middies finished 7-6 in 2017, losing six of their last eight.  Navy won the Military Bowl over Virginia and looked to carry that momentum into 2018.  The momentum did not carry over as the Middies missed a bowl game for the third time since 2002.  2018 saw Navy finish 3-10, losing nine of their last 10.  The quarterback situation sent the ship off course and the Middies could never recover.  Coach Ken Niumatalolo looks to steer the ship back on course and return Navy to the dominance we saw from 2003-2015.

The success of Navy began in 2003 in Paul Johnson’s second year.  The Midshipmen advanced to five straight bowl games and won five straight CIC trophies.  The Midshipmen success continued under Niumatalolo as he guided Navy to three more bowl games and two more CIC trophies.  2011 was a small set back, as the Middies missed the postseason at 5-7.  Niumatalolo rebounded and led his team to three of the next four CIC trophies.  Throughout theses 14 years, Navy dominated their rivals from West Point.  Paul Johnson left Navy 6-0 against Army.  Niumatalolo started the rivalry 8-0 but has stubbed his toe the last three years.  The last three years have been uncharted territory for Navy since 2002.  The Midshipmen have lost three in a row to Army and have not won the CIC Trophy.  Some might say the Niumatalolo has lost his touch.  To quote Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friend.”  Despite the rough stretch against the other two service academies, Niumatalolo led Navy to the American Athletic Conference (AAC) championship in 2016.  The story of Navy being “done” is far from being written.  Look for Niumatalolo and the Middies to rekindle the spark that led them to 14 straight wins over Army and 10 CIC trophies.

Navy’s Returning Players

Navy starts the 2019 season with the return of dual threat quarterback Malcolm Perry.  Perry had a breakout game in the 2017 Army game when he ran for 250 yards.  Perry moved to slot back last year but hopes to take control of the offense in 2018.  The Navy offense sees the return of second and third string running backs.  CJ Williams, Tazh Maloy, and Keoni-Kordell Makekau take over as the featured running backs in this triple option scheme.  The Navy defense, like Army only returns 4 starters.  Also like their companions from West Point, Navy has a new defensive coordinator.  Brian Newberry takes over this Midshipmen defense.  The Middies defense has been susceptible to big plays the past two years.  Newberry hopes to swing the pendulum back to Navy’s side this year.  As I mentioned earlier, the Navy quarterback situation put the season off track last year.  Malcolm Perry looks to take what we saw against Army and show off that talent in every game this year.  If Perry can stay healthy and add the aspect of passing to the offense, this Navy season will be successful.

Navy’s Schedule in 2019

Navy’s schedule shakes out a little harder than Army’s, but it is still a favorable 2019 for the Midshipmen.  The Middies can start 2-0 before they travel to Memphis on a Thursday night.  Add in wins against Tulsa, Tulane, UConn, and SMU makes Navy bowl eligible.  The Midshipmen will lose to USF and Notre Dame which brings the record to 6-3.  Best case the Midshipmen get to 9-3 with wins over Air Force, Houston, and Army.  Worst case I can see an 8-4 record.  The Memphis game could be a toss-up, but it is hard for the road team to win on Thursday night.  In addition to being at home, Memphis has a week to prepare. These factors do not favor Navy.  USF is another coin flip game that could go in the Middies favor.  However, this matchup is at home and the Bulls were not overly dominant last year.  If the chips fall the right way, Navy would be a double-digit win team again.  The Midshipmen can also advance to their second AAC title game.  Navy will need to beat Memphis and Houston to have a shot at the AAC title game. If they lose these two games, the quest for a division title could go out the window.  Regardless, Navy will be motivated to beat Army at the end of the year.  We ought to be in store for another great game between the Black Knights and Midshipmen.  This could be a great quarterback battle between Perry and Hopkins.  The Army-Navy rivalry has not disappointed in recent years.  Look for another classic game come December.