You can’t tell the history of college football without talking about Arman and the Navy. During the early 20th century, the United States service academies dominated the college football landscape. The Army and Navy academies have six titles between them. Five of them were won by the Army in 1914, 1916, 1944, 1945, and 1946, while the Navy only had one coming in 1926. They also have the annual tradition of playing each other in the finale weekend before bowl season starts. Which has become one of the most important traditions in American sports.
Although these two consider themselves rivals and are among the biggest in college football, they have many similarities. The two are deeply rooted in military tradition and commitment to service. Both schools have their players join the military after graduating before potentially joining the NFL. Both teams have been commented on running the Triple Option. Even though that style of offense has largely gone out of style, they see it as a way to overcome the talent difference.
However, another similarity the two service academies have is a rivalry with Notre Dame. Both schools have been playing each other since the early 1900s. But why did they start playing each other, and why have these rivals stood the test of time?
Notre Dame vs Army
The Fighting Irish first faced off against the Black Knights in 1913, and it’s largely considered one of the biggest games in Notre Dame history. During that game, the Irish had a revolutionary offense strategy that prioritized passing the ball down the field, which allowed them to beat Army 35-13. It was the first instance of a team using the forward pass as the dominant strategy. After this, the game against Army became the marquee matchup on Notre Dame’s schedule. It provided many famous moments, like the Four Horseman and the “win one for the Gipper” games.
This rivalry reached its peak during the 1940s when both programs were the class of the college football landscape. Both schools won three national championships and also split the title in 1946. Tension boiled over in 1944 when Army handed the Irish their worst loss in program history, 59-0. It reached its climax during their matchup in 1946, which earned the title “Game of the Century,” the fourth game to receive that distinction. With both schools going in undefeated, the game ended in a 0-0 tie.
After the 1947 matchup, the two took a ten-year hiatus, not meeting again until 1957, when the game was played in South Bend for the first time. However, the matchup hasn’t been a yearly occurrence since 1947, but the two have played infrequently, with Notre Dame dominating Army when the two play.
Fighting Irish vs the Midshipman
Although USC and Stanford are Notre Dame’s bigger rivals, Navy is the Irish’s most important matchup. The reason for this can be found back during World War 2. Notre Dame was struggling financially because so many young men were off fighting in the war. So Navy made Notre Dame a training center and paid to keep Notre Dame running. As a result, the Irish play Navy every year as a way to repay the debt they owe.
Out of the two service academies, Notre Dame has had much more success against Navy than Army. While Army has had several competitive matchups against the Irish, Navy normally comes up short. The Fighting Irish record against the Midshipman is 81-13-1. This is thanks in large part to Notre Dame’s 43-game winning streak over Navy. From 1964 to 2006, the Irish had Navy number, and it took triple overtime in 2007 for Navy to eke out a 46-44 victory.
Since the end of the streak, Notre Dame has only lost to Navy three times, two of them back-to-back in 2009 and 2010. The Irish currently have a seven-game winning streak. The last time they lost to Navy was in 2016. Even though this game is all but a victory for Notre Dame, it will continue to be the most important game they play.
Brian Germinaro is a sportswriter for Belly Up Sports. Follow him on Twitter/X for more sports coverage and Belly Up Sports for even more college football content. Feature image credit: Icon Sportswire.
