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Army and Navy are turning back the clock on college football.
No, we all haven’t jumped in a time machine and gone back to, say, the 1950s. It’s 2024, and Army and Navy are both 5-0 after dominant road wins Saturday over Tulsa and Air Force, respectively. Fittingly, both resurgent programs allowed just 7 points each, with the Black Knights rolling to a 49-7 win and the Midshipmen cruising to a 34-7 victory in the first game of this season’s Commander In Chief series.
So, since we still have a little over 2 months before the tradition-rich programs collide in the annual, charming end-of-the-regular-season battle, what’s next for Army and Navy? Well, how about one or both of them finally get ranked in the AP Poll?
Army is 5-0. Navy is 5-0. Both are strong contenders for the CFP. There is 0 excuse for not ranking them this week. None.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 5, 2024
As of last Sunday, both teams were still stuck in the “others receiving votes” section that’s made for teams just below the top 25 rankings. Navy got 6 votes and Army received 2 for entry into the top 25. Perhaps on Sunday, one or both of them will sneak into the new poll.
According to FOX, Army and Navy are a combined 10-0 for the first time since 1945.
Army & Navy improve to a 10-0 combined record for the first time since 1945 💪 pic.twitter.com/ve5DV9sO9G
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 5, 2024
Army is off to its best start since 1996 and went into Saturday’s game tied with Missouri for the longest active win streak in the nation. With Missouri losing on Saturday, the Black Knights are now alone on top in that category, having won 9 in a row dating to last season.
Meanwhile, Saturday was the first time since 2003 that Navy had 2 100-yard rushers and a 100-yard receiver in a game.
Army hosts UAB next Saturday, while Navy has a bye week before hosting Charlotte on Oct. 19.
If both teams keep winning, could we actually have a little College Football Playoff chatter involving the programs? It seemed unthinkable a month ago, but not now.
Talk to your children about the Army-Navy game being a play-in game for the inaugural playoffs pic.twitter.com/G4KZU2XgZz
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 5, 2024
RANK ARMY
RANK NAVY— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) October 5, 2024
By FAR the most underrated story in college football is that, for the 1st time since WWII both Army & Navy are about to be a strong 5-0.
This seems AWESOME until you realize that there’s now a pretty good chance the cherished Army/Navy rivalry would become an exhibition game.
🤮 pic.twitter.com/KVz5qVNPSi— John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud) October 5, 2024
I don’t think College Football is ready for the greatest Army-Navy game of all time 👀
pic.twitter.com/rOwY8K1jVf— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) October 5, 2024
Army vs Navy for a spot in the CFP.
And they said the triple-option was dead.
— Jack McGuire (@JackMacCFB) October 5, 2024
The Army-Navy game this year pic.twitter.com/JxeCuWgUMS
— Maryland Sports Report (@410sportsreport) October 5, 2024
Army and Navy both win big to stay undefeated at 5-0.
The last time Army and Navy had 25-point road wins on the same day: Oct. 27, 1956 pic.twitter.com/26eNFiEC2y
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) October 5, 2024
Be funny if we get 3 service academies in the college football playoff with Army, Navy and Michigan
— Stuckey (@Stuckey2) October 5, 2024
Honestly, Navy and Army being undefeated this deep into the season in the NIL era is one of the more impressive things I’ve seen in college sports.
They’ve always been at a disadvantage, but I thought NIL would make it certain this could never happen.
— James Roy (@JamesRoyNFL) October 5, 2024
Call your family, call your friends
Tell them about a ranked vs. ranked Army-Navy matchup at the end of the year
— Kegan Reneau (@KeganReneau) October 5, 2024
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
