Navy will take home the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy this year after beating Army, 31-13. The dominant win saw the unranked Midshipmen take down the Black Knights, who are No. 22 in the CFP poll, for the first time in three seasons.
Navy quarterback Blake Horvath put up a massive performance on Saturday, throwing for 107 yards and two touchdowns, while also putting up 204 rushing yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. But the Midshipmen’s defense also came up big, forcing three interceptions and holding Army to six points in the second half.
Navy struck first against the AAC champions, netting a touchdown on the very first drive of the game. The Midshipmen picked up another after a big interception from cornerback Dashaun Peele. With the ball in great position, Horvath threw a well-placed pass to Brandon Chatman to take a 14-0 lead.
Later in the second quarter, Army quarterback Bryson Daily threw a well-placed touchdown of his own to bring the score to 14-7 at halftime.
Army settled for two field goals in the second half, but Navy kept building a lead and taking time off the clock. In the third quarter, Horvath and running back Eli Heindenreich pulled off the 52-yard touchdown after Heidenreich was able to shake off an Army defender and stay in bounds.
With their next drive, the Midshipmen grabbed another touchdown through a series of strange circumstances. On fourth-and-5, Navy went for a fake punt, passing the ball to Landon Robinson — a 6-foot, 285-pound nose tackle. After a long gain, Robinson fumbled the ball, but Navy was able to recover it.
WHAT A WILD PLAY — Navy calls a fake punt to the big man Landon Robinson!
He picks up the first, fumbles, but Navy keeps it! pic.twitter.com/2GfXhypE9i
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) December 14, 2024
Horvath then led the team down the field, and ran the final yard to get another touchdown, leading 28-13.
With seven minutes left in the game, the Navy defense pulled off another wild interception. In a true team effort, cornerback Andrew Duhart started off the pick but lost control of the ball, with Kenneth McShan stepping in to finish the turnover.
A third interception from Daily in the fourth quarter sealed things for Navy.
Army ranks second in the country in rushing yards per game, picking up an average of 314.4 yards each game. But on Saturday, Navy held them to 113 rushing yards and 178 yards total.
Navy is also a rushing team, and put up 271 yards on the ground, which is 30 yards more than its rushing average this season. But when Horvath did throw the ball, he did so with impressive efficiency. Horvath went 4-for-9 on passing on Saturday; two of those completions were touchdowns. Navy put up 378 offensive yards in total.
Navy will now take on Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl. Army, meanwhile, will play Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl after Marshall pulled out of the game due to a lack of players.
