Army/Navy is everything right about college football

Lee Corso, a famous college football coach and current analyst on ESPN’s College Gameday once said ” before you die, you must go to an Army/Navy game.” He’s right, if you ever get the opportunity, go!

“America’s game” as it’s called, is saved for the end of the season and for good reason. The cream always rises to the top, and the cream of the crop in this nation goes to our service academies- Annapolis and West Point.

Both teams still run a variation of the triple-option. Both teams are led by coaches who are tutelages of former coach Paul Johnson.

Jeff Monken, head coach of Army has helped his black knights win 4 out of the last 5 games against Navy. I believe it’s the result of different variations of the option he runs. For example,

Below is a video of Navy’s offense(start at the 1:35 mark). It’s a straight flex, two A-backs on the left and right, and then the B-back behind the quarterback. Once the ball is snapped, the QB can either pitch it one of his A-backs, hand it off to his B-back, or take it himself. Pretty straightforward.

Now below that video is a quick vid of a play by Army. Notice that QB is in the shotgun, yes the SHOTGUN! He snaps the ball and his two A-backs motion that they will take it, while the real carrier is the B-back. This is just one variation that has helped Monken’s team have so much success lately. He is constantly evolving the offense and that gives them the competitive edge.

Before Monken arrived at West Point, Navy was enjoying a nice 14 years in a row run- 2002-2015. Head Coach of Navy, Ken Niumatalolo was bringing in the Commander in Chief Trophy every year from 2008-2015 but now he has met his match.

If Monken at Army can evolve/tweak his offense, why can’t Niumatalolo? I think he is cut from the same stubborn mold as his teacher, Paul Johnson.

I think Army runs away with this one on Saturday. Navy has struggled to get their offense humming this season. An offense built on the run should have a solid dual-threat quarterback and a stable of running backs ready to go. However, Navy’s QB Tai Lavatai has only rushed for 309 yards-yikes! That’s just so surprising since Navy is known to have some decent QB’s who can run the ball. Not the issue at Army, QB Christian Anderson has rushed for 509 yards and 3 touchdowns. He can pass pretty well too.

These young men at the service academies are a special breed. They take the toughest classes, go through intense mental and physical training every day, and then they have football crammed into their already packed schedule. It’s truly remarkable that they can endure so much and that’s what makes them special.

Enjoy “America’s Game” tomorrow at 3 PM on CBS.