This Army-Navy game was unlike any before it. Both teams had a combined total of 19 wins going into their annual matchup, setting a record for the rivalry.
However, only one team could earn the 20th victory—the biggest win of them all.
“I think they’re like us. We want to be significant,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said. “I think we both were this year, and I think because of that maybe there was a little more significance, a little more interest maybe in this game.”
Blake Horvath outperformed Bryson Daily at quarterback, gaining 311 yards and scoring four touchdowns to help Navy defeat No. 19 Army 31-13 on Saturday. Horvath passed for 107 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns. Navy (9-3) ended a two-game losing streak in the series.
Daily, who finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting this year, threw a touchdown pass, but he was intercepted three times. Army (11-2) fell behind 14-0 in the second quarter and could never fully recover.
The Black Knights had just come off a victory over Tulane in the American Athletic Conference title game, marking the first league championship in the program’s history.
Navy, which had won its first six games of the season and also spent time in the Top 25, completed a sweep of Air Force and Army to win the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy for the first time since 2019.
“As excited and proud we were eight days ago, we’re as disappointed as we’ve ever been,” Army coach Jeff Monken said. “It’s hard to lose that game. That one hurts a lot, especially when the trophy’s on the line and we’ve got a chance to keep that trophy at West Point. We didn’t do it.”
In front of a crowd that included President-elect Donald Trump at the Washington Commanders’ home stadium in Landover, Navy took the opening kickoff and drove 65 yards, finishing with a 1-yard run by Horvath.
Daily, who had only been intercepted once all season, had a pass picked off by Dashaun Peele in the second quarter. Navy took advantage of the short field and went ahead 14-0 on an 18-yard pass from Horvath to Brandon Chatman. Daily responded with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Reed.
Both teams ran the ball heavily, as expected, but they also combined for 25 pass attempts. The biggest play of the game likely came in the third quarter.
After a field goal made the score 14-10, Horvath connected with Eli Heidenreich, who ran down the left sideline for a 52-yard touchdown.
That was Horvath’s 13th touchdown pass of the season and Heidenreich’s sixth touchdown reception, both tying school records.
Daily missed an open Casey Reynolds in the end zone early in the fourth quarter, and Army had to settle for a field goal.
Navy faced a fourth down near midfield but ran a fake punt. Landon Robinson, usually a nose guard, ran 29 yards before fumbling the ball. However, the Midshipmen recovered the fumble.
Horvath’s 1-yard scoring run made it 28-13, and Daily was intercepted twice more before the game ended.
This was the first of two straight Army-Navy games in Navy’s home state of Maryland. Next year’s game will be in Baltimore.
