Army Vs. Navy: Previewing and Predicting Saturday's Game

This battle is the only FBS college football game on television this weekend, so football fans should tune into this patriotic matchup for the Thompson Cup.

It is a game that many people look forward to each season, and it is always nationally televised. What is better than supporting your country and watching a great football matchup between two great schools?

Here is a preview of the Army vs. Navy game.

James Evens is a Purdue student and Basketball/Football Featured Columnist for the Boilermakers, along with being a Writing Intern at Bleacher Report.  Follow him on Twitter or like him on Facebook

The first matchup between these two branches in the military came in 1890, when the Navy Midshipmen won 24-0.  Since then, the series has been a close one.

Navy has the most all-time series wins between the two academies with a 54-49 advantage over the Black Knights.  

This is the last game of the FBS regular season and is always a matchup that is rich with tradition and history.

The Black Knights come into the rivalry game with a record of 6-5.  They are a running team and use the option quite frequently.

They are ranked ninth in the nation in rushing yards, averaging 260.3 yards per game on the ground as a team.

Army is led by quarterback Trent Steelman, who has thrown for 837 yards and five touchdowns on the year as well as running for 620 yards and 11 touchdowns.  He is the key to their offense and is a great decision maker.

On defense Army is ranked 55th in points against, with opponents averaging 24.6 points per game.  They are ranked 26th in yards against, with opponents on average only gaining 332.6 total yards.

Through the season they have made 11 interceptions.

Navy comes into this game with a record of 8-3 on the season, even securing a win against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Navy, like Army, has been led by a high powered running option attack.  They are ranked fifth in the nation in rushing yards, while averaging 302.5 yards per game on the ground.

They are led by quarterback Ricky Dobbs.  Dobbs has passed for 1,194 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season as well as running for 806 yards and 13 touchdowns. He is the real leader of this team, and to win Navy needs to depend on the sailor.

Navy is ranked in the bottom half of the nation for yards given up, with opponents averaging 380.5 yards per game. Along with the yardage, their opponents average 22.8 points per game, placing them 45th in the nation at this stat.

Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs had a great game against Army last season.

In the game he threw for 61 yards and a touchdown on only three completions, as well as running for 113 yards and a touchdown.

He was the MVP for the game and led Navy to a big victory, so can he do it again?

Army quarterback Trent Steelman would like to forget what happened at last season's matchup.  Steelman threw for only 77 yards and had an interception, while only running for 16 yards.

If Army is going to win this game, they will need Steelman to step up and have a great game.

Both of these teams rely heavily on their quarterbacks to lead the team to victory by running the option. This game will come down to which team executes the option better, and which one can have the better group of running backs step up.

In this old-fashioned, hard-nosed football rivalry, it is essential for the defenses to step up on both teams. Both offenses love to run the ball, and that is basically their gameplan.

If one defense can step up and stop the run, that will set them apart from the other team, and will most likely win the game.  Last season, Navy's defense limited the Army offense to only 187 yards and no touchdowns.

Both of these teams already have their postseason fate set, so this game is only on the line for pride and bragging rights.

Navy is looking to make it nine straight against Army and definitely has the better team, but this is a college football rivalry game and anything can happen.

I expect Army to win this game in overtime, 27-24, in a game that will go down in the books as one of the best in Army-Navy history.