Army-Navy Football: Pick For College Football's Only Week 15 Contest
The Army-Navy game for 2010 will be played at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the winner taking home the Thompson Cup.
It will be college football's final regular season game before the non-BCS Bowl games commence next weekend, so all eyes will be on the Black Knights and Midshipmen.
Navy is the better team at 8-3 (Army is 6-5), and is led by Ricky Dobbs, the talented senior quarterback who has played well—but not up to his 2009 numbers.
The game will be broadcast on CBS, with a 2:30 p.m. start time.
Here's a quick list of things you should know about the game, ending with my prediction.
Navy's Hasn't Beaten Anyone
The Midshipmen may be 8-3, but their "notable" wins are against Notre Dame, Wake Forest and SMU.
Army shouldn't be scared off by Navy's record.
Navy Has Played Close Games
The Midshipmen's three losses (Maryland, Air Force and Duke) came by a combined 14 points.
So, they could easily have been 11-0 coming into this game. Pretty impressive, even when you consider their lousy schedule.
Army Is Inconsistent
The Black Knights were routed by Notre Dame and Air Force, but beat Duke handily and nearly took out an explosive Hawaii team.
They haven't lost back to-back games all season, but have only won back-to back games once. For the record—they lost their last game.
Navy Passes More Than Army
Both teams are known for their run-dominant offenses, but under Ricky Dobbs, the Midshipmen have thrown 20 more passes than the Black Knights (131-111).
They've also thrown for almost 400 more yards, due to Dobbs' 9.37 ypa.
Dobbs Is The Best Player in The Game
Dobbs is the best player in this game, and will be playing his last collegiate game for Navy. He hasn't duplicated his 32 TD performance of last year, but he has been impressive with 2,000 total yards and 23 TD.
He may get a shot to play running back at the next level.
Prediction
Prediction: In a matchup that means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but everything to these schools, both teams will bring their A-games.
The trend says Army won't lose two games in a row, but Ricky Dobbs is a gamer.
Look for him to end his career with a bang, and lead the Midshipmen to a late victory.
Navy 28, Army 24
Matt Rudnitsky is a student at the University of Michigan and a Featured Columnist/writing intern at Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Mattrud.