Massive Efforts by Horvath, Robinson Lead Navy Over Army

Photo by Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Navy quarterback Blake Horvath rushed for 196 yards and accounted for four TDs as the Midshipmen upset the No. 22 Army Black Knights 31-13 on Dec. 14 at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md. Leading up to the 125th edition of the Army-Navy Game, the talk was all about Army QB Bryson Daily, but Horvath outshined his Army counterpart.

Army-Navy Game Summary

After winning the American Athletic Conference Championship last week, Army head coach Jeff Monken stated the Black Knights were focused on beating Navy. However, the Midshipmen set the tone early by taking the opening kickoff, driving 65 yards on 12 plays and eating up 6:04 of the game clock en route to a 7-0 lead.

Photo by Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

After the teams traded punts, Daily was intercepted by Dashaun Peele at the Army 44-yard line. It took the Navy offense only three plays to capitalize on the turnover as Horvath hit Brandon Chatman on an 18-yard touchdown.

Earlier this week the Army offensive line won the Joe Moore Award, given out to the most outstanding offensive line in college football. The Black Knights led the country going into today’s game averaging 314.4 rushing yards per game. The Navy defense manhandled the Joe Moore Award winners, limiting Army to only 113 rushing yards and 178 total yards on the day. Both numbers are far below Army’s average per game.

However, the Navy offensive line pushed Army’s defensive front all over the field.

“I’m just so proud of these guys here,” Horvath said when speaking with the media after the game. “The offensive line, shoot, I mean I know we didn’t win no Joe Moore Award, but it looks like the rushing yards was 271 to 113.”

Army only had one trip in the red zone, which was Daily’s lone TD pass to running back Hayden Reed. Each time the Black Knights started to put together a drive the Navy defense stepped up and forced either a turnover or a field goal attempt.

Daily finished the game 7-of-16 for 65 yards with 1 TD and 3 INTs while gaining 52 yards on 19 carries. Linebacker Kalib Fortner led the Army defense with 8 tackles while LB Andon Thomas finished with 7.

Turning Point

In the fourth quarter, Army forced a fourth-down situation at the Navy 47-yard line. Navy defensive lineman Landon Robinson called a fake punt and rumbled 29 yards to the Army 24-yard line. Robinson fumbled on the tackle, but linebacker Colin Ramos was there to dive on the loose ball. Four plays later Navy scored on 1-yard TD run by Horvath.

Head coach Brian Newberry said he was confident in Robinson making that call.

“Landon Robinson is one of the most trustworthy guys on this football team,” Newberry said. “It was a choice, right, if we got the look we wanted we were going to run it. If we didn’t we were going to punt it.”

Robinson not only had the 29-yard fake punt run but the junior also had a career day leading the Midshipmen with 13 tackles. He and Horvath shared co-MVP of the game.

What It Means for Navy

The Midshipmen are one win away from hitting double-digit wins for the first time since 2019. Navy will play in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl against Oklahoma. For the seniors, this will be their last game as members of the Navy football team. Expect the emotions to be high and the effort to be off the charts.

What It Means for Army

Army falls to 11-2 on the season. With a win in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, the Black Knights can become the first team in Army history to win 12 games in a season. Originally Army was scheduled to play Marshall of the Sun Belt Conference in the bowl game. However, with Marshall’s coaching change, 25 players have entered the Transfer Portal. Marshall opted out of the bowl game as they felt they did not have enough players to field a competitive team for the bowl game. The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs of Conference USA will now fill the bowl slot and play against Army.