The fight for the Commander in Chief’s Trophy begins Saturday, when unbeaten Navy hosts Air Force (3:30 p.m. Eastern, CBS Sports Network). Here’s a half-dozen academy-football items to know before kickoff:

1. Spirit spots start. Peak season for academy-related video smack talk is early December, but that didn’t stop the nation’s top Navy and Air Force officers from sitting down for a discussion of Saturday’s rivalry contest:

The video featuring Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson had 34,000 views on Richardson’s Facebook page as of Friday morning. It had 123,000 views on Goldfein’s page.

While Air Force can claim a win in that social-media battle, Falcons fans may be less thrilled about this Navy spirit offering. Meet CARL. Spoiler alert: Don’t be Carl:

2. On the field. Get the full breakdown on the Mids-Falcons showdown here. Navy is a 7.5-point favorite over Air Force (1-3), which has struggled since a season-opening 62-0 demolition of Virginia Military Institute.

The teams have traded wins since 2013. Air Force defended its home turf with a 28-14 victory last year.

3. On the road. While its Commander in Chief’s Trophy competition faces off, Army West Point (3-2) will travel to Rice (1-4), where the Black Knights are double-digit favorites.

Win or lose, the academy will do some good on the journey, with its equipment trailer hauling donated items for hurricane victims:

The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on beIN Sports. Not up for scrolling that deep into your channel guide? Click here to see whether you’re a subscriber.

4. Anthem controversy. West Point grad Alejandro Villanueva wasn’t the only Army football player receiving online attention in connection with the NFL’s recent anthem protests. The whole Army team, in fact, got some publicity ... for something Navy did. That wasn’t related to the controversy in the first place.

Confused? So were the folks who forwarded a social media post that purportedly showed Army West Point players kneeling during the anthem. The internet-myth-busting outlet Snopes has the breakdown. Spoiler alert: It’s probably Carl’s fault.

Meanwhile, the five New Mexico players who took a knee during the national anthem at halftime of their game against Air Force have received support from their coach but little in the way of national spotlight.

5. Aerial attack? Army’s first scoring pass of the season came Saturday in its win over the University of Texas-El Paso, a 42-yard strike from Ahmad Bradshaw to junior Jordan Asberry. A big play, sure, but even bigger in context:

  • The play represents more than a third of Army’s total passing yards this season (116).
  • It’s one of only seven completions for the Black Knights this year. Some college offenses have that many before the first commercial break.
  • In two of five games this year, Army didn’t complete a pass. In one of those games, a 21-17 loss to Tulane, Army’s opponents caught more balls thrown by Army quarterbacks than Army did, thanks to an interception.

6. Reading material. A look at Navy offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper, whose son awaits a heart transplant. ... Navy fans, remember Greg Jones? Notre Dame fans do. ... Army football guru Sal Interdonato on the Black Knights’ imposing second-half schedule. ... A look at Navy’s triple-option, and how it Air Force solved it last year.

Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.

Share:
In Other News
Load More