As Army, Navy eye hot start not seen in nearly 80 years, a potential catch emerges: What about the CFP race?

Lost in the early shuffle of a chaotic college football season is the resurgence of Army and Navy, two of the nation’s premier service academies. Should they exit Week 5 with a win each, they will start the season 4-0 together for the first time since 1945. 

The odds at least favor this historic start. Army is a 12.5-point favorite for its Thursday night road game against Temple, while Navy enters Saturday’s road game at UAB as a 3.5-point favorite. 

It’s been an impressive, albeit quiet, turnaround for two historic giants. One could be forgiven for allowing Army and Navy to slip from the national conscience — until the second weekend in December, that is. 

The road for each program to get to this point has been laid brick by brick. The Black Knights haven’t made the postseason since 2021 and were 12-12 in the two years after. The Midshipmen underwent a coaching change from Ken Niumatalolo two years ago following a third straight losing season. Navy’s former defensive coordinator and safeties coach, Brian Newberry, succeeded him and went 5-7 in his first year, capping the 2023 season with Navy’s third loss to Army in four years. 

But Navy is two wins away from exceeding its highest win total since 2019, and Army is off to its best start since 2021. This miniature Renaissance underscores a unique approach to modern college football, and the importance of conference affiliation in the 12-team College Football Playoff era. 

Divergent paths back 

Army and Navy deal with similar challenges. Rigorous service academy requirements make it virtually impossible to benefit from the transfer portal, but each team has seen a handful of its stars make an early exit since lawsuits took a sledgehammer to the NCAA’s ability to adjudicate transfer…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/as-army-navy-eye-hot-start-not-seen-in-nearly-80-years-a-potential-catch-emerges-what-about-the-cfp-race/

Author : Will Backus

Publish date : 2024-09-26 21:30:56

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