The College Football Blog: 2010 Week 15 Betting Lines

Last Week’s Record

Biggest 15 Games (Straight up: 12-3; Vs. Spread: 11-3-1)

Overall (Straight up: 15-4; Vs. Spread: 14-4-1; Moneyline Upsets: 2-0)

Season Record

Biggest 10 Games (Straight up: 110-45; Vs. Spread: 76-72-7)

Overall (Straight up: 511-171; Vs. Spread: 341-330-11; Moneyline Upsets: 18-28)

Week 14 Review: Obviously it was a great way for me to end the regular season. I kind of wish I could just stop now because the bowls are treacherous.

Week 15 Preview: Well there’s only one game this week so the comment section should cover it. I do like that they’ve decided to play this game on a weekend when no one else is playing.

Saturday

Game 1: Navy (-7) vs. Army (Philadelphia)
Pick: Navy covers
Comment: The Army-Navy game does not need a nickname. This is one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. In fact, some people would still consider it to be the greatest rivalry of all simply for what it stands for outside of the sport. This game once had huge national implications. Recently the game has meant little nationally outside of the traditional importance of the game. It’s good that this game will again have the spotlight next week as the only game on the schedule. It has traditionally been the last regular season game played and it will be again this year.

A Great Year for the Academies

2010 has been a banner year for the service academies. For the first time since 1996, all 3 service academy teams (Navy, Army, and Air Force) are bowl eligible. And for the first time ever, all 3 teams will be playing in bowl games. Obviously, there are many more bowls now than there once were, but it’s still a remarkable accomplishment when you consider all of the tremendous disadvantages that the service academy teams face (these are so obvious that I’m sure I don’t have to mention them).

Air Force went 8-4 this season for their 4th straight season of at least 8 wins. The Falcons will play in their 4th consecutive bowl game and their 19th in the last 30 years. Air Force will play Georgia Tech in this year’s Independence Bowl. Navy is 8-3 and the Midshipmen have won at least 8 games in 8 straight seasons. They will go to their 8th consecutive bowl this season. The Midshipmen will play San Diego State in this year’s Poinsettia Bowl. Army is 6-5 and bowl eligible for the first time since 1996, which was also the last year they had a winning record. They will play in a bowl game this season for the first time since 1996 and just the 2nd time since 1988. Army will play SMU in this year’s Armed Forces Bowl.

The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy

The Army-Air Force and Navy-Air Force rivalries are not as intense as the Army-Navy rivalry for a variety of reasons. Navy and Army had been playing each other for 66 years before the first season of Air Force football. Air Force is also located in Colorado, while the older service academies are located in close proximity to each other on the east coast. However, the three service academy teams play each other every season and they have played for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy since 1972. Interestingly, in the 39 years since the trophy was created, the teams have only split the title 4 times. Air Force has won the most with 17, despite not winning the trophy for the first time until 1988. Army won the first trophy in 1972, but the Cadets have won only 6 total. Navy has won 12 times. The Midshipmen had won the trophy 7 consecutive seasons until Air Force ended their streak this season.

Air Force History
The Air Force Academy’s first football season was in 1956. From 1956 through 1979, the Falcons played as independents, but in 1980 they joined the WAC. Air Force’s entry into a conference coincided with the rise of their success on the field. In 1985 the Falcons finished the season ranked 8th in the final AP poll and 5th in the final Coaches poll. They were ranked 6th in the 1996 final AP poll. The Falcons won a share of the WAC title in 1985 and 1995, and won the conference outright in 1998.

Many different publications have crowned national champions during the history of college football, and one such publication named Air Force its national champ in 1985. The Falcons joined the Mountain West Conference in 1999 and they have played there ever since. The Falcons are 9-10-1 in 20 career bowl games. They have played in the Sugar and the Cotton. Air Force has won 5 in a row over Army and they are 30-13-1 all-time against the Cadets. Air Force snapped Navy’s 7 game win streak against them this season, and the Falcons are 25-17 all-time against the Midshipmen.

Army History

Army’s first year of football was in 1890. The Cadets played as independents from 1890 through 1997, before joining Conference-USA in 1998. In contrast to Air Force, Army’s entry into a conference coincided with the start of a long period of futility which the Cadets have just started to emerge from over the last 2 years. From 1998 through 2004, Army played in Conference-USA, but they became independents again in 2005 and they have been ever since.

Army was once a powerhouse in college football. They won “recognized” national championships in 1944 and 1945, finishing #1 in the final AP poll both years. They have finished in the top 5 in the final AP poll 6 times (1944-1946, 1949-1950, 1958). They have been crowned national champ by at least one publication in 6 other years (1922, 1926, 1928, 1931, 1949-1950). Interestingly, Army has played in only 4 bowls, with a record of 2-2.

Navy History

Navy first played football in 1879 and they have been independent throughout their history. Like Army, Navy was once one of the elite programs in the country. They have finished in the top 5 in the final AP poll 7 times (1943-1945, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1963), finishing 2nd in 1963.

While Navy does not have any “recognized” national championships, they were crowned national champion by at least one publication 3 times (1910, 1926, 1963). They are 7-8-1 in bowl games, having played in the Rose, the Sugar, the Orange, and the Cotton (twice).

Army-Navy History

The first Army-Navy football game occurred in 1890 at West Point, with Navy winning 24-0. There have been several years in which the game has not been played for a variety of reasons (1894-1898, 1909, 1917-1918, 1928-1929), but it has been played every season since 1930. Through the first 29 meetings (1926), neither team was ever more than 2 games up in the all-time series. Then Army went on an extended run, and through 1938 the Cadets led the series 22-14-3. Through 1949 Army led 27-19-4.

Then Navy went 10-3-1 over the next 14 years, cutting Army’s lead in the all-time series to 30-29-5 after 1964. Finally in 1979, Navy tied up the series, 37-37-6 after 80 games. They went ahead in the all-time series the following season. Through 1985, Navy held a 41-38-7 lead in the series.

But then Army came back. The Cadets tied the series in 1988, 1990, and 1992, taking control again in 1993 (44-43-7). Through 1998, Army led the all-time series 48-44-7 after 99 meetings. However, Navy has won 10 of the last 11, including 8 in a row (the longest streak for either team in the series), and the Midshipmen now lead the all-time series 54-49-7.

This will be the 101st meeting between these two teams. Both teams come into the game with winning records for the first time since 1996 and just the 2nd time since 1963. Navy has won 8 straight over Army by an average score of 36-9, out-gaining the Cadets by an average of 150 yards a game over that stretch. Navy has kept Army out of the end zone in each of the last 3 games. Both teams will be playing a game for the first time in 21 days.

Navy is 8-3 on the season (6-5 ATS). They have won 3 straight and 6 of their last 7. Army is 6-5 (5-6 ATS) on the season. This season Navy beat Notre Dame by 18 points, SMU by 7, and ECU by 41. Navy’s 3 losses this season came by a total of 14 points (Maryland, Air Force, and Duke). Army defeated Duke by 14 and Tulane by 18. They also lost close games to Hawaii (31-28), Temple (42-35), and Rutgers (23-20 in OT). On the other hand, Army lost by 24 against ND and by 20 to Air Force.