Battle lines drawn in Army-Navy rivalry
I have to give Adam Burke and Steve Makinen credit for going against the crowd — and each other.
Both offer their takes on today’s Army-Navy game (3 p.m. ET, CBS), but neither has a recommendation on the wager everyone always talks about when it comes to this rivalry: the Total.
So let’s get that out of the way first. The Under is 16-1-1 in the last 18 meetings. As I write this late Friday, the Total is 40 at Circa and 39.5 at DraftKings. Last year, the number was 28, ending in a push.
Adam makes the case for Army (-6.5 at some shops; others at -6):
Navy QB Blake Horvath (back) hasn’t played since Nov. 16 and only had one pass attempt and five carries in that game. He should be healthier here, whereas Army’s QB Bryson Daily has played a couple of extra games with the AAC Championship against Tulane and the regular season finale against UTSA, where he threw for a season-high 190 yards. . . . Horvath says he’s good. I’ll take his word for it, but the dynamic duo of Daily and Udoh just has too much upside in my mind.
Steve makes the case for Navy:
Navy thinks it is pretty good, too, and is likely using the motivation of being a pretty big underdog to Army as fuel. As it is, underdogs are on a 9-4 ATS run in this rivalry. Because these teams play similar offenses, I can appreciate that Navy has a little better balance offensively, with a more dynamic passing attack. Everyone knows Army QB Bryson Daily, but much lesser known is Navy’s Blake Horvath, who threw for 277 yards more than Daily in one less game, all while accounting for 11 passing TDs and 24 TDs overall. He is more than capable of keeping the Midshipmen in this game.
On Friday night, Matt Youmans announced the 91 selections from the remaining 13 handicappers competing in the Circa Friday Football Invitational. Let’s see what the contestants did with the Army-Navy game.
Pete Wilder: Army (-6)
Chris Piper: Army (-6)
Brett McMurphy: Army (-6)
Vinny Castillo: Army (-6)
Chris Macero: Navy (+6)
Alex White: Navy (+6)
Doug Kezirian: OVER (40)
Chuck Edel: UNDER (40)
VSiN Pro subscribers have access to all the contest picks.
Adam previews today’s Salute to Veterans Bowl (South Alabama vs. Western Michigan).
Steve has a play on this one as well as the Celebration Bowl (Jackson State vs. South Carolina State) among his Best Bets for the first set of bowls.
More CFB resources
>DraftKings and Circa Betting Splits
>CFB Picks Page with plays from our hosts and their guests.
FYI: We’re also running a Average Joe Contest to determine next year’s Average Joe in the Friday Football Invitational. >Standings. (Picks are posted at 10:15 a.m. ET today and are open to all.)
NFL Week 15 report
Chargers QB Justin Herbert (leg) is off the injury report and will start vs. the Bucs. >>Injury Report.
Best Bets are in from:
Everything we do on Week 15 is posted here.
Today in college basketball
Greg Peterson has posted his Best Bets for today’s menu.
>Adam Burke‘s top plays will be up later today.
>Josh Appelbaum decided to take a year off from analyzing the Army-Navy Total and instead will do a college basketball Sharp Report later this morning.
Quick Hits
NBA: Zach Cohen has his top plays for the NBA Cup semifinals today in Las Vegas: Hawks vs. Bucks and Rockets vs. Thunder.
NHL: Look for Jonathan Davis‘ picks by mid-day on our NHL page.
Horse Racing: 1/ST Bet handicapper Jeff Siegel will post his picks later this morning. VSiN’s “Mr. Ed” Sehon has already filed his.Â
Soccer: Nigel Seeley has EPL plays for today and tomorrow.
UFC: Lou Finocchiaro has his Best Bets for the final card of the year. Britton Hess will file his in the morning.
This is The VSiN Daily newsletter for Saturday, December 14. Sign up for this free email and get picks and insights delivered to your in-box every morning.
