Navy Midshipmen at Air Force Falcons, Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, CO
Saturday, October 2, 2010, 2:30 pm Eastern, TV: Versus
Opening Line: Air Force -10 1/2
Current Line: Air Force -10
Opening Total: 47 1/2
Current Total: 50
Money Line: Air Force -370 / Navy +310
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Navy comes to Colorado Springs to take on service academy rival Air Force. Navy has beaten Air Force 7 times in a row since 2010, and is riding a 15 game winning streak against Air Force and Army to claim the Commander-in Chief’s Trophy 7 straight years. Navy is 2-1 and Air Force is 3-1 so far. Both lost by a field goal to BCS automatic qualifying schools. Navy lost to Maryland 17-14 and Air Force lost at Oklahoma 27-24. Since 1992 Navy has amassed an impressive record against the spread. Navy is 111-82, which includes 72-44 as an underdog and 56-25 on the road. They are 12-1 in the same period against teams from the Mountain West, granted most of those are against Air Force whom they play every year. This could be the year Air Force finally breaks the streak and reclaims the vaunted CIC trophy as they are favored by 10 points on the current college football betting lines.
Not surprisingly Navy is the 9th leading rushing team in the country averaging 272 yards a game, with their triple option attack. Quarterback Ricky Dobbs only 376 yards passing, and an interception with one touchdown. He has rushed for 174 yards and 3 more touchdowns. Vince Murray, Gee Gee Greene, Andre Byrd, and Alexander Teich all have at least 13 carries. Murray is the teams leading rusher with 224 yards and a score. The problem for the Midshipmen is they aren’t scoring a whole lot only averaging 21 points a game. Against Maryland, Navy was in the red zone 8 times and only managed 14 points. The Navy defense has been stellar against the pass, giving up less than 100 yards a game. they have also forced 6 turnovers and 6 sacks. Against the run, Navy is slightly more vulnerable giving up more than 160 yards a game. That could be problematic against the Falcons this week as Air Force leads the nation in rushing with 394 yards a game.
Air Force is desperate to beat Navy and they certainly have the talent to do it this year. Like Navy, the Falcons run a version of the option offense, but theirs also combines elements of the spread. Quarterback Tim Jefferson has over 700 all purpose yards, and 8 touchdowns, 5 on the ground. He has two interceptions. Like Navy, Air Force splits the carries among many different players, though Jefferson, Jared Tew, and Asher Clark take most of the carries. Those three and Jonathan Warzeka account for almost 1,200 of the Falcons near 1,600 yards rushing. Defensively, Air Force is giving up around 320 yards a game, and like Navy, they are giving up 160 yards rushing a game. The Falcons have forced 6 turnovers and 8 sacks this season. The Falcons are committing almost 7 penalties a game for 66 yards.
Both of these teams are very similar. The only difference is Air Force si scoring way more points than the Midshipmen. The Falcons are outscoring opponents 144-76, while Navy is outscoring their oponents 64-47. While this match-up might be overshadowed by such games as Texas-Oklahoma, Stanford-Oregon, and Florida-Alabama, games between the service acadamies are always entertaining becuase of the tradition and bravery of the young men involved. The games are usually close and hard-fought and take on added importance because many of these student athletes will end up in Iraq or Afghanistan to serve our country.
Maddux’s 20 unit game of the year goes this Saturday, currently on a 71% run with our premium picks this should be another easy win for our clients. Get on board by viewing our college football expert picks page of the site.
