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Commander in Chief's Trophy up for grabs in 118th Army-Navy Game

By Brent Glasgow | Posted 12/7/2017

Photo via For the Win/USA Today Sports

The stakes couldn't be higher for the 118th Army-Navy Game at 3:10 p.m. ET Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, as the U.S. service academies play for the Commander in Chief Trophy for the first time since 2012.

The prize goes to whomever wins the annual triangular series between Army, Navy and Air Force, the latter of which took possession in 2016.

Last season, Army broke Navy's 14-year winning streak in the series, with a 21-17 triumph that set off a wild celebration - on the field and across the globe:

This year, Army (8-3) made its second bowl in as many seasons, which last occurred in 1984-85. The Black Knights, who will play in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 23 against San Diego State, feature the top rushing offense in the country at 368 yards per game, led by quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw's 1,472 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Army has one USA Football U.S. National Team alum in freshman offensive lineman Peyton Reeder of Rome, Georgia.

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On Saturday, Army will take the field in uniforms that honor the 10th Mountain Division, created in World War II and which included Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman.

Here's the a hype video highlighting the uniforms:

Navy (6-5) enters with the nation's second-ranked rushing attack at 348 yards per contest, paced by quarterback Zach Abbey's 1,322 yards and 14 scores. The Midshipmen, who qualified for their 14th bowl since 2003, will play Virginia on Dec. 28 in the Military Bowl.

Like Army, Navy also has a former U.S. National Team member in senior linebacker Micah Thomas of Cedar Park, Texas, named Second Team All-East on Thursday by the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Thomas leads the Midshipmen in tackles (72) and interceptions (three).

Navy will sport uniforms that honor the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron on Saturday:

Not to be outdone, Navy also produced a hype video:

Navy leads the all-time series 60-50-7. While Navy has won the Commander in Chief's Trophy 1o times since 2003, Army hopes to claim its first since 1996.

"It's a great game and it's two teams that are going to battle it out as hard as they can on every snap for 60 minutes," said Army coach Jeff Monken, a finalist for National Coach of the Year. "It's fun to be a part of a game like that, and it's really a privilege for all of us that are involved in this game to be able to represent the people that we do by wearing our team colors. I think that's the thing that makes this rivalry the best."

Added Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo, "There's nothing I have to do to get these guys up. It's the biggest game of the year. It's the Army-Navy Game ... they know what time it is."

TagsBlog College football Fan/enthusiast
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