College Football's best rivalry takes center stage Saturday

When people think about the best College Football rivalries, most minds go to the sport's blue blood matchups: Michigan-Ohio State, Alabama-Auburn, Notre Dame-USC and Oklahoma-Texas. Due to both programs decline from the rank of national powerhouses, Army-Navy isn't discussed as much as it should be and acknowledged for what it is; College Football's top rivalry.

Army-Navy can claim a few things the other top rivalries cannot. Since 2009, the rivalry has been played the week following conference championship games, meaning that while Michigan-Ohio State competes with other rivalries during the final week of the season, every person watching College Football on Saturday will be watching Army-Navy. Additionally, as it's mentioned every year, Army-Navy is special because everyone playing in the game is willing to die for everyone watching.

Another fan-favorite aspect of the rivalry is the different uniforms each team wears every year. When the uniforms are released on social media, they always cause a stir.

The Army Navy game uniforms never disappoint 🔥

Which uniform is your favorite this year?! 🗣️#AmericanWay x #AmericanFB pic.twitter.com/S1nnrghfu0
— The American (@American_Conf) December 12, 2024

This season the Navy uniforms are called "the Jolly Rogers", honoring its namesake, the most lethal and history-rich squadron in Naval Aviation, according to Navy's press release. On the other sideline, Army's uniforms are called "Screaming Eagles", honoring the 101st Airborne Division, specifically during their heroic victory in World War II's Battle of the Bulge, according to Army's website.

The game itself is rich with College Football history. The first matchup of AP No. 1 vs. AP No. 2 came in the 1944 edition of Army-Navy, which Army took easily 23-7 en route to its third National Championship. The following matchup the two were once again ranked 1 and 2, and Army beat Navy again and captured a second straight championship. The 1926 matchup, played at Chicago's Soldier Field, drew a reported record attendance of 110,000 people, one that wasn't broken until over 111,000 people crammed into Michigan Stadium for their 1998 season opener.

The series is led by Navy with a 62-55-7 record in the previous 124 games, but Army has won six of the last eight matchups. This year marks the first matchup in which both teams have a winning record since 2017. The Black Knights are favored over the Midshipmen by six points and if Army wins it will be their first 12-win season in program history. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 on CBS.