The Army-Navy rivalry is one of the longest in college football. The two teams have played 111 games over 120 years, so any time a record is set, it’s worth noticing. Any time a record is set and then broken in the same game, there’s truly something bizarre going on.
VIDEO: Army-Navy Game Features ... Big Plays?
And something bizarre happened in Saturday’s Army-Navy game, which was the only Football Bowl Subdivision game played this weekend before the game takes a short break to prepare for bowl season. That allowed the entire country to witness an outburst of big plays literally unprecedented in the history of the rivalry.
First, we had this in the first quarter:
That is a 77-yard touchdown pass from Ricky Dobbs to John Howell. No one really expects 77-yard passes when Navy's run-heavy offense is on the field. To put the play in a bit of context, Dobbs has passed for fewer than 77 yards in three games this year. (Not counting the Central Michigan game, when didn't play.) His 186 yards passing for the game is his third-highest total all year.
That was the longest play from scrimmage in the history of the rivalry. We say “was,” because in the second quarter, this happened:
That's a 98-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Wyatt Middleton, which was a 98-yard play because there are only 100 yards on the field. As you can see, there's not really an Army player close enough to tackle Middleton.
At that point, Navy had a 24-7 lead. Army would try to make it a game late, but the Midshipmen eventually won, 31-17. It also brings Navy’s winning streak to nine games -- breaking its own record of eight straight wins set last year.
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