Why does the Army-Navy game have no impact on the College Football Playoffs?

On By Littum

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One of the biggest rivalries of the college football season is renewed Saturday just outside the nation’s capital: the Army-Navy Game.

The 18th ranked Black Knights (11-1 overall) and Midshipmen (8-3) will meet at Northwest Stadium for the 125th rendition of “America’s Game,” a matchup that will feature the triple option heavily — as it does most years.

Both programs enter Saturday’s contest with a combined record of 19-4, which is the most wins combined by either team heading into the Army-Navy Game per army game notes.

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In their first season in the American Athletic Conference, the black knights swept the league with ease as Army went undefeated 8-0 in conference play en route to winning the championship title last friday vs. Tulane.

Navy has cooled off a bit after its 6-0 start to the year and finished the regular season with just two wins in its last five games. Both programs saw their College Football Playoff resume, and the odds were slightly bumped by Notre Dame at two different times during the regular season.

Despite that loss for black knights back on Nov. 23 at Yankee Stadium, Jeff Monken’s team has maintained their top 25 ranking in the US LBM Coaches Poll for the past nine weeks. But Saturday’s Army-Navy game will have no impact on the CFP since both teams are already accepting bowl game invitations in the coming weeks.

Here’s what you need to know about why Saturday’s Army-Navy Game has no impact on the College Football Playoff, including a look at the Black Knights’ and Midshipmen‘s bowl game appearances:

Does the Army-Navy Game have any impact on the CFP?

No. Saturday’s Army-Navy game will have no impact on the College Football Playoff. Either Army or Navy could have submitted the CFP as the “Group of Five” automatic bid, but the Mountain West’s Boise State took that spot.

Why doesn’t Army-Navy affect the CFP rankings?

The reason Saturday’s Army-Navy Game will have no impact on the CFP bracket and the CFP top 25 rankings is twofold.

The first is while Army is now a member of the American Athletic Conference with Navy, Saturday’s game is considered a non-conference game. The second, and perhaps most notable, is that the 12-team CFP field has already been finalized.

According to The athletic, Army and Navy officials “did not wish to move” the date of the “America’s Game” to an earlier part of their schedules “to accommodate the final rankings in the 12-team playoff era.”

The CFP committee had rejected the idea of ​​waiting to announce the automatic “Group of 5” representative in the CFP bracket until after the Army-Navy Game if one of the teams was in the mix for that spot.

Sore The athletic, The reason for rejecting that idea was the turnaround between the Army-Navy Game and the first round of the CFP would have been too quick for a team that learned it made the 12-team field the week before but did not know its opponent.

“There are a lot of complications in waiting a week in a 12-team playoff, and you have a short time frame,” AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco said. Athletics in April. “It’s one thing in a four-team and you don’t play until the end of the month. It’s very different to play (two weeks later).”

College football playoffs

Here’s a look at the final CFP bracket from Sunday’s final CFP rankings:

  1. Oregon (13-0)*
  2. Georgia (11-2)*
  3. Boise State (12-1)*
  4. Arizona State (11-2)*
  5. Texas (11-2)
  6. Penn State (11-2)
  7. Notre Dame (11-1)
  8. Ohio State (10-2)
  9. Tennessee (10-2)
  10. Indiana (11-1)
  11. SMU (11-2)
  12. Clemson (10-3)**

* indicates automatic bid with first round bye; ** indicates automatic bidding

What bowl game is Army football in?

Army will face Marshall in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl on Saturday, December 28. The Black Knights and Thundering Herd start at 9:15 PM ET inside Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana.

What bowl game is Navy football in?

Navy will face Oklahoma in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Friday, December 27. The Midshipmen and Sooners kick off at noon ET at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.