Navy players pile into the stand to celebrate with midshipmen and fans after their 31-13 victory. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
LANDOVER, Md. — Landon Robinson made the play Navy and Army fans will be talking about for a long time.
Navy (9-3) led 21-13 and had been in control throughout, but Army (11-2) had managed field goals on back-to-back possessions to start the second half. With under 11 minutes left in the game, the Midshipmen lined up to punt on fourth down and 5 at their own 47 yard line. The ball, instead, was snapped to the junior defensive tackle, who ran for 29 yards and a first down.
Four plays later, Navy punched it in for a touchdown, basically sealing the 31-13 victory in the 125th edition of the classic rivalry, ending Army’s two-year streak and claiming the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy for the first time since 2019.
“The fake punt is something that we saw, something that we worked on all season,” Robinson said. “We showed it at the South Florida game as well. They gave us the right look, and I just called it out on the field and there you go.”
Junior slotback Eli Heidenreich described Robinson’s run as “an emotional turning point in the game.”
“I returned punts for a good portion of the season and if I was back there and saw a 300-pound Landon Robinson rumbling toward me, I’d be scared,” he said.
Junior quarterback Blake Horvath — who ran wild for Navy with 204 yards on the ground, accounting for four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing) — said it was nice to see him run but “we’ll work on ball security.” Robinson fumbled at the end of the play, and linebacker Colin Ramos recovered.
“He doesn’t owe me anything. What he did on the defensive line was good enough,” Ramos said after the game. “I will take that. We had the play called. So, once I made my block, I was trailing after him and was in a good spot.”
Junior slotback Brandon Chatman, who had a receiving touchdown against Army, said it was electric but not surprising.
“We knew he was capable of doing that. He’s done it before,” Chatman said. “After a three-and-out on offense and we were thinking we need to score the next time we get the ball, the next thing you know we’re back on the field after that play.”
Navy defensive tackle Landon Robinson (96) celebrates with cornerback Phillip Hamilton during the second half of the Midshipmen’s win against Army, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Landover, Md. (Daniel Kucin Jr./AP)
Robinson’s memorable play is not the only thing he did right, accounting for 13 tackles and a forced fumble. Defensive end Justin Reed and defensive tackle Griffen Willis contributed with 10 and eight tackles, respectively.
“I thought defensively, we played lights out today,” said Navy coach Brian Newberry, who earned his first victory against Army as head coach. “That’s a really good football team with one of the best [offensive lines] in the country.”
Indeed. Army’s offense had averaged more than 300 rushing yards per game, and a day earlier the Black Knights won the Joe Moore Award for the best offensive line in college football.
“Bryson Daily is an outstanding football player,” Newberry said of Army’s quarterback and offensive leader. “I thought we controlled the game on defense.”
Entering the game, Daily had rushed for for 1,480 yards and 29 touchdowns, finishing sixth in the Heisman voting. On Saturday, he ended up with only 52 yards rushing, and the Midshipmen limited the Black Knights to 113 rushing yards and their fewest points all season.
“They stepped up to the challenge, no doubt about it,” Newberry added.
Ramos agreed.
“We talked about how we were worried about ourselves. We weren’t worried about the awards they were winning or what they were doing,” he said. “We knew how good of a football team we were and how good of a defense we are, and we showed that today.”
Daily and his offense could not find their rhythm at any point. Army tried to find yards through the air, but Daily was 7-for-16 passing for 65 yards, with one touchdown and three costly interceptions.
“First and second down, we thank [the defensive line] and front seven for knocking them off track and putting us in those situations,” said senior cornerback Dashaun Peele, who had one of the interceptions. “We know they are going to get to them on third down, which is going to make him throw up a pass he probably doesn’t want to throw, and we capitalized on the opportunities.”
Daily credited Navy.
“We got outplayed by the other team,” he said. “We just didn’t hit the plays we needed to. They hit the big plays, and we didn’t. I turned the ball over too much, and that’s how you lose games.”
Eight days earlier, Army was riding high at 11-1 after winning the American Athletic Conference championship on the way to a historic season. The Black Knights felt the sting Saturday.
“It’s as poorly as we’ve played. They blocked us, and they tackled us, and they beat blocks, and they just outplayed us,” Army head coach Jeff Monken said.
Army still can reach a program-record 12th win, Dec. 28 against Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.
And though Navy isn’t finished either — the Midshipmen will face Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth on Dec. 27 — they already have accomplished the season’s major goal.
“It means everything to me, and it means everything to the team in general,” Robinson said. “All year, we go to school and everyone talks about ‘Beat Army.’ That is our motto that we say every day so to go out and get that done means a lot. It is the first time that we have done that since I have been here.”
