The battle for the 2025 Commander-in-Chief’s trophy continues on Saturday when Air Force hosts Army.
The trophy was established in 1972 and goes to the winner of a round-robin tournament between the country’s three main service academies: Air Force, Navy, and Army. Air Force has claimed the trophy 21 times. Navy has won it 17 times, and Army has taken it home 10 times.
It has gone to all three academies in recent years: Navy last year, Army in 2023, and Air Force in 2022.
Navy, which won 10 games last season, is the favorite to take the title this year. The Midshipmen (7-0, 5-0 American) are off to another hot start this season, and they’re one win away from claiming the trophy thanks to a 34-31 win over Air Force on Oct. 4. Army and Navy are scheduled to play on Dec. 13.
Air Force (2-5, 1-4 Mountain West) and Army are both coming off bye weeks. The Falcons snapped a five-game losing skid with a 24-21 win over Wyoming on Oct. 18. Army (3-4, 2-3 American) saw its two-game winning streak come to an end with a 24-17 loss to Tulane on Oct. 18.
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Both offenses are powered by two of the top four rushing attacks in the country. Air Force ranks No. 2 with 283.7 yards a game. Army ranks No. 4 with 275.6. Navy leads the country with 318.1 rushing yards a game.
Air Force has an ace up its sleeve, though. The Falcons’ passing game has come to life this season, which makes defending their triple-option rushing attack even more difficult. Quarterback Liam Szarka has thrown eight touchdown passes, which is more than any Air Force quarterback has thrown in a season since Donald Hammond III threw 13 in 2019. Cade Harris has been Szarka’s favorite target and has hauled in 23 passes for 492 yards and two touchdowns. He also averages 5.9 yards a carry and has scored four rushing touchdowns. Quin Smith has emerged as another deep threat. Three of his 10 catches have been touchdowns, and he averages 27.5 yards a catch.
Quarterback Cole Hellums has powered Army’s option rushing attack with 613 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has thrown just one touchdown pass.
Army vs. Air Force Betting Odds
Air Force is a 1.5-point college football betting odds favorite at BetMGM as of this writing, and the Over/Under is 48.5 points. The moneyline is at -115 for Air Force and -105 for Army.
Air Force leads the all-time series 38-20-1, but Army has won four of their past five meetings, including a 20-3 victory last season.
Air Force is 15-5 overall and 9-11 against the spread in its past 20 regular season games as the favorite at home. Army is 6-14 overall and 11-8-1 ATS in its past 20 regular season games as an underdog on the road.
Army vs. Air Force On TV
The non-conference football game between Air Force and Army at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, will be televised on CBS.
Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET.
Army vs. Air Force Prediction
I predict Army wins 30-24 and that the game goes Over 48.5 points.
I think Air Force is going to move the ball, and the reality is the Falcons could hit a couple of deep passes that change the complexion of this game. The problem is Air Force’s defense has been terrible, in my opinion.
The Falcons rank last in the Mountain West in scoring defense (37.3 points a game), total defense (484.1 yards per game), and passing defense (307.1 YPG). That last stat may not be that important this weekend, but a much more relevant stat is that Air Force is giving up 177 rushing yards a game, which ranks No. 9 in the 12-team Mountain West and No. 106 in the country.
I wouldn’t normally take a one-dimensional offense in a game like this, but I believe Air Force simply hasn’t been able to stop anybody this year.
