Anyone who’s ever bet on a service academy football game will tell you it’s not for the weak-hearted.
There will not be a lot of points scored. There will not be a lot of flashy plays. The camera operators will often get confused trying to track who is carrying the ball on the non-stop triple-option runs. It will be beautifully ugly in the way football was designed.
Yet Saturday’s matchup between No. 22 Air Force (-10.5) and Navy in Annapolis had anyone who bet on the Midshipmen reeling.
For starters, after Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun announced his starting quarterback Zac Larrier would be out “weeks,” the senior was suddenly able to go on Saturday. That proved vitally important as the Falcons were able to out-gain the Mids, 288 yards to 124 yards — including a 94-yard touchdown pass to Dane Kinamon.
94 yards is the longest pass play in @AF_Football history! pic.twitter.com/bprNjEJbgX
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 21, 2023
Navy made things tougher for itself (and bettors) by throwing a pick-six with 3:51 remaining in the game to go down 17-0 and blow the chance to beat the spread.
94 yards is the longest pass play in @AF_Football history! pic.twitter.com/bprNjEJbgX
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 21, 2023
Still, and despite the subterfuge from Calhoun, Navy had a chance to pull off an epic backdoor cover by getting the ball right back and methodically moving downfield. Bettors just needed a touchdown and an extra point to make it happen. Navy, which has never been shutout by Air Force before, had all the incentive to help them out.
The Mids did just that by going 78 yards in 15 plays with easily their most impressive drive of the day. It ended with a neat 10-yard pass Eli Heidenreich in the end zone with 50 seconds left. The cover wasn’t just within reach for Navy. It had complete control over it.
And for reasons beyond understanding, down 17-6 and extremely unlikely to get the ball back again, Navy decided to go for a two-point conversion that failed miserably.
There are plenty of dumb ways to lose a bet, but sheesh this one is going to sting for awhile. Here’s hoping every Navy bettor hedged by taking the under as well, which is as much of a lock as possible in the sport.
The UNDER is now 25-3 in Armed Forces games over the past decade, and 44-10-1 (81.5%) since 2005 (h/t @EvanHAbrams).
Air Force-Navy total closed at 34.
Final score: Air Force 17, Navy 6
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) October 21, 2023
