Army Finally Sinks Navy

College football is built on rivalries.

They're so ingrained that many of them go by nicknames:

• The Big Game,
• The Iron Bowl,
• The Red River Showdown. Yes. Showdown.

The list goes on.

However, no rivalry is more sacred than the Army-Navy game.

This one goes all the way back to 1890 and is held in such high regard that it's given the honor of being the final game of the FBS Division I season.

However, the rivalry hasn't seen much of a fight in recent times.

As many a Midshipman is aware, Navy has come away the victors over the Black Knights for the past 14 games.

While both teams are going to bowl games this year, that didn't diminish the intensity on display in Baltimore:

Navy entered the contest in bad shape. Literally.

In the AAC title game,the Middies lost two offensive stalwarts on the same play.

So, with QB Will North done in by a foot injury, starting duties fell on sophomore Zach Abey for the first time in his college career.

For their part, the Black Knights of the Hudson -- originality is good -- had three weeks to get healthy and plan for their biggest game of the season.

Army came out firing in the first half, securing a 14-0 lead at the intermission. Abey, who threw two picks and fumbled once in the contest, was visibly shaken. But he came out strong in the second half.

Dude fixed himself up in the second half and led the Middies to 17 unanswered points. It was his 41-yard run that put Navy ahead, 17-14, with twelve minutes left in the fourth.

But this was a day for the ground troops. Army QB Ahmad Bradshaw led the Black Knights down the field and scored the eventual game winning touchdown on a 9-yard run. They then held on to win, 21-17.

Some may consider a game that featured seven turnovers and a mere fourteen combined passes as not being historic, but Army surely doesn't care. After a 14-year dry spell, dudes weren't picky.

Call it tired legs.

Call it injuries.

Call it luck.

After 15 shots at it, Army was finally able to sink Navy’s battleship.