Playoff committee respectful of tradition
Game after picks, but contingency plan exists
The college football world is abuzz this week with talk of the Heisman Trophy and other awards, with how the regular season finished, with the anticipation of the bowl season, with preparation for the College Football Playoff.
But Saturday afternoon, many involved will stop, flip on the TV and pause for a game that doesn’t fit neatly into any of those conversations — but which occupies a very significant place in the tapestry of the sport.
In some ways, Army-Navy is an anachronism. The days of Army as a national football power are in the ancient past. Despite Navy’s run toward the American Athletic Conference championship — a near-miss — the Midshipmen rarely factor in, either.
And, of course, the game is played annually after the rest of college football’s regular season is over — which might in part be why it continues to be treasured.
“Absolutely, Army-Navy means something,” said Arkansas athletics director Jeff Long, a member of the College Football Playoff ’s selection committee and its former chairman. “I get chills talking about it.”
Long described watching it annually as a child. His father served in the Army, so they pulled for the Black Knights.
“It was special, the cadets dressed in their gear, seeing them march into the stadium,” Long said. “It really is a special, iconic American game. People pay attention to Army-Navy.”
It almost meant something else. If Navy had beaten Temple last week for the AAC title, it’s possible the Playoff selection committee would have had to wait to award the final slot in a New Year’s Six bowl game until after Army-Navy. The highest-ranked conference champion from a Group of Five conference gets an automatic bid — this year, into the Cotton Bowl — and the Midshipmen might have been ranked closely enough to Mid-American Conference champion Western Michigan that the selection committee would have convened by teleconference Saturday evening to sort out the situation.
It didn’t happen. Temple won the American title; Navy, which had victories against Notre Dame and Houston, fell to 9-3. But Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said the playoff ’s management committee instituted the clause to wait a week if Navy is positioned for the New Year’s Six slot.
“On the one hand, it would be concerning if the whole process, or parts of the process, needed to be held up for a week,” Scott said. “It’s a week less teams have to prepare. The bowls don’t know who’s com- ing. On the other hand, we ... think it will happen, but in all likelihood it will be rare. We wanted to show deference to a great American tradition, a patriotic tradition. Despite the inconvenience ... we thought a more important priority was respecting the tradition of that game.”
From his perspective as a selection committee member, as well as fan, Long said he would have had no issue with waiting.
“It seems right that they have their own day,” Long said. “It seems like that is part of who they are, part of that great tradition. I have absolutely zero issue with it.”
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn has memories similar to those of Long. He’d watch Army-Navy with his father and grandfather, and it always felt like the beginning of the Christmas season. “You don’t know their names,” Malzahn said of the Black Knights and Midshipmen, “but it doesn’t matter. It’s just a great football event.”
These days on the second Saturday in December, Malzahn is busy — for most college football coaches, this weekend occupies an important spot on the recruiting calendar. But he’ll pay attention to ArmyNavy. And one day?
“It’s on my bucket list to go see it live one time,” Malzahn said.