Army beat Navy 20-17 on Saturday in a double-overtime thriller that saw the underdog Black Knights make numerous clutch plays in key situations. The 123rd edition of America's Game was the first in history to see play extend beyond regulation, and it made for a thrilling conclusion to the final regular-season game of the 2022 college football season.
Army kicked a field goal with less than 2 minutes in regulation to force overtime, scored a touchdown on its first play of the initial OT period and forced a fumble on Navy's second OT possession before kicking a field goal to win for the fifth time in the last seven editions of college football's longest-enduring rivalry.
This Army-Navy Game was one in which the Black Knights offense was stuck in the mud for most of the contest, while the Midshipmen found far more success on the ground. However, both teams created big plays when needed.
Given Army's struggling offense, it's a testament to its defense that this even reached overtime in the first place. In fact, Army's lone offensive touchdown didn't come until the first play of overtime when Markel Johnson went through the A-gap untouched and took off 25 yards to the end zone. Its lone touchdown in regulation was the result of a blocked punt was jumped on in the end zone.
Army finished with only 153 yards, which paled in comparison to the effort Navy put together. The Midshipmen rumbled for 284 yards and had the biggest offensive play of the game when Anton Hall took off for a 73-yard touchdown run to give Navy a 10-7 lead in the third quarter.
Unfortunately, the play was only the second-most influential touch by Hall in the game. His fumble at the goal line in the second OT gave Army a chance to win the game with a walk-off field goal.
Quinn Martetzki, who had attempted only eight field goals all season, drilled the 39-yarder -- a new season-long -- to clinch the victory for Army just a few minutes after nailing a 37-yard attempt with 1:53 left in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
Here's a few takeaways from the latest iteration of the Army-Navy Game.
1. Special teams matter
Well, special teams matter in a lot of games, sure, but games like this in particular. These are two service academies that run similar option offenses that feature a lot of run plays and require long drives to score touchdowns. They also present unique challenges to teams unfamiliar with defending the option, but that's not the case in a game like this.
Teams like Army and Navy spend the entire season practicing against option offenses and are better prepared to stop them than anybody. And that's why games like this are often won on the margins. While Army's offense was the inferior of the two units, its special teams were superior and proved to be the difference in the game.
Not only did Army block a punt to score its first touchdown take the head at halftime, Maretzki's field goals won the game. Army also averaged 42.4 yards per punt compared to Navy's 37.7, while Army's punt returners averaged 18.3 yards per return to Navy's 9.8.
Navy had the field position advantage overall (its average starting field position was its own 34 compared to Army starting at its 25), but the field would've been tilted even further in Navy's favor if not for Army's special teams performance. Given how Army struggled to move the ball, it's hard to imagine the Cadets would have been in position to reach overtime -- let alone win the game -- without its special teams.
2. Xavier Arline's injury played a significant role
The Navy quarterback came up limping after being tripped on a tackle late in the first half. Arline picked up 28 yards but was brought down on an illegal (uncalled) trip that may not have mattered much to the score at the time but had impacted the game. Arline did not look like the same player in the second half with his mobility clearly limited. He still finished with 102 yards rushing on 28 carries and threw a 25-yard touchdown to Maquel Haywood (his only completed pass) in the first overtime, but it was clear he was less than 100%.
3. Feeling sick for Hall
It was Hall's 77-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that gave Navy life after the game had swung in Army's favor, but the sight of him collapsing on the sideline in overtime as Maretzki's game-winning field goal sailed through the upright was difficult to take. Hall fumbled at the half-yard line while reaching for the end zone on Navy's second possession of overtime. Army recovered, putting it in position to win the game with a field goal.
4. First overtime ... ever
There had been seven ties in the first 122 meetings between Army and Navy, but the last one came in 1981 -- 15 years before college football got rid of ties and instituted overtime into the sport. It's crazy to think that it's been over 40 years since this game would've needed overtime considering how low scoring and close the games tend to be.
5. Army did not win the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy
That was already wrapped up when Air Force beat both Army and Navy earlier this season. It was the first time Air Force has won the trophy since 2016, and the Falcons were not shy about that fact at kickoff.