Army vs. Navy Game 2025 live updates: Black Knights, Midshipmen clash in 126th edition of rivalry showdown

Live updates, highlights and analysis as Army vs. Navy takes center stage to cap the college football regular season

BALTIMORE, Md. -- America's Game has arrived to put a bow on the 2025 college football regular season, as Army and Navy meet on the gridiron for the 126th time. 

The Midshipmen enter the game as 6.5-point favorites after a 9-2 season that saw them flirt with a visit to the American Championship Game. A win over Army would give Navy their first back-to-back 10-win seasons in program history, a potentially remarkable achievement for a program that's been playing football for more than a century. 

Navy is led by Blake Horvath, who had a huge performance in last year's Army-Navy Game, rushing for 196 yards and two touchdowns and adding 107 yards and two touchdowns through the air in a 31-13 victory. Horvath picked up where he left off this season to lead an explosive Midshipmen offense that's among the best in the nation in creating long running plays. 

Army will be trying to spoil that bid for history in an underdog role that suits them well. The Black Knights got off to a slow start to the 2025 season at 1-3 but closed the year strong with five wins in their final seven games, getting back to their roots to grind out wins by leaning on a stout defense. 

There is truly nothing like the Army vs. Navy Game, and the 126th edition figures to be another terrific battle between the storied programs and rivals. 

Watch Army vs. Navy live at 3 p.m. ET on CBS and streaming live on CBSSports.com, the CBS Sports App and Paramount+ Premium. Keep it locked here for live updates, analysis and highlights from the game.

[Dec 13, 2025 at 1:30 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Explosive plays don't just have to happen on offense. Ball security is always of the utmost importance in the Army-Navy Game. Horvath and Hellums will have to be sharp with their ball-handling on the option, both on the give and the pitch, as putting the ball on the ground is the cardinal sin in this game. 

For as much as they run the ball and how many pitches and pulls are involved in each play, both of these offenses do a great job protecting the football. Army has lost just five fumbles all year, while Navy has given it away six times. That means it shouldn't be an expectation that either team will cough it up, but any opportunity a defense gets, either on a mishandled option give/pitch or by punching the ball out, could be a huge swing. 

[Dec 13, 2025 at 1:00 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Field position is always critical in this matchup, and there tend to be a number of punts as the two teams try to pin the others back deep. Execution from start to finish from the punt units will be paramount. The coverage unit that can execute and pin the other team inside their own 10 can set up their team for success, while a punt block or a muffed return can flip the field and swing the outcome. 

Points are at a premium in the Army-Navy Game, and that puts added pressure on the field goal units when they do get trotted out -- although, both teams tend to be aggressive going for it on fourth-and-short situations. Army's Dawson Jones is 12 of 17 on field goal attempts this season and a perfect 29 of 29 on extra points. Navy's Nathan Kirkwood has likewise been perfect on XPs, hitting all 46 he's attempted, and hit 9 of 10 field goal attempts. 

It'll be cold and a bit breezy on Saturday afternoon in Baltimore, and the special teams units on both sides will need to be on point. 

[Dec 13, 2025 at 12:30 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Anyone who has ever watched the Army-Navy Game knows that it will be a grueling, physical battle in the trenches. These are two option teams that know exactly what the other wants to do and have more experience maintaining eye discipline and run fits than any other opponent. That tends to create a low-scoring, field position battle.

It's so hard to sustain drives for touchdowns in this game because the defenses are so disciplined against the option, which also means any explosive plays hold extra importance. In that department, Navy has been far better this season. The Midshipmen are fourth in the country in 20+ yard runs (30), while Army is all the way back in 84th (12). 

Navy's passing attack has been a far bigger weapon this year compared to Army's, as Horvath has thrown for 1,390 yards and nine touchdowns compared to just 504 yards and three touchdowns for Hellums. No one will confuse the Midshipmen with the Air Raid this season, but Horvath's arm does provide them with an additional threat they can spring on defenses that get too aggressive trying to stop the run. 

That doesn't mean Army can't dial up something at the right time to create a chunk play, but the Midshipmen provide a more constant threat for explosives both on the ground and through the air -- as we saw in this game a year ago. Limiting that big play potential will be the biggest challenge for this Black Knights defense that has been extremely solid of late, while the offense will need to find a way to scheme up an explosive or two themselves. 

[Dec 13, 2025 at 12:00 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Army and Navy are set to clash once again in one of the most anticipated matchups of each college football season, this year in Baltimore as the storied service academies enter the 126th chapter into their legendary rivalry. The Midshipmen lead the all-time series with a 63-55-7 record against the Black Knights as we enter this year's much-anticipated game. 

2025 Army vs. Navy Game prediction, pick, odds, spread: Storied rivalry takes center stage for 126th time

Robby Kalland