RAMSEY: Air Force vs. Navy is a premier rivalry

Each fall, Army and Navy renew an ancient rivalry that features great tradition and mediocre football.

Air Force's and Navy's rivalry features mediocre tradition and great football.
I'll take the second rivalry.

Saturday at 2 p.m., one of college football's best modern traditions reignites at Falcon Stadium.

The Army-Navy rivalry once offered spectacular thrills, but that was long ago.

In the past five seasons, Navy has beaten Army by a total of 129 points. No amount of pageantry can rescue a rout.

During the same time, Navy has struggled to five victories over Air Force, winning by a total of 27 points. This rivalry thrives in the present, always the most important tense.

I can't tell you which team will win. I can tell you oddsmakers have lost their minds.

They see Air Force as a six-point favorite, which is strange.

Navy has beaten Air Force five straight times and the Midshipmen toppled No. 16 Wake Forest last week.

And the Midshipmen are six-point underdogs?

That's bad news for Air Force fans. The Navy football program thrives on perceived lack of respect, which means Vegas betting brainiacs delivered a big boost to the Midshipmen.

This game is a virtual dead heat, just as it's been the past five seasons.

Falcons defensive end Ryan Kemp explained part of the reason the losses to Navy hurt so much.

"They have players who have the same capabilities as us, and what they've been able to do with them is impressive," Kemp said.

It is impressive. When Paul Johnson took over the Midshipmen in 2002, he found a program in shambles. Air Force had beaten the Midshipmen 17 times in 19 tries.

He transformed the football culture. When Johnson departed last winter for Georgia Tech, he had beaten Air Force and Army 10 straight times.

All this success leaves the Midshipmen with confidence. Navy seniors can't help but believe they'll once again beat Air Force.

But the Falcons will be fueled by a more severe hunger. Air Force seniors never have seen the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy in person. They've been reduced to looking at photographs of the 2½-foot, 170-pound trophy.

That depth of humiliation can inspire a player to snarl and fight.

"Never seen it," nose guard Jared Marvin said. "It's horrible. Ever since we came here, it's been preached, ‘Sink Navy.' That's the way we operate. It's my senior year, and we need to step up and do something about it."

Doing something about it won't be easy. Navy looked weak in the early season, but the Midshipmen were only taking their time to awaken.

Last week, Navy forced six Wake Forest turnovers and shocked a big crowd at Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Midshipmen shocked me, too. I believed much of Navy's might departed along with Johnson.

When Navy players needed motivation, Johnson translated innocent remarks by Air Force players into scorching insults.

The Falcons, in Johnson's fantasy world, talked endless trash about their archrivals.

This wasn't true, but truth didn't matter. Johnson's ploy helped produce five straight victories.

Nice thing about Saturday's game is no propaganda is needed.

Who will win?

I have no idea, but I can promise fantastic, dramatic football theater.

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Columnist David Ramsey can be reached at 476-4895 or david.ramsey@gazette.com.

Check out David's blog, David Ramsey Says What?, at daveramseysez.freedomblogging.com