Army Black Knights vs. Navy Midshipmen Betting Odds, College Football Pick

Navy owns the recent rivalry with Army, winning the last 13 meetings in a row, but the Black Knights are 3-1 against the spread over the last four meetings, keeping things close as underdogs. Army tries to finally put an end to that losing streak when it battles the Midshipmen Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Point spread: The Midshipmen opened as 23-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 37.4-20.8 Midshipmen

Why the Army Black Knights can cover the spread

Army is just 2-9 on the season, with four losses in a row, but it's had some chances. Six of the Black Knights' losses have come by one score or less and four of them by a total of 13 points. Last week, Army, using third-string quarterback Chris Carter, lost at home to Rutgers 31-21, coming up one score short of covering as a three-point home dog.

The Black Knights trailed the Scarlet Knights 14-0 early and pulled to 31-21 after three quarters, but they could get no closer. Army had a chance to at least push the spread with a late touchdown but threw an interception in the end zone.

On the day, the Black Knights outgained Rutgers 401-359, converted nine of 13 third downs into first downs and won time of possession by almost nine minutes. Usually, numbers like that lead to covers.

Two weeks ago, Army lost to Tulane on a field goal on the final play of the game. Three weeks ago, the Black Knights trailed Air Force by just a touchdown into the fourth quarter before fading, and just before that, they lost to Rice on a touchdown in the last half-minute. Realistically, Army is only a few plays away from being 5-6 and perhaps even playing for a bowl.

Why the Navy Midshipmen can cover the spread

Navy started this season 4-0, lost at Notre Dame and won five more in a row. Last week, with a spot in the AAC Championship Game on the line, it lost at Houston 52-31. The Midshipmen tied that game at 14-14 midway through the second quarter but couldn't get their running game going and faded from there.

On the day, Navy racked up 459 yards of offense, as record-setting quarterback Keenan Reynolds threw for a career-high 312 yards on just 13 completions. Unfortunately, the Midshipmen defense couldn't get the Cougars offense off the field. Still, that was just the third time this season Navy failed to cover a spread.

Smart pick

Navy has Reynolds, while Army is down to its third-string quarterback, a freshman. So while the Black Knights might be a sentimental choice here, the smart money sails with the Midshipmen.

Betting trends

Army is 0-13 straight up in its last 13 games against Navy.

The total has gone under in five of Army's last seven games.

The total has gone under in 10 of Navy's last 11 games in December.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark, and all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.