Army vs. Navy: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Game

The college football regular season officially ended Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia with the Navy Midshipmen defeating the Army Black Knights, 21-17, to win for the 14th straight year in the classic rivalry.

Navy knows it will have one more game, against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the Military Bowl on Dec. 28, so it may have needed time to turn things on against the Black Knights. It was fantastic on defense, holding Army to 137 rushing yards on 44 carries.

The turning point came late in the third quarter, on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds to Jamir Tillman that helped give the team a 21-17 lead. The Midshipmen aren't known for their prolific passing attack, so it was a stunning turn of events. 

Reynolds, who was playing in his final Army-Navy game after four incredible seasons, added more records to his legendary career Saturday, per USA Today's Paul Myerberg:

If that's not enough, CBS Sports noted on Twitter that Reynolds is the only Navy quarterback to go 4-0 against Army in his career. 

Saturday is a huge day for college football, starting with this tilt and ending with the 2015 Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York.

There was a groundswell of support on the Internet for Reynolds to be part of the award season, with B/R NFL draft analyst Matt Miller being particularly unhappy with the way invites for the Heisman ceremony shook out:

Reynolds seems to check all of the necessary individual boxes to be a Heisman finalist. He set a Division I record with his 85th career rushing touchdown and finished this season with 2,306 total yards and 28 total touchdowns.

The senior star finished Saturday's game with 113 passing yards, 136 rushing yards and had a hand in all three of Navy's touchdowns (two rushing, one passing).

Even with Navy's aversion to throwing the ball, Tillman has broken through that barrier lately, per Gene Wang of the Washington Post:

Tillman was the only Navy receiver to catch a pass until the fourth quarter and had five of the team's six receptions. His late-season surge has raised his profile. Bryan Driskell of Blue and Gold Illustrated offered high praise for the junior wideout:

This game, in many ways, felt like the end of an era for Navy. Head coach Ken Niumatalolo was showing his solidarity with the program based on his headgear, per CBS Sports:

However, there are many rumblings about where Niumatalolo's future lies after he confirmed to ESPN.com a meeting with BYU about its coaching vacancy. If he leaves, along with Reynolds' graduation, the football program will have a lot of repair work to do in a short amount of time.

Army hurt itself midway through the fourth quarter. Following a 39-yard completion from quarterback Chris Carter to DeAndre Bell that got the ball to Navy's 33-yard line, Carter fumbled the snap on the next play, and the Midshipmen recovered.

Carter seemed to have problems hanging on to the football throughout the game, as Wang noted:

The news wasn't all bad for Army's offense, as Carter did something no quarterback for the program has done in nearly a decade, per SportsCenter:

Army wideout Edgar Poe was on the receiving end of most of those yards with a season-high 121 on five catches. 

Army should be frustrated by this defeat because it gave away opportunities, especially with a missed field goal and three turnovers in the fourth quarter, including two by Carter, which prevented the Black Knights from putting pressure on Navy. 

Navy's run of dominance in this series continues to reach new heights. Its 13-game winning streak over Army was already the longest since the two programs first met in 1890, and the team is showing no signs of slowing down.

The Midshipmen have become one of the most consistent programs in the nation, winning at least eight games in 12 of the last 13 seasons. Their campaign will continue with an opportunity to win 11 games in a season for the first time in program history against Pitt. 

Postgame Reaction

Meeting with the media after the victory, per Ben Raby of Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Niumatalolo was wearing his heart on his sleeve:

As far as the ways in which Niumatalolo inspires his players, the Navy coach said at halftime, with his team trailing 17-14, that the "seniors took over. That carries weight," per Brent Harris of Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic

Also per Harris, Niumatalolo talked about considering leaving for BYU, noting it was "about his faith" and that he believes he was fair "by being honest with Navy and team" about listening to the school's pitch. 

Niumatalolo also gave praise to the job Reynolds has done with the program, per Raby:

On the losing side, per Myerberg, Army head coach Jeff Monken had high praise for the journey his seniors are about to embark on:

"

Army HC Jeff Monken on his seniors: "I can tell you this, the enemies those guys are going to face in about 8 months...they're in trouble."

— Paul Myerberg (@PaulMyerberg) December 13, 2015"

Not wanting to leave anyone out of the praise, per Army Navy Game on Twitter, Monken did not have any regrets following the loss: