Army-Navy Game 2016: Start Time and Predictions for Rivalry Game

The 2016 Army-Navy matchup will have the national spotlight all to itself, and this year's version of this Armed Forces Classic showdown looks to be a great one with two relatively even squads. 

Let us take a look at the game's schedule, as well as a breakdown and prediction between these two historic programs.

Date	Location	Start Time (ET)	Network
Saturday, Dec. 10	M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD	3 p.m.	CBS

Game Preview

Recent games between these two teams are typically close, with four of the last five being decided by single digits, and this season now looks to be another tight affair.

Navy was on its way to a possible AAC title and spot in a New Year's Six game until those dreams came to a screeching halt last week. Temple stomped the Midshipmen 34-10, and star quarterback Will Worth's season has ended due to a foot injury. Erik Brady of USA Today reported that Worth will need surgery.

Zach Abey will try to lead Navy to a win on Saturday in Worth's absence, but he has some tremendous production to replace:

Completion Percentage	Passing Yards	Passing TDs	Interceptions	Rushing Yards	Rushing TDs	Yards Per Carry
61.5	1,397	8	3	1,198	25	4.5

In a relief effort, Abey was spotty at best against the Owls. He finished 7-of-13 for 104 yards, zero touchdowns and two picks passing while rushing for 70 yards and a score. Abey could be in for a tough time against a stingy Army defense.

The Black Knights rank fifth nationally in total defense, allowing just 288.9 yards per game. Furthermore, the team is 14th in scoring defense and 19th in rush defense. While the defense has been solid, Army's offense and team as a whole have battled inconsistency all season.

After firing out to a 3-0 start that included a win over Temple, Army dropped consecutive games to Buffalo and Duke, and it has yet to accumulate a winning streak since. The Black Knights notched an impressive road victory against a solid Wake Forest team, but they also lost to Air Force, North Texas and Notre Dame by a combined 110-36. 

So which Army team will show up, and can it break the 14-game losing streak to its military rival? That will likely come down its offense as the defense should fare rather well against a short-handed Navy attack.

Navy ranks 81st nationally in scoring defense at 30.4 points allowed per game to go with an 86th-best 435.7 yards conceded per game. Those numbers appear mediocre, but they come against a slate of high-powered offenses that include Houston, Memphis, South Florida and Tulsa. 

The Midshipmen were able to overcome these types of obstacles with an offense that was also stout. In the two games leading up to the Temple showdown, Navy averaged a ridiculous 70.5 points an outing. Replicating that type of production will be a monstrous task without Worth, but Army has struggled defensively against stronger offenses, which is evident by the 44 points it yielded to Notre Dame and another 31 allowed to Air Force.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Army scores 30 points per game, which is tied for 62nd nationally. The team is led by running back Andy Davidson, who rushed for 818 yards and nine scores on the season. Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 646 yards and six scores on the year, but he struggled immensely through the air with 622 yards, four touchdowns and eight picks while completing less than half of his passes. This does not exploit a Navy defense that finished 104th nationally in defending the pass.

All of these factors indicate that Saturday will be a low scoring affair, but it could also be a breakthrough for the Black Knights.

Army has nearly defeated Navy with worse teams, and it may never have a better opportunity than now to take down the Midshipmen. No streak lasts forever, and given the circumstances surrounding this game, look for Army to finally get over the hump in this rivalry with a late score.

Prediction: Army 21, Navy 14

Statistics are courtesy of NCAA.com.