The winner receives the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy. Air Force, Army and Navy all run very similar offenses, which is the reason for low-scoring games. I think the Army has an advantage playing Navy last week; the defense has been on a five-week run trying to stop the triple option. The Black Knights not only stopped Navy; they shut them out. Army lost to its highest-rated opponent, Cincinnati, 24-10. Air Force lost to Boise State 49-30. I have Army rated three points higher than Air Force and will add at least a point for playing at home.

Do you not know the drill by now? Since 2005, there have been 47 games played between the service academies. The Under has gone 37-9-1 in those games. The Under has also cashed in six straight meetings between these two.

My cohort Mike Tierney picked Air Force because of a possible letdown game by Army after its huge rivalry win last Saturday vs. Navy. Normally, I would agree with Mike as this is only the 10th time ever that Army plays a game after facing Navy and eight of those were bowls (the other was vs. Notre Dame in the 1930s). However, the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy is up for grabs here, and that's plenty of motivation for the Black Knights. Air Force has played only five games this season and just twice since Halloween. The Falcons are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games as road favorites, and I frankly don't think they should be favored.

Army finds itself in the unaccustomed position of playing a week after its season make-or-break game against Navy. A letdown seems likely. The Cadets’ limitations on offense last Saturday were exposed, and the Falcons, with an extra week to gameplan, should limit Army to minimal points. Air Force has registered at least four touchdowns in four of its five games, and reaching the 20s on the scoreboard should be sufficient. The Falcons have owned this series ATS, with nine covers in the past decade.