Army head coach Jeff Monken takes shot at Navy football, fuels rivalry

Army head coach Jeff Monken has always been embedded in the rivalry with Navy and it could reach new levels this season.

Monken joined Wednesday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show and was asked about the possibility of playing Navy twice this season. The Army-Navy game is scheduled for December 14th but the two schools, at this rate, have a chance to meet in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game.

Safe to say, Monken isn’t worried right now.

“Do they still have a football program at that school,” Monken asked. “We’re gonna worry about this game this weekend. It’s the only one we can do anything about and East Carolina’s got a good football team, well coached team. And I assure you that it’s the only game we’re concerning ourselves with right now.”

Army Head Coach Jeff Monken tells The @PatMcAfeeShow he's not worried about Navy on the field 👀

"Do they still have a football program at that school?" 😅 pic.twitter.com/jY7iIvBEmq

— ESPN (@espn) October 16, 2024

Monken’s been the head coach at Army since 2014 is 76-55 during his tenure. This is the first year the Black Knights are in the AAC, joining rival Navy.

After back to back 6-6 seasons, Army has raced out to a 6-0 record, but so has Navy. Head to head, Monken is 6-4 against the Midshipmen, winning three of the last four contests and six of the last eight.

Navy won every game from 2002-15 until Monken and Army upset a No. 25 ranked Navy squad in 2016. The only time Army’s been ranked in the matchup under Monken was 2018, when the Black Knights were No. 22 and beat Navy 17-10 in Philadelphia.

This year’s game will take place in Landover (M.D.), home of the Washington Commanders. But as mentioned above, the two service academies could very well play before that for the AAC title.

Could a College Football Playoff spot be on the line? Remember, the highest ranked Group of Five champion is assured a spot in the 12-team bracket.

In addition to five conference champions, the other seven spots are handed out to the seven highest ranked teams remaining, i.e. non-conference champions.

Monken’s Army squad and Navy are ranked No. 23 and 25 in the latest AP Poll.