COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF ANNOUNCES DECISION ON ARMY VS. NAVY GAME

While it may not have the vitriol of The Game or The Iron Bowl, the Army-Navy Game is as big a part of college football culture as any traditional rivalry. But with the game so often falling outside of the College Football Playoff selection process, how will the Selection Committee account for that game under the new format?

The short answer appears to be that they won't. According to Chris Vannini of The Athletic, College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock has said that the Army-Navy Game will not be a part of the selection process. 

Hancock asserted that the final rankings will be on Selection Day - the day after Conference Championship Weekend - while the Army-Navy Game will continue to be played on the Saturday after. He added that the two programs did not want to move their historic rivalry game to before Selection Day.

"Army-Navy Game will not be part of the selection committee process, Bill Hancock says. Final rankings are on selection day. The game is six days later. Army and Navy both did not want to move the game to before selection Sunday," Vannini wrote.

However, as many have pointed out, that could lead to an interesting scenario involving the two historic football programs. 

In theory, either one of those schools could go 11-0, win the AAC Championship Game, get selected as the Group of Five at-large team, and then lose to the other in the Army-Navy game the following week. 

It wouldn't be the most realistic scenario, but it could happen. And the College Football Playoff is basically admitting that they're okay with that possibility.

2024-04-24T23:12:39Z dg43tfdfdgfd