The 20 greatest Service Academy football teams of all-time

Coached by Charles Dudley Clay, the ’22 Cadets were truly dominant on both sides of the ball, outscoring their opponents 228-27. They allowed just six total points through their first five contests. Paced by standout linemen Fritz Breidster and Edgar Garbisch, this Army squad recorded seven shutouts, including a scoreless home tie versus Notre Dame. The Cadets’ other tie came in front of 77,000 fans at the Yale Bowl, 7-7.

The team that brought Navy its only claimed national championship (as recognized after the fact by the Boand and Houlgate Systems). In the first season of Bill Ingram’s coaching tenure at Annapolis, the Midshipmen played all but three of their games at home. Navy was 9-0 heading into its rivalry game against Army, where a reported 600,000 spectators looked on at Chicago’s Soldier Field. The game finished in a 21-21 tie, thus keeping Navy from a unanimous national title.

Amid World War II, John Whelchel’s second Midshipmen squad put together one of its better seasons in program history. Navy’s defense led the way with three shutouts, and held three other opponents to seven or fewer points. The lone blemish on the Midshipmen’s schedule that season came via a 33-6 loss at No. 1 Notre Dame. And, the ongoing war threatened the playing of the annual Army-Navy game. In the end, the game was played, with Navy winning 13-0 to cap an extremely successful campaign.

Here begins a stellar three-season stretch of Army football dominance that remains unrivaled all these decades later. Army won noted national championships in 1914 and 15, but the ’44 squad set the path of the program’s most legendary run of success. Led by the iconic backfield of Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard, plus fellow College Football Hall-of-Famers in end Barney Poole, quarterback Doug Kenna and lineman John Green, the Cadets went 9-0, and outscored opponents 504-35 en route to their third national title. Army victories that season included a 59-0 rout of Notre Dame.

Still under the guidance of famed coach Earl “Red” Blaik, 1945’s Army team might not have been as dominant from a statistical standpoint (outscoring opponents 412-46). However, it remains one of the great squads in the history of the sport. Again, Blanchard, who won the Heisman Trophy with 16 rushing touchdowns and 722 yards on the ground, and Davis (944 rushing yards), led the way as the experienced and extremely deep Cadetse averaged 359.8 rushing yards en route to repeating as national champions.

While Army was enjoying what was arguably the best season in program history, the ’45 Navy boys weren’t too shabby, either. Once again, defense paced the Midshipmen, who allowed 33 points while going 7-0-1 entering the season-finale versus Army. In the end, the Cadets proved too much for coach Oscar Hagberg’s Midshipmen, winning 32-13 to cap their perfect campaign. Despite that lopsided loss to Army, Navy finished the season ranked No. 2 by The Associated Press. 

The Cadets’ third straight national championship season (as noted by several reports, though not The Associated Press) again featured more notable performances from Davis (1,068 rushing/receiving yards,13 TDs), who won the Heisman Trophy in ’46, and Blanchard (613 rushing yards, nine rushing TDs). These Cadets had to grind out wins, notably 20-13 versus Michigan and 21-18 against Navy. However, the most memorable moment from that season was Army’s scoreless tie versus Notre Dame, at Yankee Stadium, in what’s considered one of the greatest college football games ever played. 

Behind the legs of Bobby Stuart, end Dan Foldberg and the blocking of Bill Yeoman and Joe Henry, this ’48 Army group was 8-0 entering its last game of the year against archrival Navy. And, even with the Cadets playing as the third-ranked team in the nation (their highest point of the season), they only managed a 21-21 finish against the Midshipmen. Army finished the season undefeated, but ranked sixth in the final AP poll.

With Arnold Galiffa under center, Army amassed 354 points en route to another undefeated season. That offensive dominance more than made up for a defense that wasn’t as stout in comparison to recent Army teams, but still quite stingy while allowing just three opponents to score double-digit points. The highlight of this Cadets’ season, arguably, came on Oct. 8, when they won 21-7 on the road over then No. 1 Michigan. 

The 1950 season proved to be an emotional one for the Cadets, who were led by quarterback Bob Blaik, the coach’s son, and star captain Dan Foldberg. Army scored 265 points and allowed just one opponent to reach double-digit points en route to going 8-0 heading into its annual showdown with Navy. However, before the game, former Army gridiron stars Tom Lombardo and Johnny Trent died in action while fighting in the Korean War. It’s uncertain how much those tragedies had a mental impact on the Cadets, who fell 14-2 to the Midshipmen, and finished ranked No. 2 in the AP poll.

In the fourth season of football at the Air Force Academy, the Falcons put together one of the best performances in program history. With first-year coach Ben Martin at the helm, the Falcons, still playing their home games off campus in Denver, were paced by talented end Tom Jozwiak, quarterback George Klutinoty, tackle Charles Zaleski and standout defenders Dave Phillips and George Pupich. Air Force went undefeated, and reached the programs first bowl game, a scoreless finish with No. 10 TCU in the Cotton Bowl. The Falcons ended the season ranked sixth in the AP poll.

Behind the play of standout quarterback Tom Forrestal, Navy suffered just one loss during the ’57 campaign. That came in its third game of the season, 13-7 at North Carolina. While the Midshipmen also tied No. 16 Duke, they finished quite strong, ending the regular season with a 14-0 victory over Army. Then, the Midshipmen earned a 20-7 victory over No. 8 Rice in the Cotton Bowl, to improve the program’s record to 2-0-1 in bowl contests.

Following some lean or serviceable seasons, at least in terms of the program, Army officially regained its national football prominence in 1958. Led by Heisman Trophy-winning halfback Pete Dawkins, who posted 1,216 all-purpose yards and 12 touchdowns, and offensive lineman Bob Novogratz, Army enjoyed another stellar offensive campaign. However, a 14-14 tie at Pittsburgh on Oct. 18, essentially kept the Cadets from winning another national title. Fun fact: Entering the 2024 season, Army’s 14-2 win at Notre Dame on Oct. 11, 1958, is the program’s most recent triumph in the series. 

This was Roger Staubach’s Heisman Trophy-winning season. He completed 66.5-percent of his passes for a career-high 1,474 yards and also ran for 418 with eight touchdowns. As a team, the Midshipmen scored at least 21 points in each game and posted impressive wins at No. 3 Pittsburgh, at Notre Dame and over Army (in a game that was played in the wake of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination). Interestingly, Navy’s two losses came at the Cotton Bowl — vs. SMU on Oct. 11 and to No. 1 Texas in the annual Dallas Bowl game.

Still under the guidance of venerable coach Ben Martin, the 1970 Falcons started 7-0 and were ranked No. 7 by The Associated Press. With quarterback Bob Parker leading the charge, Air Force knocked off a pair of top-10 ranked squads in Missouri and Stanford. Despite a rough finish, the Falcons managed to qualify for their first bowl game in seven seasons — losing 34-13 to No. 4 Tennessee in the Cotton Bowl. 

Undisputedly, this is the greatest team in Air Force football history. With quarterback Bart Weiss running Fisher DeBerry’s triple option offense, the Falcons scored at least 45 points five times and sat 10-0 as the No. 4-ranked team in the country. Then the fun ended, momentarily, with a 28-21 loss at No. 16 BYU. However, Air Force bounced back and reached the Bluebonnet Bowl, where it posted a 24-16 win over Texas. In addition to Weiss (1,032 rushing yards, 12 rushing TDs), linebacker Terry Maki and defensive back Scott Thomas each enjoyed an All-American-caliber season. 

The ’98 Falcons were Mountain West champions and beat up on Washington to win the Oahu Bowl. However, it was that lone blemish, a 35-34 road loss against LaDainian Tomlinson and TCU in the fourth game of the season, that still stings. It was back-and-forth throughout, and the Falcons even held a seemingly comfortable third-quarter lead. Still, this remains one of college football’s best teams, led by quarterback Blane Morgan (15 rushing TDs, 10 passing TDs) and standout defensive lineman Bryce Fisher. The Falcons finished 13th in the AP poll.

In Troy Calhoun’s 13th season at his alma mater, the Falcons started a respectable 3-2 (including a loss to rival Navy), then closed the 2019 campaign with eight straight victories. Highlighted by a 31-21 victory over Washington State in the Cheez-It Bowl. The Falcons ranked second in the nation with an average of 298.5 rushing yards. Kadin Remsberg ran for 1,050 yards and quarterback Donald Hammond III threw for 13 touchdowns and ran for another 13 scores. 

Led by the shifty Malcolm Perry, ‘the ’19 Navy group won 11 games for the second time in five seasons. Perry, in his final season at the Academy, ran for an NCAA-record 2,017 rushing yards for a quarterback, including 304 on 29 carries during a 31-7 rout of Army. And, another 213 during the Midshipmen’s 20-17 win over Memphis in the Liberty Bowl. Navy, which averaged a national-best 360.5 rushing yards that year, finished ranked 20th by The Associated Press.

Versatile quarterback Bryson Daily has run Army’s dangerous option attack to near perfection, and it leads the nation averaging more than 330 rushing yards per game. For the first time since 1943, Army started 9-0 and returned to the AP Top 25 after last being part in 2000.