Army's goal every year is to reach December with a chance to win a trophy by beating Navy.
The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy will indeed be on the line when the Black Knights and Midshipmen meet on Dec. 14 in one of college football's famed rivalry games.
But this season, Army can pick up some additional hardware along the way.
The No. 24 Black Knights (10-1, 8-0, No. 24 CFP) can finish off a smashing debut in the American Athletic Conference by winning the conference title with a victory over Tulane (9-3, 7-1) on Friday night on their home field in West Point, New York.
“There’s only 18 teams playing this week for a championship. There will only be nine winners. It’s a blessing to be in the position,” Army cornerback Jaydan Mayes said. "I think everybody would rather be on this end of the spectrum than on the other end, waiting around to play Navy and watching what could have happened for our team.”
Army went undefeated in its first season in the AAC and is playing for a conference title for the first time. The Black Knights played in Conference USA from 1998-2004 and otherwise had been an independent since their program began in 1890.
Quarterback Bryson Daily was the league's offensive player of the year and goes into the title game with a chance to break the AAC record for rushing touchdowns in a season. Jeff Monken was voted coach of the year.
The reward is a matchup with a Tulane team playing in its third straight AAC title game. The Green Wave enter off a 34-24 home loss to Memphis on Thanksgiving that ended their 17-game winning streak in conference games, their hopes of hosting the championship and perhaps even reaching the College Football Playoff.
Coach Jon Sumrall didn't expect the disappointment to linger.
“We’ve got a chance to play in a conference championship. If we’re not focused then shame on us,” he said, adding he told his team of 18 all-conference selections that he doesn't remember individual honors.
“I do remember which teams won championships. Like, the championship teams I’ve been a part of, I remember that forever,” Sumrall said. “Like, I’ll be 75 years old and laying around and unable to function and I’ll remember the championship teams I was part of. That’s different. It means something. It’s different. And so if we’re not focused and excited about that opportunity, we’ve got a problem. Need a heart transplant if we ain’t ready for that.”
The Green Wave split their appearances in the last two AAC championship games, beating UCF in 2022 before falling to SMU last year, both at home.
Army came along and rolled through its first time in the conference, losing only to Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium and snatching the No. 1 seed that had belonged to Tulane in the previous two seasons. But perhaps in part because of all their late-season experience — the Green Wave beat Southern California in the 2023 Cotton Bowl after winning the AAC championship — the visitors are listed as 4 1/2-point favorites by BetMGM.
“This is a game they’ve played in. They’ve got people that have been part of the conference championship game,” Monken said. “This is our first time, so this is a new experience for our guys and it’s exciting, but we’re going to have to play very good football if we’re going to have a chance to win.”
With the Navy matchup still to come, Army will appear in a conference championship game before it plays its final regular-season game. Both teams beat Air Force this season, guaranteeing the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the winner.
Tulane snapped an Army 15-game home winning streak when it won at Michie Stadium on Oct. 5, 2019. This time, the Black Knights have won eight in a row at home as they welcome a Green Wave squad that has won 15 of its last 16 road games, with the only loss at then-No. 15 Oklahoma in September.
Daily led the AAC with 1,354 rushing yards, including an Army single-season record nine consecutive games of 100 or more, and his 25 rushing TDs are second in the nation behind Ashton Jeanty of Boise State's 28. Daily needs one more to break the AAC mark that was set by Navy QB Will Worth in 2016.
Tulane is 9-0 when outrushing its opponent but fell to 0-3 when outgained after Memphis ran to a 236-57 advantage. The Green Wave have to turn that stat back around against an Army team that leads the nation with 312.5 yards per game on the ground.
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AP freelance writer Sal Interdonato in West Point, New York, contributed to this report.
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