Army-Navy standalone game 'a wasted Saturday,' Paul Finebaum says

Paul Finebaum doesn't think the famous Army-Navy game should have its own weekend.
College football analyst Paul Finebaum thinks having Army and Navy playing on its own weekend is a waste of time in the new playoff era.
College football analyst Paul Finebaum thinks having Army and Navy playing on its own weekend is a waste of time in the new playoff era. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

For the longest time, Army and Navy used to play their annual football rivalry game on their own Saturday after most other teams finished the regular season, that is until this year, when it was played on the same day as the first bowl games.

Now, in the era of the expanded College Football Playoff, commentator Paul Finebaum believes giving Army and Navy their own day is a waste of the football schedule.

“Well, we’re wasting a week,” he said on The Matt Barrie Show.

“I know I’m going to upset somebody, but the week of the Army-Navy game needs to be the playoffs. That is a wasted Saturday. What do we have? We have the Army-Navy game and the Heisman. We can’t figure that out some other time?”

Traditionally, it was understood that Army and Navy hold a special place in the college football pantheon, and their annual game should be an occasion unto itself.

But with all the changes around the sport, including the expanded playoff and the resulting changes around the other bowl games, we’ve already seen the game have to share its special day.

For his part, Finebaum seemed to agree with a proposal shared by Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt, who speculated that Army and Navy should still have its own day.

But at the beginning of football season, not the end.

“It’s one of the great football games on the planet,” Klatt said. “It’s getting pinched where it’s at.”

He added: “Army and Navy are now in a conference. Yet their game doesn’t have any bearing on whether they’re going to the conference championship game or now, which we just saw this year with Navy.

“So what do we do with Army-Navy? It’s getting pinched by the Heisman. It’s getting pinched by the playoff. We now play a bowl game on the same day. It’s not in the right spot. Army-Navy needs to start the football season. Week Zero of football.”

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James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.