It's the first weekend in

November and time for the annual Army – Air Force football game. For Army, this

is the second most important game each season. For Air Force, winning this game

often leads to it capturing the most important trophy among the service

academies.

This year will be the 41st game in the series, of which Air Force leads with 26

wins against 13 losses and one tie. The tie was in the first game, played in

1959 at Yankee Stadium, where the Cadets played the #15 ranked Falcons to a

13-13 draw.

Prior to my joining the Corps of Cadets, Army played Air Force seven times. In

1963, Army beat the Falcons 14-10 at Chicago's Solder Field. Air Force beat the

Cadets in 1965, 14-3, in a repeat visit to Chicago. Playing in the first game in

1967 at the Air Force Academy, Army ruined the day by winning 10-7. And in 1969,

Air Force won at Michie Stadium, 13-6. The Falcons won at home in 1971, 20-7.

Then things got serious. Prior to the 1972 football season, the service

academies established the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, or C-I-C, going to the

winner of the round robin between Air Force, Army, and Navy. Air Force would

play Navy annually in October, then Army would play the Falcons, and the Black

Knights and Midshipmen would end the season in their annual rivalry.

If one service academy wins both of its games, it is the outright champion and

keeps the large 170 pound, two and a half foot high trophy until another academy

wins it outright. If the teams each go 1-1, then each shares the title, but the

trophy remains at the last winner's home (it has happened four times – 1974,

1976, 1980, and 1993).

In 1972, Navy had previously beat Air Force on the road, but Air Force entered

Michie Stadium with a #15 ranking. The Falcons left with a loss as Army won

17-14, thanks to a 202 yard rushing day by Bob Hines, and then the Cadets went

on to beat Navy to win the first C-I-C Trophy and a visit to the White House. It

remained in Washington Hall for one year before leaving for Annapolis, where it

remained for four years. While I was just a senior in high school at the time,

this is my Honorable Mention of favorite games

with the Zoomies.

Before getting to my favorite five games, let me briefly mention several others

that might have made another Army fan's top five:

.: 1974, after a winless season in 1973 (and a loss at AFA 43-10), the

Cadets got revenge as reserve Mark Markquez kicked a field goal in the final

minutes to win 17-16 at Michie. Markus Hardy rushed for 117 yards. Since Air

Force beat the Middies, there was a tie, and the C-I-C Trophy remained at Navy.

.: 1976, in one of only

four October games, the Cadets soundly beat an error prone Air Force, 24-7 at

Michie Stadium. A Leamon Hall pass to Clennie Brundidge for an 18 yard touchdown

opened the scoring while Greg King rushed for two touchdowns. The Falcons had

one interception, six fumbles, and 110 yards in penalties. As in 1974, a three

way tie kept the C-I-C Trophy at Navy.

.: 1978, Army wins its

third straight over the Falcons, 28-14 at home, with Brundidge having 127

receiving yards. But a loss to a Holiday Bowl-bound and ranked Navy team took

the C-I-C Trophy away from Army after one year. Except for the 1976 – 1978

games, Army has never beaten the Falcons in consecutive seasons.

.: 1980, Army won 47-24,

highlighted by Mike Fahnestock's 134 receiving yards and one touchdown scored.

It was the most points scored by Army against the Falcons. That season ended

with a three-way tie for the C-I-C Trophy.

.: 1986, in a televised

match-up at home, quarterback Tory Crawford led Army to victory over the

Falcons, 21-11. Crawford ran for 165 yards and scored two touchdowns, while the

Cadet wishbone rolled for 311 yards. Army went on to win its fourth C-I-C

Trophy.

For 22 seasons since 1972, the

Army game was its most important one after the Falcons defeated the Midshipmen.

In those seasons, a victory over Army resulted in winning the

Commander-in-Chief's Trophy. In the interest of fairness, several Air Force

victories stand out:

.: 1982, the Falcons win at Michie, 27-9, for the first time since 1969.

With their victories over the Squids and Cadets, Air Force took home their first

of 16 outright Commander-in-Chief's Trophy titles. The Falcons would not win

again at Michie Stadium until the 1990 game.

.: 1985, nationally

ranked (#4) Air Force embarrassed a Peach Bowl-bound Army, 45-7, to win their

third C-I-C Trophy in four years. The Falcons gained a total of 501 yards, 396

on the ground. Air Force was led by quarterback Bart Weiss who rushed for 114

yards and two touchdowns, and passed for 105 yards and a touchdown. The Falcons

scored 31 points before an Army offense, with only 186 yards, scored. Air Force

would finish 12-1, winning the Bluebonnet Bowl, and receiving a Top Ten ranking.

.: 1989, Air Force

recovered the C-I-C Trophy by dominating Army 29-3. The Falcons had 436 yards

offense and were led by quarterback Dee Dowis with 141 yards rushing. Air Force

held the Cadets to one field goal and 195 rushing yards.

.: 1990, Air Force

spoiled Jim Young's final game against the Falcons by a score of 15-3. The

Cadets had a season low of 180 yards offense (all on the ground). Mike

Mayweather rushed for 129 yards in his last home game at Michie Stadium to

surpass 4,000 yards in his career.

.: 1991, Air Force won

at home by shutting out Army for the first time, 25-0, despite a 120 yard

rushing game from Cadet quarterback Myreon Williams. This was the Falcon's third

straight C-I-C Trophy.

.: 1995, the Falcons won

their seventh game in a row over Army, 38-20, at home with 493 yards of offense.

Air Force quarterback Beau Morgan led the Falcons back from an early 14-0 Army

lead to score 38 unanswered points. The Cadets finally snapped a touchdown

drought since the 1988 game, including an 85 yard touchdown pass from Ronnie

McAda to John Graves. This resulted in a seventh straight Commander-in-Chief's

Trophy for Air Force.

.: 1997, another home

shutout by Air Force, 24-0, another C-I-C Trophy, and this starts an eight game

winning streak over the Cadets.

.: 1998, a Top Ten

ranked Air Force team (12-1 record) crushes Army 35-7 at Michie Stadium for the

C-I-C Trophy.

.: 2002, Air Force

scored three times, after Army closed to within 32-24 in the third quarter, to

win 49-30 and the C-I-C Trophy title. Air Force had 531 yards offense, 380

rushing. The 49 points are the most scored against Army. This was Air Force's

last outright Commander-in-Chief's Trophy and their 16th overall.

.: 2004 – Quarterback

Adam Fitch ran for 115 yards to lead Air Force to a 31-22 come from behind win

over Army for the eighth straight year. It over shadowed a Carlton Jones 213

yard career-high rushing performance and two touchdowns. Navy beat both the

Falcons and the Black Knights to take the C-I-C Trophy.

#5 Quarterback Leamon Hall led the Army team into Falcons Stadium on

November 5, 1977 to a 31-6 victory. Combined with a subsequent defeat of

Navy, the Cadets won their second outright C-I-C Trophy. It was the first win in

20 away games for Army. Greg King rushed for 65 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Army amassed 396 total yards, 288 on the ground. The Falcons only made two field

goals, and failed to score a touchdown for the first time against Army. The 1977

Army team was 7-4, was offered a bowl game, and had two All-Americans with Hall

and Brundidge.

#4 The 1984 game on November 3rd was the first televised game of

the series, the first night game at Michie Stadium, and the first meeting with

Army and Air Force both running wishbone offenses. A safety on the first play of

the game and a Craig Stopa field goal let Army take a 5-0 lead early in the

game. The Falcons recovered and led 12-5 at halftime. The Cadets held Air Force

scoreless in the second half and won 24-12 on receiver Scott Spellman's 41 yard

end around run for a touchdown and four more field goals by Stopa, including a

50 yarder. Army out rushed the Falcons 245 to 150 yards, though Air Force has

218 yards passing. With a victory over Navy, the Cadets took home their third

Commander-in-Chief's Trophy.

#3 In a televised game at Michie Stadium in November 5, 1988, Sun

Bowl-bound Army beat the Falcons 28-15. Air Force scored first on a 35 yard pass

from Dee Dowis early in the second quarter, but Army responded with four

touchdowns before Dowis threw another touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.

Halfback Mike Mayweather rushed for a career-high 192 yards. The Cadets had 394

yards on the ground versus the Falcons' 176 rushing yards. In a hallmark of

Coach Jim Young's tenure, Army had no passing yards in only three attempts. Army

would go on to beat Navy to win its fifth Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, the third

one since 1984.

#2 On November 5, 2005, Army invaded Falcon Stadium to win 27-24 for

the first time since the 1977 game. Scott Wesley scored two touchdowns and

Carlton Jones rushed for 146 yards and one score. The Falcons had 203 yards

rushing and 203 yards passing, while Army rushed for 217 and Zac Dahman passed

for 143. Brandon Thompson stripped and recovered a fumble to prevent a Falcon

rally. It was also the first televised game at Air Force in the series. Navy

beat both Air Force and Army for their third straight C-I-C Trophy.

#1 Army, led by quarterback Ronnie McAda, takes the first step in

achieving its sixth Commander-in-Chief's Trophy by dominating the Falcons, 23-7,

at Michie Stadium on November 9, 2006. While Air Force opened the game

with a touchdown and a 7-0 lead, it turned out to be their only score. The

Cadets held the second-best running attack to 69 rushing yards and Falcon

quarterback Beau Morgan, the nation's fourth leading rusher, to only six yards.

It was the lowest rushing total in Coach Fisher DeBerry's tenure at Air Force.

Army's Joe Hewitt led Army with 161 rushing yards. The Independence Bowl-bound

Cadets would take the C-I-C Trophy away from the Air Force Academy for the first

time since 1989.

Post-Script. The annual Army – Air Force and Air Force – Navy football

games do not capture the nation's attention as the annual Army – Navy game.

Perhaps it is due the home and home nature of the series (though Navy has hosted

the Falcons at Washington's RFK Stadium four times since 1972). If the service

academies wanted to raise these games to the level of Army - Navy, perhaps it is

time to return to the neutral venues used during the early games of these

series. Imagine if the Air Force – Navy game was annually played at Chicago's

Soldier Field, while Army – Air Force played in Dallas or Atlanta. Of course,

the Falcons might not like this, as they would give up their 30-7 home field

advantage.