After Army stuffed Navy at the one-yard-line on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass., the Black Knights took an intentional safety on the final play of the game as quarterback Bryson Daily ran out of the back of the endzone.
That play had no real impact on the outcome of this clash between two rivals wearing awesome uniforms. For some, it just meant that Army won by six points instead of eight. Either way, Army took the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy home to West Point.
But for bettors? It was incredibly consequential.
The under bet on total points scored in the Army-Navy game has been reliable for a long time. In the 10 games preceding this one, the under hit nine times.
Entering this game, some books had the over-under line at 27.5, a few others had it at 28, and some had it as high as 29.5. With the score ending at 17-11, bettors were furiously checking when and where they placed their bets.
Army-Navy total at @BetMGM
29.5 – Open
27.5 – Lowest
28 – Close
62% of bets were on the OVER
Safety for the win or push. ✅pic.twitter.com/8ByNb3jOTJ
— John Ewing (@johnewing) December 9, 2023
Some got a push, some got a narrow victory, and others took an awfully bad beat.
Army-Navy over the total. We used to be a country
— Jason Kirk (buy my novel) (@JasonKirk_fyi) December 9, 2023
THE OVER HITS IF YOU HAD 27.5!
— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) December 9, 2023
Who had the over in Army-Navy?😂😂😂
— Jaclyn DeAugustino (@JacDeAug) December 9, 2023
SAFETY TO SEND ARMY-NAVY OVER THE TOTALLLLLLLL
— Sammy P (@spshoot) December 9, 2023
One of the greatest bad beats of all time.
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) December 9, 2023
The funniest outcome here is that Army ends this game with an intentional safety to hit the O/U.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 9, 2023