This will anger some traditionalists and those who prefer to apply past thoughts to upcoming college football games, but expect some points in this weekend’s Army vs. Navy matchup. Not a bounty of them — this is still a service academy game — but a relative amount of points.
My Army vs. Navy props and college football picks feature three plus-money scoring thoughts. They may seem ambitious, but this is the most important game of the season for both these teams, so their offenses have tricks ready for Saturday, December 13.
Army vs Navy props for Week 16
| Player | Pick |  |
|---|---|---|
 Blake Horvath |
2+ TDs | +240 |
| Blake Horvath |
Over 0.5 TD passes | +104 |
 Cale Hellums |
Over 0.5 TD passes | +280 |
Blake Horvath 2+ TDs
Not to be hyperbolic, but this may be the biggest game of Blake Horvath’s career.
The Navy Midshipman had slim Playoff hopes in their final two games of the regular season, and though the Midshipmen won both of those, their Playoff hopes largely died a week before that stretch run. Getting blown out without Horvath by Notre Dame oddly cost Navy the ground it needed to slide into the American title game.
He took 24 carries for 196 yards and two scores against the Army Black Knights last year, the 24 carries being a season-high by five. There is no amount of a beating Horvath will not endure in this moment.
He has rushed for multiple touchdowns in four of his 10 games against FBS competition this year, and all of those opponents had defenses that prevented opposing quality drives more often than Army does, ranked No. 130 in the country in opposing quality drive rate, per CFB-graphs.com.
Blake Horvath Over 0.5 TD passes
It is ambitious to ask an option quarterback to not only rush for two touchdowns but to throw a third in the same game. Then again, Blake Horvath rushed for two scores against Army last year and threw for two more.
He also reached the two + one combination in two games this season.
Mostly, these thoughts stem from the fact that Navy should reach the end zone at least three times — a team total of 21.5 at FanDuel — and Horvath throwing one of those scores would not be as shocking as +104 suggests.
Cale Hellums Over 0.5 TD passes
Betting on Army quarterback Cale Hellums to throw a touchdown pass is very much a bet on an Over in this tradition as the result of the emotions in this rivalry. The Knights do not throw the ball as much as either of the other service academies do, but when Hellums does throw the ball, he does so with great explosiveness.
Army ranks No. 115 in the country in dropback success rate but No. 50 in expected points added (EPA) per dropback, according to CFB-graphs.com. That discrepancy speaks to an explosive rate.
That has yielded only three touchdowns for Hellums this season, but three touchdowns on 35 completions is a decently encouraging trend. And when Army trots out every version of the option this weekend, some of those will feature downfield receivers.
This price is far too steep to turn away from.
Bet on CFB at FanDuel!
Make your college football bets at FanDuel, America's No. 1 sportsbook! Sign up now and by placing $5 on your first bet, you could win $300 in bonus bets if your wager is a winner!
*Eligible U.S. locations only
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
