The competition for the Commander in Chief Trophy begins Saturday at Falcon Stadium.

Marine in the Air Force

Start: Saturday, 10 a.m. (Air Force ticket information)

TV/Stream: CBS – Channel 11.1 in Colorado Springs via Antenna and Channel 11 on DirecTV, Dish and Xfinity. The game will also be streamed on CBS Sports and the CBS Sports app.

Broadcast team: Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Ross Tucker (analyst), Tiffany Blackmon (supporting actor)

Radio: KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs, 104.3 the Fan in Denver, SIRIUS XM 384

Air Force broadcast team: Jim Arthur (play-by-play), Jesse Kurtz (analyst)

WHAT I WILL SEE

The Gazette's Brent Briggeman breaks down three specific areas he'll be monitoring during the game.

Down first

The Air Force and Navy stumbled a total of 17 times last year. Those punts came right after first-down plays that gained 12 yards on 17 snaps. Bo Richter, now with the Minnesota Vikings, had a lot to do with it, forcing the Midshipmen to lose 14 yards on two first-down plays. To keep the chains moving, these offenses generally need solid gains on first down. Anyone who can do this will likely gain an advantage.

60 minutes

Air Force showed a glimpse of its potential, trailing Baylor 6-3 at halftime and outscoring Wyoming 219-83 on the road in the first half. However, the team regretted that they could not finish the game and were outscored 49-6 in the second half of these games. Overcoming that lead against Navy will be a tall order as the Midshipmen have outscored their opponents in every quarter this season.

Cade Harris

It can be difficult to operate in the middle in Service Academy games, so big plays on the perimeter are usually the deciding factor. Last year, slot receiver Dane Kinamon caught a 94-yard pass, paving the way to Air Force's victory at Navy. If there's one obvious candidate for a game-changing play for the Falcons on Saturday, it's Cade Harris, the slot receiver whose yardage per game total has steadily increased this year: 17 against Merrimack, 57 against San Jose State, 73 against Baylor and 121 against Wyoming.

BY THE NUMBERS

Navy ranks nationally in pass efficiency (219.7) and yards per completion (21.0) behind quarterback Blake Horvath.

Air Force back-to-back wins over Navy, with the Falcons outscoring the Midshipmen 93-26 during that span.

Title of absolute commander in chief of the air force. The Navy is second with 16. Army has 10. The Falcons have caught just one since 2016 (2022).

Navy has scored at least 38 points in each of its first four games, a first for the program in its 144 years.

Points for Navy in a win over Memphis on September 21st. Air Force has scored a combined 50 points in their four games.