LANDOVER — When the Army punt return unit cracked an opening for Navy to take firm control of their grudge match, Landon Robinson was looking for the seam.

The Black Knights should have been looking out for him, too.

The Midshipmen faced fourth-and-7 in no man’s land near midfield, preparing to give back the ball to No. 19 Army with an eight-point lead and more than 11 minutes left. But Robinson, a junior nose guard with a keen eye and deceptive speed, made the gutsy call for a punt fake into a 29-yard run that swung a tightly fought game into a rout — that helped deliver a 31-13 victory that Navy had been waiting three years to celebrate.

It had everything to do with Robinson, Navy’s not-so-secret weapon on the punt coverage unit who called a run and turned a would-be punt into a touchdown drive.

“Landon Robinson is one of the most trustworthy guys on the football team,” coach Brian Newberry said. “That call was a choice — if we got the look we wanted, we were gonna run it. If we didn’t, we were gonna punt it. He saw it. He called it.”

The Black Knights had plenty of opportunity to see a fake approaching. Robinson isn’t flying under the radar. In August, The Athletic ranked him as the No. 48 athletic “freak” in college football, citing his absurd weight room maxes and his speed clocked at 20 mph. His strength-and-speed combo was a huge factor in limiting Army’s offense and quarterback Bryson Daily — he racked up a career-high 13 tackles while controlling the line of scrimmage on his regular side of the ball.

Just over a month ago, Robinson ran the same play against South Florida and it went for 34 yards — by yards per carry, he’s the best runner the Midshipmen have.

But Army didn’t sense the threat. Robinson saw the Black Knights slightly shift their front to the right, leaving the left flank vulnerable. He called an audible from his position as protector for a direct snap.

“It’s something that we worked on for pretty much all season, and we showed it at the South Florida game as well,” Robinson said. “Just came into the right look, and I just called it on the field.”

From the sideline, not everyone caught the change. Receiver Brandon Chatman was thinking about how the offense would regroup after the three-and-out. But quarterback Blake Horvath, who had helped build the 21-13 lead, felt a hint of trickery afoot.

“I could sense it was coming,” Horvath said. “I don’t get the play calls for that, but I made sure to stand on the sidelines and watch.”

Robinson quickly got downfield through a wide-open lane, running faster than Army seemed to expect.

“It’s good seeing that big boy at 280 pounds run as fast as he does,” Newberry said. “I felt like, if we could convert there, it might seal the game for us.”

The momentum shift was nearly a disaster — when he got tackled at the tail end of the play, Robinson fumbled. But linebacker Colin Ramos was in trailing position to dive on it and give the Navy offense new life at the Army 24-yard line. Several of his teammates later teased Robinson about needing to improve ball security, but Ramos gave a nod to his teammate’s defensive effort. “He doesn’t owe me anything [for recovering the fumble]. What he did on the defensive line was good enough today — I’ll take that.”

Horvath plunged into the end zone a minute and a half later, putting the Midshipmen in position to definitively clinch their first victory in their most sacred rivalry since 2021. But, even for the offensive players who did score, watching Robinson rumble gave them a wholly unique kind of jolt.

“If I was back there and saw a 300-pound Landon Robinson running at me, I’d be very scared,” running back Eli Heidenreich said.

Added Chatman: “It was definitely electric.”

It seems a shame to use a player who averages more than 30 yards per carry only twice a season. Could offense get added to Robinson’s ample plate someday?

“If Coach [offensive coordinator Drew] Cronic wants to give us a package, that’s great,” Robinson said, laughing. “But I’m good with defense as well.”