It's Army vs. Marines in Veteran Faceoff at the Emmys

Late Army veteran and comedy genius Fred Willard will go head-to-head with Marine Corps veteran and gifted actor Adam Driver at the (socially distanced) 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 20.

Willard and Driver are both nominated in the Guest Actor in a Comedy Series category, Fred for playing Phil's dad Frank Dunphy on the final season of "Modern Family" and Adam for hosting "Saturday Night Live" with his usual aplomb.

The category is packed. They're up against Brad Pitt ("SNL" host), Eddie Murphy ("SNL" host), Dev Patel (Amazon's "Modern Love") and Luke Kirby (Lenny Bruce on "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"). The group has already earned eight Oscar nominations (with two wins) and nine Emmy nominations (with one win).

Kirby won last year for playing Lenny Bruce and, most years, he'd be a favorite to repeat. Pitt, however, is on a roll and winning every single award connected with his "Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood" role, and he did appear on "SNL" to promote that movie.

On the other hand, Murphy has never won an Emmy, and many think he's long overdue.

Adam was previously nominated three times for "Girls." Combine that with two Oscar nominations, and he's another performer who's overdue for an awards show breakthrough.

The prediction team here at Military.com is willing to guarantee that Willard's a lock to win a posthumous Emmy. He's had four previous Emmy nominations (three for playing Hank on "Everybody Loves Raymond" and another one for Frank Dunphy on "Modern Family" a decade ago). He never won, and it's hard to believe he was never nominated for his performances on "Mad About You," "Roseanne" or "Fernwood Tonight."

Related: Fred Willard Was an Army Veteran, Comedy Legend and Commander of 'Space Force'

There's nothing more Hollywood than honoring the recently deceased, and Fred's performance as Phil's dad this year was the best thing about a once-great show that had gone off the rails toward the end. Fred's a winner.

"Chasing the Moon," the excellent PBS documentary about the NASA program and the 1969 moon landing, has also been nominated in the Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking category.

Related: PBS Investigates How the USA Won the Space Race in 'Chasing the Moon'

HBO’s excellent World War II alternate history “The Plot Against America” earned only a single technical nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie. Amazon’s wild Nazi conspiracy drama “Hunters” was shut out altogether.

Related: HBO Unravels WWII-Era 'Plot Against America'

If you're wondering why there aren't more military-themed Emmy nominations, you've got to remember that shows like "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan," "NCIS" and "SEAL Team" never, ever get any awards love and the people who make them get their rewards in huge ratings and the paychecks that go with them. We'll keep watching them, and they'll keep making them for us.

We're always pulling for Adam, but he's going to get (many) more nominations and definitely some wins. This one goes to Willard, a man who could make anything funny just by showing up on camera.

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