Armed Forces Bowl offers unusual matchup on Friday
The 22nd annual Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl offers a very rare matchup.
In fact, it’s only the second time the schools have ever met.
The Oklahoma Sooners (6-6, 2-6 in the Southeastern Conference) take on the Navy Midshipmen (9-3, 6-2 in the American Athletic Conference) at 11 a.m. Friday at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the TCU campus in Fort Worth.
It’s Oklahoma’s first time playing in the Armed Forces Bowl, but the Sooners are no strangers to Amon G. Carter Stadium. They are 8-2 against TCU in regular-season games in Fort Worth.
It’s Navy’s third appearance in the bowl, first since 2016.
The only other time Oklahoma and Navy played, the Midshipmen beat the Sooners 10-0 in Norman, Okla., on Oct. 2, 1965.
Both teams were ranked in the Associated Press top 25 in 2024, but since Navy lost to Notre Dame 51-14 on Oct. 26, neither have been ranked.
Oklahoma was ranked as high as 15th in a pair of mid-September polls, while Navy reached No. 24 on Oct. 20 after a 6-0 start.
Along with that loss at home to Notre Dame, Navy lost 24-10 at Rice the next week, and 35-0 at home to Tulane. The Sooners started 3-0 and were ranked as high as No. 15 in September, but lost six of their next nine games, including home to Tennessee and South Carolina, and against Texas 34-3 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. A dominating 24-3 upset win over then No. 7-ranked Alabama on Nov. 23 failed to carry over to Oklahoma’s regular-season finale at LSU. After battling to a 17-17 late in the first half, LSU scored the final 20 points to win 37-17.
Armed Forces Bowl Veterans
The Sooners are making their first appearance in the Armed Forces Bowl. They’re only the third SEC team to play in the bowl. Mississippi State beat Tulsa in 2020 and Army beat Missouri in 2021. The Big Ten is the only FBS conference yet to be represented in the bowl. Air Force has played in the most Armed Forces Bowl (seven), followed by Houston (five), and Army West Point (four).
About That 1965 Meeting
The only time these teams met was in 1965 and Navy shut out Oklahoma 10-0 in Norman. The 1965 Sooners finished 3-7, their only losing season between 1961 and 1995. The Midshipmen didn’t fare much better that year, finishing 4-4-2
Bowled Over
Oklahoma is playing in a bowl for the 26th consecutive season, the second-longest stretch in the country behind Georgia, who has played in 28 consecutive seasons with a bowl appearance. Navy is playing in its 25th bowl game and its first since 2019. The Sooners are 31-25-1 all-time in bowl games. The Midshipmen are 12-11-1, including 1-1 in the Armed Forces Bowl. They beat Middle Tennessee 24-6 in 2013 and lost to Louisiana Tech 48-45 in 2016. The latter is the highest scoring Armed Forces Bowl.
The Sooners’ 58 bowl appearances are tied for the fourth most in the country and their 31 bowl wins are tied for the fifth most by any school. Lately, however, the Sooners have lost seven of their past 10 bowl games, including their past two.
Something’s Got To Give
Oklahoma played in only three one-possession games (decided by eight points or fewer) in 2024. Navy is the only Football Subdivision school to not have any games decided by one possession. The Midshipmen’s average deciding margin was 24.2 points a game and the Sooner’s was 20.3 points a game.
Stars Are Bright
According to their rosters, 56 players played high school football in Texas, including 30 for Oklahoma and 26 for Navy.
Coaching Connections
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, who turned 54 last week, was raised in Salina, Kan., and played football at Kansas State. He’s in his third as head coach.
Navy coach Brian Newberry, 50, grew up in Moore, Okla., and attended Westmoore High School, which is a 20 minute drive north of the Oklahoma campus. He grew up a huge Sooners fan but played football at Baylor. He’s in his second season as the Midshipmen’s head coach.