There are two college football bowl games that would always welcome a service academy: the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, and the Military Bowl in Annapolis
Both bowls were mentioned as possible destinations for Navy this year. It turns out the Midshipmen are traveling to Texas instead of staying home.
Navy will play Oklahoma of the powerful Southeastern Conference in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, being held Dec. 27 at Amon G. Carter Stadium. This marks the third time the Midshipmen have been selected for the bowl that is held on the campus of Texas Christian University.
“We are extremely pleased and honored that Oklahoma and Navy, two historically prominent, powerhouse programs, will be participating in the ‘Bowl for the Brave,’” Armed Forces Bowl executive director Brant Ringler said. “We are excited to welcome their proud fan bases to Fort Worth to be a part of honoring our military heroes on a national stage.”
This will be the first time that Navy has played an SEC team in a bowl game since 1954 (1955 Sugar Bowl) when Navy knocked off Ole Miss, 21-0. Navy has also played current SEC teams Missouri (1961 Orange Bowl and 2009 Texas Bowl) and Texas (1964 Cotton Bowl) before those schools joined the conference.
Navy last played a team from the SEC in 2011 when it lost at South Carolina, 24-21.
“Our players are extremely excited to be invited to the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl and to have the opportunity to play such a prestigious opponent like Oklahoma,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said. “Going to a bowl game is always one of our top goals, but right now our only focus is to get goal No. 1 and that is to BEAT ARMY and bring home the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy.”
Navy beat Middle Tennessee State in the 2013 Armed Forces Bowl then lost to Louisiana Tech in the 2016 edition. Having been to Forth Worth twice before, the Midshipmen are well versed with the travel itinerary and logistics.
Navy will once again practice at Kennedale High and stay at the Worthington Renaissance in Fort Worth.
Navy (8-3) is playing in the postseason for the first time since 2019 after ending a streak of four straight losing seasons. This will be the 25th bowl appearance in program history with 15 of those coming since 2003.
The Armed Forces Bowl is now tied with the Poinsettia Bowl and Military Bowl for most appearances (three) by Navy. The Midshipmen have played in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee twice and games in Houston (Houston Bowl, Texas Bowl) and San Francisco (Emerald Bowl, Kraft Fighter Hunger Bowl) twice.
A service academy has played in the Armed Forces Bowl in eight of the past 11 seasons with Air Force and Army making three appearances each. The Armed Forces Bowl has tie-ins with the American Athletic Conference, Big 12 Conference and Conference USA.
Navy owns a 13-11 all-time record in bowl games after upsetting Kansas State in the 2019 Liberty Bowl. The Midshipmen have been victorious in five of their last six postseason appearances.
Oklahoma (6-6, 2-6) suffered a disappointing season by its high standards, finishing 14th out of 16 teams in the SEC. The Sooners have a 22-16 record in three seasons under coach Brent Venables.
Venables fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell in late October after scoring just 12 points in back-to-back losses to Texas and South Carolina. Oklahoma recently announced that Ben Arbuckle had been hired away from Washington State to serve as offensive coordinator.
Oklahoma features one of the top defensive players in the country in senior linebacker Danny Stutsman, a semifinalist for the Butkus Award. Stutsman ranks among the SEC leaders with 110 tackles, including eight for loss.
The Sooners did, however, make an impact on the College Football Playoff by upsetting Alabama, 24-3, on Nov. 23. That was the third loss for the Crimson Tide and ultimately knocked them out of the playoff.
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