This year’s Armed Forces Bowl was fought between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Navy Midshipmen. Whatever expectations people had going into this game went right out the window in the first five minutes. Bowl season is intent on delivering chaos to the end of the year, and this game was happily serving up even more. A wild ending led to Navy winning 21-20.
Navy Sinks Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl
Oklahoma and Navy Start Hot
It’s been difficult to pin down the Oklahoma Sooners this year. Sometimes they’re on top of the world, sometimes they’re making high school-level mistakes. Truly, there are few other schools this season as inconsistent as the Sooners. The Armed Forces Bowl was just another example of this.
The first quarter saw Oklahoma in rare form. Michael Hawkins Jr., the second-string quarterback who played for a departed Jackson Arnold, was playing near-perfectly. In just three minutes, the Sooners were already on the board between Hawkins and Gavin Sawchuk. They’d reach the endzone yet again before the second quarter.
Oklahoma’s defense was likewise on point. Navy only managed 77 yards to Oklahoma’s 153 in the first fifteen. Despite every attempt at sleight-of-hand and misdirection, Blake Horvath and the Midshipmen couldn’t get anything going. If there’s a way to describe Oklahoma in the first quarter, it’s that they were leaving it all on the field.
Second Quarter Stumble
The next fifteen looked ready to be a repeat of the first. Luke Elzinga‘s fake punt to Woodi Washington was certainly a strong start. Unfortunately, Oklahoma’s attitude of going all out began to show its weaknesses.
Consistently, the Oklahoma defense either left exactly one receiver wide open or left a gap for fullback Alex Tecza. Each time, Navy was willing to take advantage. While the smaller Navy defense gave up big gains to Oklahoma’s offense, the Midshipmen still held the Sooners to three separate turnovers on downs.
Between these simple mistakes and various penalties, it’s no surprise that the Midshipmen came close to tying the game. Horvath and Tecza busted their butts down the field to break into the Oklahoma endzone and finally put Navy on the board before halftime.
Navy Rides the Wave
Fumbles, punts, missed field goals, and touchdowns all came together to make this game a true nail-biter in the second half. It was also a further indictment of Oklahoma football’s inconsistencies and Navy’s ability to force a momentum shift.
Just as they had been doing all day, the Sooners defense left a gap for a rusher. In this case, that rusher was the Navy quarterback. Horvath bolted ninety-five yards downfield to even the score at 14-14. A Hawkins fumble all of thirty seconds later gave the Midshipmen another chance.
If it weren’t for a shanked kick, Navy would have taken a three-point lead. Then Oklahoma, too, shanked a kick to the right. Somehow, some way, this game was suddenly becoming closer than anyone thought possible.
The Final Minutes in Fort Worth
Seven minutes and thirty-two seconds. That’s how much time Horvath and Navy drained off the clock in the fourth quarter. A few mid-range passes and trading runs kept exposing an over-aggressive Sooners defense. With just four and a half minutes to go, and Navy’s up 21-14.
Two-minute drills are for moments just like this- because that’s exactly how much time the Oklahoma Sooners had left. A contested call pushed them to fourth down, but the Sooners went for it anyway and miraculously converted. Now there’s just one minute to go.
A sack in the backfield leads to third down and the last timeout. Thirty seconds. Two incompletions and a defensive pass interference call led to an automatic first down. Hawkins sent it to Jake Roberts in the endzone for a touchdown. The Sooners laid all their marbles on the field by going for the two-point conversion and got Hawkins sacked as the Midshipmen swarmed him in the backfield. Just like that, it was all over.
Oklahoma and Navy: By the Numbers
The Oklahoma Sooners come away with 433 yards of offense. This adds to their regular season amount of 3,870 yards for a total of 4,303 yards of offense in 2024. Hawkins completed 28 of 43 passes for 247 yards. The Sooners held the ball for 30 minutes.
The Navy Midshipmen sail back home with 319 yards of offense. This means that the total offensive yards that Navy gained in 2024 is 4,828 yards. Horvath completed seven of 12 passes for 92 yards. Navy held the ball for 30 minutes.
What’s Next for the Oklahoma Sooners?
The Armed Forces Bowl ended the Sooners’ season with as close of a loss as they’ve had all year. The Navy Midshipmen end a historic season just behind the Army Black Knights. As the college football playoffs continue, what’s next for Sooners football?
As we mentioned in our previous article, this was more about seeing the 2025 squad in action. While the loss stings, it’s a ray of hope for next year. The defense showed, perhaps too much, tenacity. The offensive line held up better than it has all season. It’s looking to be a brighter 2025 for the Oklahoma Sooners, and Last Word On Sports will be there with them every step of the way.
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