In a rare matchup that harks back to their one and only encounter in 1965, the University of Oklahoma and the Navy are set to clash at the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. The Sooners will take on the Midshipmen on December 27 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, with kickoff scheduled for 11 a.m. local time and the action broadcast live on ESPN. The Oklahoman forecasts a tight game, predicting a narrow victory for Oklahoma at 23 points to Navy's 21.
Oklahoma finished their regular season with a 6-6 record and earned a bowl spot for the 26th straight year, thanks to a surprising win over Alabama in November. They will look to avenge their only loss of the season to Navy, who finished 8-3 and is playing in their first bowl game since 2019. Tickets for the bowl game went on sale to Oklahoma season ticket holders at 10 a.m. on December 9, and to the general public at 10 a.m. on December 10, according to KOCO.
Details outlining the wider landscape of college football reveal that Oklahoma's bowl game is part of a wide slew of postseason games for SEC teams, including 13 programs from the conference getting a shot at bowl glory, as enumerated by NewsOn6. Among the highlighted SEC matchups, we see Georgia set to grace the Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 1, which doubles up as a College Football Playoff quarterfinal, courtesy of the newly adopted 12-team format.
Meanwhile, prognostications sketch out a compelling duel between two teams prided on their ground game; Navy's football program has been averaging a prolific 32.8 points per game with key players like quarterback Blake Horvath and fullback Alex Tecza being touted as significant threats, although Horvath's status for the game swings in the balance due to injury concerns. On the other hand, Oklahoma shines in their defensive capacity against the run, and quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.'s versatility is expected to play a pivotal role as well. "The Sooners take pride in stopping the run, and they also have a mobile quarterback of their own in Michael Hawkins Jr.," reports The Oklahoman. Student ticket holders at OU should stay tuned via email and social channels for their opportunity to snag tickets to the fray.
