DFW, TX- Navy’s head coach Brian Newberry described Friday’s Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl 21-20 win as symbolic of the Navy football program, especially the seniors.
“It’s a perfect ending; you’re down 14-0; it symbolizes everything these guys have been through, how things started, things looked bleak, things weren’t going great, adversity, and they kept scratching, clawing, and fighting. [They] stayed the course and came out on top.”
Friday’s Armed Forces Bowl built up to one final play. Jake Robert caught a touchdown pass with six seconds left, and Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables kept his offense on the field to win it with a two-point conversion.
“We had a chance to win there and had the coverage and defense we hope to get,” Venables said. “[Navy] did a good job of staying back outside the route. I think [if] we’ve been able to hold it a little longer. I think we worked one over the middle [and] working late. I would go for it again every situation.”
Before the game, the Oklahoma Sooners were without two of their top offensive players. Jackson Arnold entered the transfer portal and signed with Auburn 2 weeks ago, and Jovantae Barnes suffered an ankle injury back in early November vs. Maine and was unavailable. However, that didn’t stop the Sooners’ offense from starting out of the gate briskly Friday. Oklahoma’s opening drive took nine plays and sixty-five yards, thanks to a kickoff penalty to start the afternoon. The drive consisted of four carries for Gavin Sawchuk, capped off with a 21-yard touchdown run up the middle for Sawchuk.
After the Sooners forced Navy to punt, Oklahoma went down the field for an 85-yard scoring drive. The drive had four incompletions, but on the fifth pass attempt of the drive, Michael Hawkins Jr. found Zion Kearney down the field for a 56-yard touchdown pass and catch. Navy picked up a 37-yard run by Blake Horvath, but the Midshipmen couldn’t make any more on the drive afterward; on a 4th and 5, Horvath missed Eli Heidenreich too tall, and Navy turned it over on downs at the Oklahoma 25. Both Midshipmen drives in the first reached Sooners’ territory, but Navy couldn’t crack the scoreboard.
To start the second, Oklahoma moved the ball in the same brisk manner. The Sooners even managed a successful fake punt pass by Luke Elzinga to Woodi Washington for 28 yards from their own 43. However, the drive stalled on a 4th and 1 at the Navy 20 when the Midshipmen defense bottled up Xavier Robinson and turned the Sooners over on downs. The next string of possessions ended with a 70-yard punt by Navy’s Riley Riethman and another Midshipmen defensive hold on 4th and 1.
The defensive hold propelled Navy down the field, aiding on a perfect play-action fake from Horvath to Cody Howard for 21 yards on a 3rd and 1. Alex Tecza, with a power run up the middle for 11 yards, capped off the drive with Navy’s first score of the afternoon at the 3:40 mark of the second quarter. It was a turnaround for Oklahoma’s offense, which picked up 185 total yards in their first 22 plays (8.41 yards/play) and 79 yards in their last 23 plays of the first half (3.43 yards/play).
“We had opportunities for a lot of explosive players, which have been hard on this year. Mike did a really great job putting the ball right where it needed to be several times,” Venables said regarding the fast start but offensive struggles afterward on the Sooners offense. The rhythm was affected with several drops [7], had a penalty on one drive, and didn’t convert a couple of fourth downs that we’ve got to convert in order to win.”
Both teams punted in their first possession to begin the second half. However, a Horvath 95-yard touchdown burst up the middle. The 95-yard rush was an Armed Forces Bowl record for the longest touchdown rush, previously held by Rashaad Penny in 2017 for San Diego State and a Navy school record. It was also the longest run of Horvath’s career, previously at 90 yards on September 21st vs. Memphis. The scramble evened the game up at 14 late in the third quarter.
“There’s plenty of guys faster on our team than me,” Horvath said with a smirk when asked about his record-breaking run. “It’s not the longest without Brandon Chapman and the offensive line. I’m going to give him some slack, but Alex Tecza could have gone for 96 the play before it.”
Hawkins Jr. fumbled the ball on the ensuing play for Oklahoma, forced by Navy’s Colin Ramos, to which Midshipmen’s Andrew Duhart recovered. The fumble resulted in a missed field goal by Nathan Kirkwood.
Oklahoma followed suit and moved down the field right on the fringe of field goal range. The drive featured a 56-yard touchdown run by Hawkins, which was wiped away due to a holding penalty on Febechi Nwaiwu. Zach Schmit attempted a 52-yard field goal, but it was wide right, keeping things even.
Navy took their next drive and moved down the field, similar to Oklahoma’s first touchdown drive. It was an 11-play 66-yard touchdown drive with no plays going for more than 10 yards until their 10th play, a fourth-down 16-yard conversion from Horvath to Eli Heidenreich. On the next play, Horvath too kit 6 yards to give Navy their first lead of the game at 21-14.
After both teams punted, Oklahoma, with under two minutes, converted a fourth down and a third and long to set up a game-tying scoring drive. Hawkins Jr. found Roberts in the corner of the end zone with six seconds on the clock. However, coach Venables went for two for the win, but Justin Reed brought Hawkins Jr. back in the backfield for the sack, securing Navy’s comeback victory.
Navy’s head coach Brian Newberry wasn’t shocked by the decision to go for two.
“[Oklahoma] had a little momentum right there. They struggled to move the ball after the first 14 points or struggled to get into the end zone. I thought it was the right decision by Coach Venables. I think I would have done the same thing.”
The players were a little surprised, but after the past few days of 5-6 overtimes, they were happy about it, especially considering the final result.
“I didn’t know,” Justin Reed said when asked if he anticipated the Sooners going for two at the end. “But I was glad they did. I didn’t want to go to five [or] six overtimes.”
“That was my thought process,” Colin Ramos said. “It’s something we always talk about, those moments where it’s make or break on the game. Who are you going to be when the pressure is on? Seeing everyone in the secondary doing a hell of a job to cover in the back end gives us time to get the pressure. Everyone had their points to a quarterback. No one blinked, no one hesitated, [and] we all pulled the trigger.”
Navy picks up their first ten-win season since 2019, while Oklahoma’s 6-7 finish is only their second losing season since 1998 (2022, they finished 6-7).
