Navy Sinks Oklahoma: All You Need to Know

FORT WORTH — Two opening touchdown drives — for the first time since the season opener — provided a broad canvas for the Oklahoma offense on which to work on a perfect Friday afternoon on the Metroplex.

The Sooners were patient on the first and explosive on the second and the Armed Forces Bowl was well on the way to being a blowout.

But as has been the case with this OU football team all season, success was a mirage.

Navy rallied with three touchdowns and Oklahoma didn’t score again for nearly 55 minutes, finally getting back on the scoreboard with Jake Roberts' touchdown catch with just six seconds to play.

In the end, the underdog Midshipmen pulled off a pulsating 21-20 victory over the Sooners that wasn't over until freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins was sacked on OU's attempt at a game-winning 2-point conversion.

Oklahoma finishes the season at 6-7 overall — a losing season for the second time in three years, which is quite an ignominious feat for a program that went 23 consecutive years with at least a winning record. Also, head coach Brent Venables falls to 0-3 in bowl games.

At TCU’s home stadium, a crowd of 50,754 — a new record for the Armed Forces Bowl — was announced, and they got their money's worth.

The Sooners jumped to a 14-0 lead off the jump but then slowed their pace and lost their rhythm, and Navy cut it to 14-7 at halftime.

Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath then knotted it up with a 95-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Horvath then engineered a 12-play, 66-yard drive that took more than 7 1/2 minutes off the clock and gave Navy a 21-14 lead with 4:34 to play.

Both teams had missed a field goal in the second half with the score tied.

Oklahoma appeared to take the lead back late in the third quarter when Hawkins went 56 yards for a touchdown with a keeper, but the score was nullified by a holding penalty against right guard Febechi Nwaiwu.

Freshmen were all over the field for an OU team that has been gutted by the transfer portal. By halftime, eight truee freshmen had played on offense, and one of the products of so much inexperience was seven dropped passes — three that might have been touchdowns.

Navy’s passing game was similarly dysfunctional, as Horvath overthrew four receivers who were wide open behind the OU secondary.

But that’s to be expected from Navy, a U.S. service academy that relies on an option running attack and a surprise passing game.

OU’s passing attempts — which produced 184 yards through the air by Hawkins (he also led the team with 69 yards rushing) — were almost always an adventure. The one good one was a Hawkins back-and-forth scramble on which he floated a 56-yard touchdown strike to Zion Kearney.

Here's all you need to know about the Oklahoma-Navy game at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Today’s Star

This is usually reserved for Oklahoma players, and Michael Hawkins gets consideration for his 308 total yards and two touchdowns.

But Navy quarterback Blake Horvath outplayed Hawkins with 155 yards and two touchdowns on the ground an 92 yards passing — and the record-setting, cross-country game changer (see below).

Play of the Game

Trailing just 14-7 early in the third quarter from his own 5-yard line, Navy quarterback Blake Horvath took the snap, rode out a fake handoff to the left and immediately dashed up the middle, where the OU defense had no second-level support.

OU’s Kip Lewis stepped left instead of right and found himself behind the pileup of blockers engaging the Sooner defensive line. Jaren Kanak flowed with the fake and ran out of position, and Sammy Omosigho sprinted to the right anticipating a possible pitchout. That left defensive end P.J. Adebawore by himself on Horvath’s left, and Horvath’s one-cut move was enough to get past him untouched. Safeties Michael Boganowski and Peyton Bowen both overran the play and quickly found themselves chasing. Cornerback Woodi Washington ran with his receiver all the way down the field and as Horvath began to ran out of gas, Washington was the only Sooner with a chance of catching him.

After initially being ruled down at the 1-yard line, replay showed that Horvath crossed the goal line first.

BLAKE HORVATH BREAKS FREE AND TAKES IT 95 YARDS TO TIE THE GAME ⛽️

THE LONGEST RUN IN NAVY HISTORY pic.twitter.com/U5W6Wjli7F
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) December 27, 2024

Stock Report

QB Michael Hawkins: UP — Hawkins was sharp early, and if not for the seven dropped passes, Oklahoma would probably have won easily. He was also excellent in the last-second touhdown march to cut Navy's touchdown lead down to a point. Hawkins certainly served notice to 2025 transfer portal arrival John Mateer that he's ready to compete.

WRs Zion Ragins and Zion Kearney: DOWN — These two combined for six receptions for 86 yards and one touchdown, a 56-yard touchdown by Kearney. But they also combined for four dropped passes, and three of them would have produced huge gains and possibly even touchdowns.

WR Ivan Carreon: UP — In his first collegiate start, Carreon led the Sooners with seven catches for 72 yards. He showed maturity and consistent hands throughout.

RB Gavin Sawchuk: UP — Sawchuk hasn't been good this year, but he had two season-long runs (9 yards and 21 yards) on the opening drive, including the 21-yard touchdown, and finished with a team-high 67 yards on 13 carries.

RB Sam Franklin: DOWN — Added to the drop total (seven) with a pair on back-to-back swing passes from Hawkins.

Injury Report

Coach Brent Venables said this week that Oklahoma would be missing 11 players for the Armed Forces Bowl.
Of this group, only wide receiver Deion Burks was expected to potentially play against Navy.
Here are the players on the roster who sat out Friday’s game:
* WR Deion Burks
* OL Jake Taylor
* RB Jovantae Barnes
* OL Jacob Sexton
* DE Caiden Woullard
* RB Andy Bass (in uniform)
* DB Kendel Dolby
* CB Gentry Williams
* WR Jayden Gibson
* DE Hampton Fay
* DB Emmett Jones III

Crazy Stat

After his 28-yard pass to Woodi Washington, Luke Elzinga’s season passer efficiency rating is now 335.2. Elzinga — now 3-for-3 this season for 66 yards — is a punter. OU’s record for passer efficiency rating in a single game is 348.04 by Kyler Murray. The single-season record is 199.18 by Murray, and the career mark is 203.26 — also by Murray.