Oklahoma Will Play Navy in Armed Forces Bowl

Oklahoma has its postseason marching orders.

The Sooners will play on Dec. 27 in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl against the United States Naval Academy.

Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth.

The news was first reported by Action Network's Brett McMurphy.

The game will be televised by ESPN and marks OU's first-ever appearance in the Armed Forces Bowl and Navy's third (the Midshipmen beat Middle Tennessee in 2013 and lost to Louisiana Tech in 2016).

Navy (8-3) is in the middle of its best regular season in five years and will finish next week with the annual Army-Navy classic in Landover, MD. Ken Niumatalolo’s 2019 squad went 11-3, but then suffered three straight losing seasons. Last year, the Midshipmen were 5-7 under Brian Newberry, a 1992 graduate of Westmoore High School and former Baylor defensive back.

The Armed Forces Bowl will feature an Oklahoma team that ranks 21st nationally in total defense (318.3 ypg) and 13th in rushing defense (105.8 ypg) playing against a Navy squad that ranks 37th in scoring offense (32.3 ppg) and eighth in rushing offense (247.4 ypg).

OU is making its 58th bowl appearance, fourth most nationally, and owns a 31-25-1 all-time bowl record. Thirty-nine of those 58 have come in bowls that comprise the current New Year's Six (Orange [20], Sugar [8], Fiesta [5], Cotton [3], Rose [2] and Peach [1]). The 39 does not include OU's BCS National Championship appearance against Florida in the 2008 season.

OU and Navy have two common opponents this year: Temple and Tulane. OU beat those respective teams 51-3 and 34-19, while Navy beat Temple 38-11 and lost to Tulane 35-0. Navy tied for third in the American Athletic Conference with a 6-2 league record.

OU’s only previous game against Navy was played in October 1965, when the Sooners lost 10-0 to the Midshipmen in Norman.

That was Gomer Jones’ second of two seasons as the OU head coach, and the Sooners finished 3-7 that season before Jones was fired, opening the door for Jim Mackenzie, Chuck Fairbanks and, eventually, Barry Switzer.

Although OU officially has extended its program-record streak of going to a bowl game to 26 years in a row — only Georgia with 28 has more — the fan base is largely unimpressed.

The Sooners are just 6-6 for the second time in Brent Venables’ three seasons and are 0-2 in their previous two bowl trips, with losses to Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando and Arizona in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.

Finishing up its first season as a member of the Southeastern Conference, OU needs to beat Navy to secure a winning record for the second time under Venables.

Assuming quarterback Jackson Arnold enters the transfer portal before the bowl game and doesn’t play, the Sooners will have a new look on offense in the postseason.

It’s likely true freshman Michael Hawkins will start at quarterback, and he’ll probably be without a number of weapons who have announced their intention to leave via the portal, including leading receiver Bauer Sharp. Wideout Jacquaize Pettaway and running back Kalib Hicks have also announced they’ll leave when the portal opens on Monday. Also, wideout Nic Anderson, who has been injured for all but a few snaps of the Tennessee game, has decided to portal.

OU season ticket holders will be notified via email with information on purchasing tickets for the Armed Forces Bowl. Beginning at 10 a.m. CT on Monday, Dec. 9, season ticket holders can log into their online account to purchase tickets. Bowl tickets will be allocated by Championship Points within 2024 Sooner Club membership levels. Large orders may be allocated into various seat blocks and price levels.

OU student football season ticket holders will be notified via email and social media regarding the process for student bowl ticket purchases. Tickets for students will be available online beginning at 10 a.m. CT on Tuesday for Sooner Club Collegiate members and 1 p.m. for all other student football season ticket holders.

If tickets remain, a public sale will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. CT.

OU Media Relations contributed to this report.