A 6-6 SEC team is set to face a 9-3 AAC team as Oklahoma meets Navy in Fort Worth for the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 27.
The Armed Forces Bowl, which has been around since 2003, has gone through quite a few conference tie-ins over the years and last season paired a Sun Belt team with a Mountain West squad. But this year, the SEC has taken Conference USA’s spot with Oklahoma earning its spot.
Navy is already in the midst of its first winning season since 2019, when it won 11 games, and this would give it its first 10-win season since that campaign while also marking three-straight wins in bowl games.
Oklahoma, meanwhile, looks to avoid its second losing season in three years under Brent Venables after turning in none from 1999-21 under Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley. The Sooners also seek their first bowl win since 2021.
Navy enters this game on a high note as the Midshipmen dominated Army in an upset 31-13 win to conclude the regular season. It finished tied for third in the American.
The Sooners stumble into this game after a disappointing 6-6 regular season in their debut SEC campaign. However, they reached bowl eligibility with an upset win over Alabama that also ultimately doomed the Tide’s College Football Playoff chances.
We’ll see if Navy can knock off an SEC foe in the Armed Forces Bowl, whose trophy is built from “decommissioned pieces of Lockheed Martin aircraft, spacecraft, and weapons that are field-tested and battle-ready, like the Armed Forces that inspired it.”
