Armed Forces Bowl Primer: OU vs. Navy

Friday, December 27

Fort Worth, Texas

11 a.m. CT

University of Oklahoma

Navy

NORMAN, OK - November 23, 2024 - Oklahoma Defensive back Robert Spears-Jennings (#3) during the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

Photo by: Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

December 26, 2024 | Football

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Oklahoma

Navy

Friday, Dec. 27 / 11 a.m. CT / Fort Worth, Texas

ESPN / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

OPENING KICK

• Oklahoma (6-6, 2-6 SEC) will make its first-ever Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl appearance when it faces Navy (9-3, 7-2 American) on Friday, Dec. 27, at 11 a.m. CT at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. The game will be televised by ESPN with Courtney Lyle, Rene Ingoglia and Morgan Uber announcing. OU will be the designated visiting team and will wear its crimson jerseys.

• This marks Oklahoma's 58th bowl appearance, fourth most nationally. 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 Championship Game appearance against Florida on Jan. 9, 2009.

• OU is making its 26th consecutive bowl appearance, by far the longest streak in school history (the previous record was eight from the 1975-82 seasons under Barry Switzer). Beginning in Bob Stoops' 1999 debut season as head coach, it is the second-longest active streak in the nation (Georgia; 28).

• The Sooners own a 31-25-1 (.553) bowl record. Their 31 wins were tied for the fourth most nationally entering this bowl season.

• An Oklahoma victory over Navy would clinch the Sooners' 25th winning season in the last 26 years. OU's only non-winning season since 1999 came in 2022 (6-7). Boise State is the only program with winning seasons every year from 1999-2024.

• Oklahoma has played a nation-high-tying six games this season against teams in the top 25 of the final CFP rankings, and eight of OU's 2024 foes were ranked in the AP poll at some point. Not including Navy, the Sooners' FBS opponents this season own a combined 86-48 (.642) record. OU's eight SEC opponents are an aggregate 70-27 (.722).

• Since the end of World War II (1946 season to present), OU leads all programs with 706 wins (28 more than Alabama, the program with the next most). Navy is tied for 68th with 413 wins during the same span.

• The 2024 season marks the 130th in OU football history. The Sooners lead the nation with their 50 all-time conference championships, 27 11-plus-win seasons (tied), 33 AP top-five finishes and five No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks (tied). They rank second with their seven Heisman Trophy winners (tied), third with seven AP national championships, their 101 weeks as the AP's No. 1 team and 431 total weeks in the AP Top 5, and fourth with their 58 bowl appearances, 31 bowl wins (tied) and 417 NFL Draft picks.

KEY STORYLINES

• The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl will mark Oklahoma's 11th bowl game in the state of Texas, with the Sooners owning a 6-3-1 record. OU is 2-0 in the Sun Bowl, 2-1 in the Cotton Bowl, 1-1 in the Alamo Bowl, 1-0 in the John Hancock Bowl and 0-1-1 in the Bluebonnet Bowl.

• The Armed Forces Bowl will also mark OU's first bowl game as a member of the Southeastern Conference, as the Sooners officially joined the SEC on July 1, 2024.

• The bowl game will mark OU's 11th all-time contest played in Fort Worth, with all 10 previous games played against TCU at Amon G. Carter Stadium, which opened in 1930. The Sooners are 8-2 in those outings, beating the Horned Frogs in 1946 (14-12), 1948 (21-18), 1993 (35-3), 1998 (10-9), 2012 (24-17), 2016 (52-46), 2018 (52-27) and 2020 (33-14), and losing in 2014 (37-33) and 2022 (55-24).

• OU has scored at least 24 points in each of its last eight bowl games and at least 32 points in six of those eight. Over their last four bowls, the Sooners are averaging 39.5 points and 580.8 yards per outing. They are also averaging 7.8 yards per play, 305.3 rushing yards per game and 6.8 yards per carry in the four contests.

• This will mark Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables' 32nd bowl game as a full-time coach, and he owns a 17-14 record (includes College Football Playoff semifinals and finals). His bowl record with OU is 7-8. Venables has coached in eight national championship games (four with Oklahoma and four with Clemson) and has won three national titles (2000 with Oklahoma and 2016 and '18 with Clemson). During the 2021 season — his final year with the Tigers — Clemson won the Cheez-It Bowl, but he did not coach in the game after being hired as head coach at OU earlier that month.

• After averaging just 112.1 rushing yards per game over the season's first seven contests (3.1 per carry), OU is averaging 214.8 rushing yards over the last five outings (4.8 per carry). That includes a 257-yard performance (5.1 yards per rush) against No. 7 Alabama in the Nov. 23 home finale — the most rushing yards allowed by the Crimson Tide in 26 games.

• The Armed Forces Bowl will pit an Oklahoma defense that ranks 12th nationally by allowing just 105.8 rushing yards per contest and sixth in the country by permitting just 2.9 yards per rush against a Navy offense that ranks seventh nationally with its 249.3 rushing yards per game and 16th with its 5.4 yards per carry.

• OU also ranks fifth in the country by giving up just eight rushing touchdowns on the year. Navy ranks eighth with its 37 rushing TDs.

• True freshman running back Xavier Robinson didn't play until the sixth game of the season and has only played in five contests, but has emerged as one of OU's top offensive weapons the last third of the season. The 6-0, 226-pounder got his first six career carries against Maine on Nov. 2 and ran for 29 yards and a touchdown, and caught a pass for 41 yards. At Missouri the next game he ran nine times for 56 yards (eight carries came in the fourth quarter of a tight contest). Against Alabama, Robinson carried 18 times for 107 yards and two TDs (all career highs), and made a career-high four receptions for 20 yards. Although he was held to 20 rushing yards at LSU in the regular season finale (he ran for one touchdown in his first career start), Robinson is averaging 4.9 yards per carry on the year and is one off the team lead with four rushing TDs.

• In the Sooners' six wins this season they have outscored opponents 77-9 off turnovers. In their six losses they have been outscored 61-14 off turnovers. Navy has outscored opponents 104-55 off turnovers.

• Since the start of the 2023 campaign, OU is 13-0 when it wins the turnover battle (5-0 this year) and 2-7 when it loses it (0-5 this year). Navy has committed 14 turnovers this season and is +9 in turnover margin. It is 7-0 when it wins the turnover battle and 0-2 when it loses it. The Midshipmen are +17 in turnover margin in their nine wins and -8 in their three defeats.

• Of the 64 players on OU's bowl depth chart (as of Dec. 19), a whopping 28 (or 44%) are freshmen. That includes 23 true freshmen and four redshirts. Seventeen of the 29 players on the offensive depth chart (59%) are freshmen (13 true and four redshirts), compared to 10 combined juniors and seniors.

• OU has featured a different starting offensive line in eight of its 12 games this season, and 11 Sooners have started at least one contest. Febechi Nwaiwu (right guard) is the only one who has started all 12 games. OU's starters the last four games have been Logan Howland at left tackle, Heath Ozaeta at left guard, Troy Everett at center, Nwaiwu at right guard and Spencer Brown at right tackle.

• Navy head coach Brian Newberry is from Moore, Okla., the city immediately north of Norman. Newberry attended Westmoore High School, which is a 13-mile drive from the OU campus. He indicated earlier this month that he attended his first Sooners game (vs. Colorado) in 1985, the year the Sooners won their sixth national championship.

LOOKING BACK AT THE 1965 OKLAHOMA-NAVY GAME

• The only time the Sooners and Navy have met on the gridiron was on Oct. 2, 1965, a 10-0 victory for the Midshipmen in front of 57,000 fans on a slightly overcast day at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman.

• OU was led by second-year head coach Gomer Jones while Navy was coached by first-year head man Bill Elias. The Sooners finished with a 3-7 record that season — just their second losing campaign in 23 years — and the Midshipmen finished 4-4-2.

• While the final score was close, Navy dominated statistically. It registered a 376-83 advantage in total yards and held OU to 1-of-10 passing for six yards. The Sooners averaged just 1.9 yards per rush (41 carries for 77 yards). Navy rushed 59 times for 158 yards (2.7 average) and completed 12 of 24 passes for 218 yards.

• The game's only touchdown came on a 33-yard completion by John Cartwright to Alan Roodhouse on Navy's second possession. The Midshipmen added three points on a Phil Bassi 36-yard field goal early in the second quarter to finish the scoring. Cartwright, a sophomore, replaced Roger Staubach at quarterback for the 1965 season. Staubach starred for Navy from 1962-64 and won the Heisman Trophy as a junior in 1963.

• Linebacker Carl McAdams was the highlight for Oklahoma, as the senior registered a then-school-record 24 tackles on the day. McAdams earned consensus All-America honors that season.

THOMAS ENJOYING BREAKOUT SEASON

• Junior defensive lineman and second-team All-SEC pick R Mason Thomas is tied for 17th nationally and ranks fourth in the SEC with his 9.0 sacks, and all of them have come in the last 10 games (3.0 vs. Tulane, 0.5 vs. Tennessee, 2.0 at Auburn, 0.5 vs. South Carolina, 1.0 at Missouri, 1.0 vs. Alabama and 1.0 at LSU).

• Thomas has racked up 6.0 of his 9.0 sacks in the fourth quarter and with OU protecting leads. Against Tulane, his 3.0 sacks came in the span of two drives. In one series, Thomas recorded a sack on first down, a pass breakup on third down and another sack on fourth down. On one of his sacks he was credited with a forced fumble and recovery, and added a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry on the day. He was named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week.

• With OU leading 24-21 at Auburn and under four minutes to go, Thomas recorded a 6-yard sack on third down and a 13-yard sack the next play to give the ball to the Sooners on the Tigers' 25-yard line.

• Thomas became the first Sooner since defensive end Charles Tapper in 2015 to register at least 5.5 sacks over a three-game span (Tapper had 6.0).

• Thomas registered his first career touchdown in the regular season finale at LSU when he scooped up a fumble on a sack by teammate Gracen Halton and returned it nine yards to tie the score at 7-7.

• Thomas' lone 10 career starts have come this season (he did not start against Tennessee or Texas because of opponent offensive personnel; OU started five DBs in both). In his 19 games over the 2022 and '23 campaigns, he logged 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

NORMAN, OK - September 14, 2024 - Oklahoma Defensive lineman R Mason Thomas (#32) and Oklahoma Linebacker Samuel Omosigho (#24) during the game between the Tulane Green Wave and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

MORE ON THE DEFENSE

• Oklahoma's defense made big strides in year two under head coach Brent Venables in 2023 and has continued that trend in 2024 with co-defensive coordinator Zac Alley joining the staff in the offseason and serving as play-caller this year.

• The Sooners are allowing just 318.3 yards per game this year. The last time they held foes to fewer yards per outing over a full season was 15 years ago (272.6 in 2009).

• The Sooners rank in the top 10 nationally in several defensive categories, including fumble recoveries (fourth at 12), opponent rushing TDs (fifth at 8), yards allowed per rush (sixth at 2.9) and tackles for loss per game (ninth at 7.7). They also rank 11th in first downs allowed (201), 15th in rushing defense (105.5 ypg), 13th in interceptions returned for a touchdown (2), 16th in sacks per game (2.9), 21st in total defense (318.3 ypg), 34th in scoring defense (21.6 ppg) and 39th in red zone defense percentage (.800).

• Consensus All-America linebacker and Butkus Award finalist Danny Stutsman finished the regular season ranked fourth in the SEC with his 9.1 tackles per game and racked up 8.0 TFLs and three QB hurries. The senior, who earned first-team All-SEC honors from the league's coaches and the AP, has reached 100 tackles each of the last three seasons (125 in 2022, 104 in 2023 and 109 this year) and has 376 career stops.

• Junior defensive linemen Gracen Halton and R Mason Thomas entered the season with a combined 8.0 career tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, but through 12 games this season have teamed for 17.5 TFLs and 14.0 sacks. Halton was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week after registering a career-high 2.0 TFLs (11-yard sack and a 5-yard safety) in a 16-12 win over Houston in week two. He has 6.0 TFLs, 5.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, a safety and three QB hurries. Thomas turned in a 3.0-sack effort vs. Tulane in which he also logged a forced fumble and recovery, a pass breakup and a QB hurry en route to being named Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week. Thomas has team highs of 11.5 TFLs, 9.0 sacks and 11 QB hurries on the year. His 9.0 sacks are 4.5 more than any Sooner had last season.

• Junior safety Robert Spears-Jennings is tied for fifth nationally with four forced fumbles (two off the lead) and has a team-high-tying two recoveries. His four forces are tied for third most in OU single-season history.

• Oklahoma ranks fifth nationally by allowing just 32 rushes of 10 or more yards and is tied for seventh by allowing just seven rushes of at least 20 yards.

• OU has allowed only 25 touchdowns on its opponents' 145 possessions (one every 5.8 possessions). The defense has forced 64 punts and has recorded 19 takeaways, a safety and eight turnovers on downs.

• The Sooners' defensive performance in a 24-3 win over then-No. 7 Alabama on Nov. 23 was one for the history books. OU became the first program to hold the Crimson Tide without a touchdown since 2011 and the first to limit Alabama to three or fewer points since 2004. UA's 234 offensive yards were its fewest since 2014.

• During the Brent Venables era (since the start of the 2022 season), OU's defense ranks second in the nation with 46 interceptions (UNLV has 49 in one more game).

HAWKINS BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT

• With sophomore Jackson Arnold and freshman Brendan Zurbrugg entering the transfer portal following the regular season, freshman Michael Hawkins Jr., seventh-year player Casey Thompson and redshirt freshman walk-on Steele Wasel are OU's only quarterbacks on the team's bowl roster. Wasel has not played this season and Thompson has taken one snap (kneeled on last play of win vs. Alabama).

• Hawkins Jr. has played in six games and made starts at Auburn, vs. Texas and vs. South Carolina. On the year, he has completed 48 of 77 passes (62.3%) for 536 yards and one touchdown vs. two interceptions. He has also rushed 52 times for 143 yards (2.8 average), including a 48-yard TD in a win at Auburn.

• Hawkins Jr. saw his first extensive action when he entered the Tennessee game late in the first half and then finished that contest. In the victory at Auburn the next game, he became just the seventh OU quarterback to start at least one contest as a true freshman, and the first Sooner true freshman QB to win on the road in his first career start. In the next outing, he became the first OU true freshman QB to start against Texas. He also started the South Carolina game before being replaced after the Sooners' third possession.

• Hawkins Jr. was rated as a four-star prospect by ESPN, On3 and Rivals and as the No. 3 dual-threat QB recruit in the country by Rivals and No. 7 by ESPN. His father, Michael, played cornerback for Oklahoma under Bob Stoops in 2002 before spending multiple years in the NFL.

• Thompson, who is believed to be first seventh-year offensive player in OU history, spent four years at Texas before transferring for one year each to Nebraska and Florida Atlantic. A starter in 23 of his 36 career games, Thompson has completed 63.5% of his passes for 5,338 yards and 52 touchdowns, and has rushed for 191 yards and 10 TDs. His father, Charles, was an OU quarterback from 1986-88 under head coach Barry Switzer, and his brother, Kendal, was a Sooners QB from 2011-13 under Stoops.

• Wasel, from Choctaw, Okla., transferred from Akron prior to the 2024 season. As a high school senior, the former all-state honoree passed for 3,325 yards and 38 TDs, and added 543 rushing yards and five scores.

MORE ON THE OFFENSE

• Despite missing the last three games due to injury, junior running back Jovantae Barnes leads the Sooners with his 577 rushing yards (averaging 4.7 yards per carry) and has a career-high-tying five rushing touchdowns. His last three games marked his three best performances of the year — a 70-yard rushing day vs. South Carolina, a 67-yard rushing afternoon at Ole Miss (also caught five passes for 57 yards, both career highs) and a career-high 203 rushing yards with a career-high three TDs vs. Maine.

• A pair of true freshman running backs have emerged this season. Taylor Tatum, the consensus No. 1 running back nationally in the 2024 class, is averaging 5.1 yards on his 53 rushes (272 yards) and has run for three TDs, caught one and thrown for another. Xavier Robinson has rushed 43 times for 212 yards (4.9 average) and three scores, all in the last four games (six rushes for 29 yards and a TD vs. Maine, nine for 56 yards at Missouri, 18 for 107 and two TDs in the win over No. 7 Alabama and 10 for 20 at LSU).

• Redshirt sophomore running back Gavin Sawchuk started each of the first three games but has been held to 64 yards on 26 carries on the year. Sawchuk, who returned to action vs. Alabama after missing four straight contests, ran for over 100 yards in each of the last five games in 2023.

• Redshirt junior wide receiver Deion Burks leads the team with his 6.2 catches per game and three receiving TDs, which all came in the first half against Temple. In that contest, Burks became the first Sooner to register three receiving TDs in his OU debut. Burks' 31 receptions are the most ever by a player in the first five games of his OU career. The Purdue transfer, who missed five straight games after sustaining an injury vs. Tennessee, returned to action three games ago at Missouri and caught five passes for a team-high 44 yards before sustaining another injury that kept him out of the last two contests.

• True freshman walk-on receiver Jacob Jordan, who did not play in OU's first six games, has totaled 22 receptions for 207 yards over the last six contests (his first collegiate appearances). He had six catches for 86 yards against South Carolina, six more grabs for 38 yards and his first career touchdown at Ole Miss, three receptions for 36 yards against Maine and a team-high six receptions for 42 yards at LSU.

• Oklahoma's run-game performance in the win over then-No. 7 Alabama on Nov. 23 was its best against an FBS opponent this season, rolling up 257 yards on 50 carries for a 5.1-yard average. It was the most rushing yards allowed by the Crimson Tide in 26 games and just the ninth performance of 250-plus yards against Alabama in the last 20 seasons. Redshirt junior Febechi Nwaiwu (right guard) was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week.

AUBURN, AL - September 28, 2024 - Oklahoma Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (#9) during the game between the Auburn Tigers and the Oklahoma Sooners at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, AL. Photo By John Baker

A GLANCE AT SPECIAL TEAMS

• Redshirt senior Zach Schmit served as OU's placekicker the last two seasons and has made 37 of his 50 (74%) career field goal attempts and all 141 of his PAT tries. His streak of 141 made extra-points is the third longest in program history. Schmit, who has handled kickoffs in all 12 games this season, was OU's placekicker at Auburn and each of the last six contests. He is 9 for 10 on field goals on the year and three games ago had a 3-for-3 effort at Missouri that included a career-long 56-yarder (previous long was 46).

• After winning the primary placekicking job in August camp, Florida State transfer Tyler Keltner went 3 for 3 on field goals and 6 for 6 on PAT attempts against Temple in the opener to earn SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. He is 7 for 9 and 12 for 13, respectively, on the year (missed the Auburn game after having his appendix removed, returned for the Texas game but has not played the last six contests). Keltner spent his first four seasons at East Tennessee State, where he was 56 for 74 on field goals (76%) and 131 of 131 on PATs, and was a three-time All-Southern Conference pick.

• Keltner and Schmit have combined to go 16 of 19 on field goal attempts, as OU ranks fifth in the SEC out of 16 teams with its 84% conversion rate.

• Super senior Luke Elzinga ranks ninth nationally and fourth in the SEC with a 45.2-yard average on his 57 punts (16 of 50+ yards; long of 63; 21 inside the 20; 20 fair catches; just two touchbacks). His performance has helped OU to a No. 10 national ranking with its 42.6-yard net punting average. Elzinga was named to the Ray Guy Award's "Ray's 8" three times this season (following the Houston, Tennessee and Auburn contests).

• Sophomore Peyton Bowen ranks fourth in the SEC (24th nationally) by averaging 8.2 yards on his 24 punt returns (ranks fifth nationally among players with at least 24 returns).

COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S BEST

• During the modern era of college football (since the end of World War II), the Sooners are the nation's No. 1 team with more wins (706) than any other program (next most is 678 by Alabama).

• Oklahoma has finished in the top 5 of the AP poll a nation-leading 33 times (Ohio State is second with 30).

• OU leads all FBS programs with 50 all-time conference championships. The rest of the top five includes Nebraska (46), Michigan (44), Ohio State (39) and USC (37). The Sooners' 14 league titles since 2000 are the most among Power Five programs (Ohio State ranks second with 11).

• No program has more all-time 11-win seasons than Oklahoma's 27 (Alabama also has 27). And since the start of the 2000 season, OU and Ohio State have produced a nation-leading 18 seasons of at least 10 wins.

• Since former head coach Bob Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, OU leads the country with its 13,070 points scored. Boise State (12,675) is second and Oregon (12,357) third.

• OU's 81 consensus All-Americans since 1950 lead the nation (Alabama and Ohio State rank second with 77 each). Since 2000, OU has produced 31 consensus All-Americans, tied for second with Ohio State behind Alabama.

EXTRA POINTS

• Navy (two) and Oklahoma (one) combined for three Heisman Trophy winners in the 1960s, the same decade that produced the only matchup between the programs (1965). Halfback Joe Bellino (1960) and quarterback Roger Staubach (1963) won Navy's only two Heismans, while running back Steve Owens (1969) won OU's second. The Sooners are tied for second nationally with seven Heisman Trophy winners.

• Over the last 10 seasons (since the start of 2015), Oklahoma ranks fourth the country with its 5.2 yards per rush while Navy ranks ninth with its 5.0 yards per carry. During the same period, Navy ranks third with its 275.7 rushing yards per game while OU ranks seventh at 210.3.

• The parents of OU junior defensive back Robert Spears-Jennings (Flotrice and Markelo Jennings) served in the U.S. Navy.

• Twenty-seven of the 101 players on OU's bowl roster hail from Oklahoma, most of any state, while the next most (24) are from Texas.

• The Sooners have won their last 90 games when holding opponents to 22 or fewer points. Their last loss under the circumstance came at Nebraska in 2009 (10-3).

• In their 16 wins since the start of the 2023 season, the Sooners have outscored opponents 175-26 off turnovers. In their 10 losses during the same span, they have been outscored 105-27 off turnovers.

• Since the start of the 2012 season, OU is 91-7 when scoring at least 35 points and 80-4 when scoring at least 40.