Three Takeaways From Oklahoma's Armed Forces Bowl Defeat to Navy

The Sooners allowed 21-unanswered points to fall to 6-7 for the second time in three years.

Oklahoma Sooners defensive lineman Ethan Downs brings down Navy Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath during the Armed Forces Bowl. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

FORT WORTH — Brent Venables has suffered his second losing season at Oklahoma. 

Michael Hawkins Jr.’s improvisation scored the Sooners’ second touchdown of the day with 5:56 remaining in the first quarter, but little did the crowd at Amon G. Carter Stadium know, those would almost be OU’s final points of the day. 

The Navy Midshipmen rattled off 21 unanswered points on Friday, but had to sweat out the closing moments of the Armed Forces Bowl.

Hawkins led the Sooners straight down the field with an excellent two-minute drill, and he found tight end Jake Roberts in the back of the end zone with six seconds left to pull within a point. 

Venables decided he was going to try to end the game right there. 

OU dialed up a 2-point conversion play, but Hawkins was sacked and the Midshipmen hung on to win 21-20.

The victory clinched Navy’s sixth-ever 10-win season, as the Midshipmen end 2024 with a 10-3 record, and dropped the Sooners to 6-7 for the second time in three years. 

Navy also moved to 2-0 all-time against Oklahoma, with its other win over the Sooners coming in 1965.

Here are three takeaways from OU’s third straight bowl loss:

Perfect Reflection 

The Sooners closed the season how they lived it — inconsistently. 

Oklahoma rolled out to a two-touchdown lead, churning the clock and getting the occasional moment of brilliance from Hawkins. 

Then OU followed up the first quarter with a jumbled mess in the second. 

Navy’s defensive line held up much better against the Sooners’ front, the playcalling was suspect and the Midshipmen were able to pull within one score. 

Venables’ team completely threw away any advantage when Navy quarterback Blake Horvath sprinted 95 yards to tie the game with 3:49 left in the third quarter. 

The Sooners couldn’t live with success, and one issue on offense — whether it be penalties or dropped passes — snowballed as the game wore on. 

Then disaster struck. 

Hawkins fumbled the ball on the first offensive snap after Horvath leveled the game, giving Navy the ball back on OU’s 25. 

The Midshipmen had to settle for a field goal, and it was pushed well right of the upright, but there was no reason for the Sooners to feel any stress after how they started the game, yet Oklahoma found itself in a battle into the fourth quarter. 

Big Play Headaches 

For the most part, Oklahoma’s defense had a handle on Navy’s option attack. 

But the handful of plays where the Sooners missed assignments, they missed badly. 

OU was able to rally from giving up a pair of big plays in the first quarter to keep the Midshipmen off the board, but Oklahoma also benefitted from Horvath delivering a few uneasy passes which cost Navy scores. 

Brian Newberry’s Midshipmen totaled 143 of their 319 total yards on three plays, hurting the Sooners for a pair of touchdowns in the process.

It meant that despite falling behind by two scores to start the game, Navy never had to abandon its game plan.

Drops Aplenty 

Playing without Deion Burks, Friday was one final chance for OU’s freshmen receivers to make an impact before battling for jobs throughout the spring with the transfer portal additions. 

And initially, it looked as if things were going well.

There was nothing special in the passing game on the first drive of the game, but Hawkins got steady catches from Zion Ragins, Jacob Jordan and Ivan Carreon before Gavin Sawchuk finished the drive with a score. 

Hawkins then bought time behind the line of scrimmage on the second drive to connect with Zion Kearney for a 56-yard score to extend the lead. 

Then the issues popped up. 

Running back Sam Franklin had a pair of drops on the second drive that spread to Ragins and Kearney, and eventually even Sawchuk throughout the game. 

Unofficially, the Sooners ended with seven drops. 

Oklahoma’s transfer portal additions — Javonnie Gibson from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Keontez Lewis from Southern Illinois and Isaiah Satenga from Arkansas — will have to make an immediate impact unless OU’s young receivers can make a massive jump this offseason after failing to make an impact throughout 2024.