Navy Midshipmen Predicted to Beat Oklahoma in Armed Forces Bowl

The Navy Midshipmen have been predicted to end their season on a high note, defeating the Oklahoma Sooners in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Dec 14, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Navy Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath (11) carries the ball against the Army Black Knights during the second half of the the 125th Army-Navy game at Northwest Stadium. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

The Navy Midshipmen were eliminated from the American Athletic Conference race weeks ago as the Army West Point Black Knights and Tulane Green Wave separated themselves from the pack throughout the season.

Despite not having the chance to compete for a championship, it was Navy who got the last laugh over their fellow service academy.

In the highly-anticipated annual Army/Navy rivalry game, it was the Midshipmen who came away with a dominant victory. They won 31-13 in Landover, Md., their second victory in a row and third in their last four games as they recovered from a midseason swoon.

They now have some legitimate momentum heading into their final game of the season, the Armed Forces Bowl, where they will face off against the Oklahoma Sooners.

December 27 at 12 p.m. eastern is when the teams will kick off, and it is the SEC squad that is heavily favored in the contest. However, Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated believes that there will be an upset in this game.

The college football expert has predicted that Navy will come away with a 20-17 victory over Oklahoma, citing the transfer portal obstacles that the Sooners will have to combat in a low-scoring affair. Plus, a service academy has won the last three Armed Forces Bowl and won in their last five appearances, per Forde.

“The Midshipmen are a significant underdog, but the Sooners are a challenged offensive team that is also without starting quarterback Jackson Arnold and a flotilla of other players from that side of the bal," he wrote.

With 13 days between the Army/Navy game and the matchup with Oklahoma, quarterback Blake Horvath, who battled some injuries throughout the campaign, will have ample time to get back to close to 100 percent.

The Midshipmen’s offense goes as he does. With that time off the Sooners also have plenty of time to prepare for Navy's option-based attack.

When he was healthy and producing at a high level, they were steamrolling their opponents and even cracked the AP Top 25 poll. They scored at least 34 points in each of their first six games of the year.

Horvath finished the campaign with 1,261 passing yards and 13 touchdowns with four interceptions, adding 1,099 yards on the ground with 15 more scores.

Having a little extra time to prepare for the unique offense will certainly help the Sooners, but they will have a new cast of players on the offensive side of the ball. A well-oiled and disciplined Navy squad will take advantage and pull off a sizable upset.