Navy Midshipmen Rally, Outlast Oklahoma Sooners to Win Armed Forces Bowl

The Navy Midshipmen staged a huge rally in the second half and then held on for deal life to bet the Oklahoma Sooners.

Dec 27, 2024; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Navy Midshipmen fullback Alex Tecza (46) celebrates his touchdown rush during the second quarter against the Oklahoma Sooners at Amon G. Carter Stadium. / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

The Navy Midshipmen scored 21 unanswered points after falling behind by 14 points and then held on as the Oklahoma Sooners rallied to win the Armed Forces Bowl, 21-20, on Friday at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.

Oklahoma hadn’t scored since the first quarter when it fell behind by seven points with more than four minutes to play.

The Sooners got the football back with less than two minutes to play and at their own 35-yard line, as true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. led them down the field for a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jake Roberts with six seconds left.

OU opted to go for two to end the game, but Navy’s Justin Reed sacked Hawkins to end the rally. Oklahoma’s onside kick was smothered by the Midshipmen to end the game.

The Midshipmen (10-3) trailed 14-0 but with the win became the sixth team in Navy history to win 10 or more games in a season. It was also the second win over Oklahoma (6-7) in two matchups, with the previous one coming in the 1960s.

Navy’s go-ahead drive, which turned out to be the game-winning drive, was a typical Navy drive. A 12-play, 66-yard drive that lasted 7:32 was aided by a key fourth-down completion from quarterback Blake Horvath to snipe Eli Heidenreich, which set up Navy (10-3) at the Oklahoma (6-7) 6-yard line.

After the 16-yard conversion, Horvath rushed in on the play and a touchdown with 4:34 left in the game.

Horvath finished with 92 yards passing and 155 yards rushing, with most of it coming on Navy’s game-tying touchdown in the third quarter. He turned a simple option fake into the longest run from scrimmage in Navy history.

Originally ruled a 94-yard run as Hovarth was brought down at the 1-yard line, replay showed he actually crossed the plane of the end zone before his knee or elbow hit the ground.

The 95-yard touchdown run was also the longest run of any kind in Armed Forces bowl history and it tied the game at 14-14.

The Sooners were down 25 scholarship players due to transfers and two of their defensive stars, linebacker Danny Stutsman and defensive back Billy Bowman Jr., sat out the game as they prepare for the NFL Draft.

But, Oklahoma, with true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. under center, started strong. The Sooners scored on their first two drives of the game — a 25-yard touchdown run by Gavin Sawchuk and a 56-yard touchdown pass from Hawkins to Zion Kearney.

Hawkins threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns in his first start since October. Sawchuk rushed for 67 yards.

Navy needed most of the first half to break the ice, but finally scored on Alex Tecza’s 11-yard touchdown run.