Watch: Navy Midshipmen Celebrate Beating Oklahoma at Armed Forces Bowl

The Navy Midshipmen claimed their second win all-time over the Oklahoma Sooners at the Armed Forces Bowl.

Dec 27, 2024; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Navy Midshipmen head coach Brian Newberry raises the championís trophy after the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Amon G. Carter Stadium. / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

For the first time since 2019, the Navy Midshipmen won a bowl game, as they defeated the Oklahoma Sooners, 21-20, in the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday.

The Midshipmen (10-3) hadn’t played in a bowl game since that 2019 Liberty Bowl. Navy had to rally from a 14-0 deficit to take the lead in the game with more than four minutes left and then had to hang on as the Sooners (6-7) made a last-second comeback to try and tie the game.

After the Sooners scored what appeared to be the game-tying touchdown, their coach, Brent Venables, opted to go for two points and end the game with six seconds left. But, a quarterback sack by Navy’s Justin Reed, which kept Oklahoma from winning the game.

The Midshipmen were excited, to say the least, when they celebrated the victory in the locker room.

WWWWWWWWWWHEN WE WIN WE SING!!!!!!!!!!#FearTheBones | #GoNavy | #RollGoats pic.twitter.com/YwM9rwKap8

— Navy Football (@NavyFB) December 27, 2024

Navy won 10 games for just the sixth time in program history and for the first time under second-year coach Brian Newberry. He also led the Midshipmen to the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy and kept Navy undefeated against the Sooners, a team the Midshipmen had faced just once previously and beaten.

As it has been all season, Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath led the way.

Horvath finished with 92 yards on 7-of-12 passing. He also rushed for a game-high 155 yards on 18 carries, including two touchdowns.

One of those scores was a 95-yarder that tied the game and turned out to be the longest run from scrimmage in Navy history and in Armed Forces Bowl history.

Alex Tecza rushed for 43 yards on 15 carries, including a touchdown. Eli Heidenreich rushed for 23 yards and Daba Fofana rushed for six yards on two carries.

Heidenreich caught two passes for 22 yards, while Brandon Chatman also caught two passes for 12 yards. Nathan Kent, Cody Howard and Isaiah Bryant each had one reception.

On defense, Colin Ramos had a team-high 12 tackles, with a tackle for loss, while Kyle Jacob had nine tackles and Kenneth McShan had eight tackles.

Oklahoma started true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. and he threw for 247 yards on 28-of-43 passing with two touchdowns. He also rushed for 61 yards on 17 carries.

Gavin Sawchuk rushed for 67 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown.

Ivan Carreon led OU with seven receptions for 72 yards. Zion Kearney had two receptions for 66 yards, including a touchdown. Jacob Jordan also had five receptions for 27 yards.