Quarterback Blake Horvath ran for 155 yards and two touchdowns and Navy stopped Oklahoma’s two-point conversion in the final seconds to pull out a 21-20 win in the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Sooners pulled within one with six seconds remaining after Jake Roberts reeled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Michael Hawkins Jr.
But Oklahoma elected to vie for the win with a two-point conversion, and Hawkins couldn’t find an open receiver before he was sacked by Justin Reed.
The Sooners nearly recovered the onside kick but couldn’t haul it in.
“Got the coverage and defense that we hoped to get,” Sooners coach Brent Venables said of the decision to go for two. “… I’d go for it again in every situation.”
Oklahoma outgained the Midshipmen in total yards (433-318) but came up empty on eight consecutive drives before the late touchdown.
Hawkins finished 28 of 43 for 247 yards and two touchdowns.
Horvath also threw for 92 yards and Alex Tecza rushed for 43 yards and a TD for the Midshipmen, who fell in a two-touchdown hole before rallying.
“Really, really proud of our players to be down 14-0 and to fight back and scratch and claw,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said. “They’ve done it all year.”
Navy (10-3) finished with 10 or more wins for just the sixth time in program history while Oklahoma (6-7) ended up with a losing record for the second time in three seasons.
“Thought they had a really good defensive plan but we kept battling and kept fighting and found a way to get it done,” Newberry said.
After allowing the first two touchdowns of the game, Navy’s defense tightened up and the Midshipmen chipped away.
Down 14-7 late in the third quarter, Navy was pinned inside its own 5.
But on the second play of the drive, Horvath broke through the middle of the Sooners’ defense and had nothing but open space in front of him.
Oklahoma defensive back Woodi Washington chased down Horvath, tackling him right at the goal line.
Horvath initially was ruled down short of the end zone but the play was changed on review, giving Horvath the 95-yard touchdown and the longest run in program history.
The Midshipmen claimed their first lead with a 12-play, 66-yard drive that ate up more than seven minutes in the fourth quarter. The drive was finished by Horvath’s 6-yard touchdown run.
Oklahoma got off to a hot start, scoring touchdowns on each of its first two drives.
The Sooners started the scoring with a 21-yard touchdown run by Gavin Sawchuk.
Sawchuk hadn’t had a run of longer than eight yards this season going into the game.
On Oklahoma’s next drive, Hawkins hit Zion Kearney for a 56-yard touchdown on third-and-7 to put the Sooners up 14-0 just more than nine minutes into the game.
But then the Sooners’ offense struggled, turning the ball over on downs on back-to-back possessions even though they moved the ball significantly on both drives.
–Field Level Media
