The Oklahoma Sooners jumped to a 14-0 lead on Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl, but the Midshipmen rallied over the final three quarters to upset the Sooners, 21-20.
Oklahoma led 14-7 at halftime, but Navy scored 14 second-half points, including the go-ahead touchdown with 4:34 to play. Even though OU had to punt the ball back to Navy, the Sooners got the ball back with 1:38 remaining.
[autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag], who had played well for much of the day, orchestrated a 13-play drive and hit Jake Roberts for a 10-yard touchdown to bring the Oklahoma Sooners within one.
Brent Venables took an aggressive approach. He went for the two-point conversion to try to win the game in regulation. However, the Sooners couldn’t get a receiver open for Hawkins to throw to, and he was sacked on.
Navy recovered the onside kick to close the game. Oklahoma finished 6-7 for the second time in three seasons under Venables.
Making his first start since the beginning of October, Hawkins led OU on scoring drives of 65 and 85 yards to take the 14-0 lead. Running back Gavin Sawchuk had his most productive day of the season with 13 carries for 67 yards and the game’s first touchdown. Hawkins hit Zion Kearney on a scramble drill for a 56-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead.
In the first quarter, the Sooners had the answer for what Navy was trying to do offensively. As the game wore on, the Midshipmen found some soft spots in the Sooners’ run defense. Quarterback Blake Horvath found a seam up the middle and raced away from the OU defense for a 95-yard touchdown run to tie the game in the third quarter.
Horvath gave Navy the lead with a 6-yard score with just under five minutes remaining.
Despite the loss, Hawkins showed substantial promise. He threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns. He completed 65% of his passes and ran for 61 yards. The true freshman had a long touchdown run called back due to a holding call and suffered a number of drops on the day.
Though he had been one of the bright spots of the final quarter of the season, [autotag]Xavier Robinson[/autotag] wasn’t a huge factor in the offensive game plan. He carried the ball six times for 21 yards and had two receptions for 24 yards.
True freshman [autotag]Ivan Carreon[/autotag] was a bright spot, catching a team-high seven passes for 72 yards and regularly moving the chains for the Oklahoma Sooners offense.
Defensively, the Sooners allowed Navy to rack up 226 yards rushing on 5.7 yards per carry. On multiple occasions, Oklahoma was out of position, and the secondary was caught with its eyes in the backfield as Navy receivers ran behind them wide open, leading to critical first downs.
It was a disappointing finish to a disappointing season for the Oklahoma Sooners who go into 2025 with much to prove. Venables, in particular, will be under fire.
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