Brian Newberry grew up just down the road from Norman, Okla., rooting for the Oklahoma Sooners.
Now, Newberry will wrap up his second season as Navy’s head coach when the Midshipmen take on the Sooners in the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.
“It’s going to be surreal seeing them across that sideline,” Newberry said. “I’m excited about it. Can’t wait for it.”
Navy (9-3) is looking for just the sixth 10-win season in program history. The Midshipmen are coming off a 31-13 win over rival Army in Landover, Md.
The bowl is Navy’s first against an SEC opponent since the 1955 Sugar Bowl when the Midshipmen beat Ole Miss 21-0.
“When you come to Navy, you’re not expecting that you’re going to be playing Oklahoma,” Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath said. “If you would have told me that when I committed here, I thought that would’ve been pretty cool.”
For Oklahoma, it’s the program’s first appearance in the Armed Forces Bowl and its first bowl game against a service academy opponent.
The Sooners are in a bowl game for the 26th consecutive season, the second-longest active streak in the nation behind only Georgia (28).
Oklahoma had to sweat this one out, needing an upset victory over then-No. 7 Alabama in its home finale to reach bowl eligibility.
The Sooners (6-6) are looking to avoid a second losing season in the past three years after going from 1999-2021 without a sub-.500 campaign.
The game will feature one of the top rushing offenses in the country against one of the top run-stopping teams in FBS.
Navy was No. 7 nationally through the regular season with an average of 249.3 rushing yards per game.
The Midshipmen’s ground game is led by Horvath, who has rushed for 1,091 yards and 15 touchdowns. Horvath ran for 100 or more yards five times this season, including 204 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Army.
The Sooners have allowed just 154.9 yards per game on the ground, 12th in FBS through the regular season.
Oklahoma will be without several key pieces of that defense, though.
Linebacker Danny Stutsman, the Sooners’ leading tackler and a consensus All-American, and safety Billy Bowman Jr. both are expected to miss the game as they prepare for the NFL Draft, while linebacker/defensive back Dasan McCullough entered the transfer portal.
Linebacker Kip Lewis figures to play an even bigger role in the bowl game with Stutsman out.
Navy’s triple-option offense puts plenty of stress on linebackers.
“I’m from east Texas, so I’ve played Wing-T like back in high school, so I’m a little used to it,” Lewis said. “It’s been a minute since I played it, but it brought me back to my roots playing the Wing-T.”
Oklahoma will also be short-handed on the offensive side, as freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. will make his first start since mid-October after Jackson Arnold transferred to Auburn.
The Sooners have been thin at wide receiver all season and will be again in the bowl after several of their receivers who missed significant time due to injuries entered the transfer portal.
They are hopeful Deion Burks, who played in just one of the past eight games, will be available for the bowl game.
The matchup will be just the second between the programs. In 1965, Navy beat the Sooners 10-0 in Norman.
–Field Level Media
