FORT WORTH, Texas — Blake Horvath set a Navy record with a 95-yard touchdown run and then scored a go-ahead 6-yarder with 4:34 left as the Midshipmen overcame an early two-touchdown deficit and stopped a late 2-point conversion attempt to beat Oklahoma 21-20 in the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday.
The Sooners (6-7) got a 10-yard touchdown pass from Michael Hawkins Jr. to Jake Roberts with six seconds left. They then went for the win, but Hawkins was sacked by Justin Reed on the conversion try.
Just two weeks after a dominating win over Army for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, the Midshipmen (10-3) reached 10 wins for the sixth time. The last 10-win season had been in 2019, which had been their last winning season.
Horvath's record run on a sprint down the middle of the field tied the game at 14 late in third quarter. He then put Navy ahead for the first time on his 6-yard TD run, one play after he converted a fourth-and-3 with a 16-yard pass to Eli Heidenrich.
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Horvath ran 18 times for 155 yards, and completed 7 of 12 passes for 92 yards. Alex Tecza had an 11-yard TD run for the Midshipmen.
Oklahoma went up after Gavin Sawchuk's 21-yard TD on the opening drive, when he had 37 yards after only 61 in his other eight games this season. It was 14-0 with 5:56 left in the first quarter after Hawkins rolled left, reversed field and got almost to the other side of the field before throwing to Zion Kearney for a 56-yard catch-and-run TD.
Oklahoma wrapped up its first season in the Southeastern Conference with their second 6-7 record in coach Brent Venables' three seasons.
The Sooners had a much different-looking roster than the regular season. More than two dozen players went into the transfer portal, and the Sooners were also without standout linebacker Danny Stutsman and safety Billy Bowman, who bypassed playing to begin preparation for the NFL draft.
Hawkins completed 28 of 43 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns in his first start for the Sooners in more than two months.
BIRMINGHAM BOWL
VANDERBILT 35, GEORGIA TECH 27: Diego Pavia threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores, and the Commodores (7-6) secured their first winning season since 2013 by winning the Birmingham Bowl.
Pavia accounted for three of his scores in a six-minute span starting late in the third quarter before Georgia Tech (7-6) rallied. A lightning delay with 7:17 left only pushed back the celebration of the Commodores' first bowl win since that 9-4 season 11 years ago.
Pavia, the game MVP, completed 13 of 21 passes for 160 yards and gained 84 yards on 17 rushes. He had a 7-yard touchdown pass to Quincy Skinner Jr. and a 6-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. Afterward, he announced his plans to return to Vandy next season.
Georgia Tech's Haynes King was 25-of-33 passing for 204 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Running back Jamal Haynes carried 17 times for 136 yards and had five catches for 32 yards.
LIBERTY BOWL
ARKANSAS 39, TEXAS TECH 26: Taylen Green threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 81 yards as the Razorbacks (7-6) beat the Red Raiders (8-5) in Memphis.
Green completed 11 of 21 passes and Arkansas had 573 yards of total offense.
J'Koby Williams rushed for 123 yards and a TD for Texas Tech. Will Hammond threw for 280 yards and a touchdown.
The Red Raiders took a shot before game time when leading running back Tahj Brooks, who rushed for 1,505 yards, opted not to play for "personal reasons."
HOLIDAY BOWL
SYRACUSE 52, WASHINGTON STATE 35:Â Kyle McCord threw for 453 yards and five touchdowns to break Deshaun Watson's Atlantic Coast Conference season passing record and lead No. 22 Syracuse to a victory over depleted-yet-scrappy Washington State.
LeQuint Allen rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns for his second straight 1,000-yard season for the Orange (10-3), who had their first 10-win season since 2018. Fran Brown joined Paul Pasqualoni (1991) as the only Orange coaches since World War II to win 10 game in their first season.
McCord, the national passing leader, came in with 4,326 yards, which was fifth on the ACC's season list, and needed 268 yards to break Watson's record of 4,593, which he set in 15 games in 2016 at Clemson. McCord broke the record by a yard on the Orange's first play of the second half on a 50-yard pass to Darrell Gill Jr., who made a beautiful over-the-shoulder catch. McCord finished with 4,779 yards.
The Cougars (8-5) lost their fourth straight game but were spirited despite losing coach Jake Dickert to Wake Forest, quarterback John Mateer to Oklahoma, both coordinators and the quarterbacks and running backs coach, as well as having more than 20 players enter the transfer portal.
