How to watch Oklahoma vs. Navy: Picks, odds for Armed Forces Bowls clash of different programs

On By Littum

Navy and Oklahoma’s meeting in the Armed Forces Bowl is a fun contrast of programs. The Sooners are one of the sports powerhouses currently facing a tough problem. Navy is a service academy long removed from its football glory, but just put together its best season in five years. The two teams meet on Friday, and the betting spread separates them by just a few points — with OU the close favorite.

How to watch Oklahoma vs. Navy

This is Navy’s first game against an SEC opponent since 2011 when it played at South Carolina. Stranger still, this is its first postseason game against an SEC opponent since the 1955 Sugar Bowl against Ole Miss.

Oklahoma has sent 389 alumni to the NFL, including seven top-five draft picks since 2010. Navy has 33, with two overall first-round picks… in the 1948 draft.

The football match itself is also quite strange. Both programs played Tulane this year, with the Sooners winning by more than two touchdowns and the Midshipmen losing 35-0. Oklahoma is also 13th in the nation in rushing defense, while Navy is eighth on the ground with nearly 250 yards per carry. match.

Oklahoma has seen quite an exodus from the transfer portal this offseason. Quarterback Jackson Arnold is headed to Auburn, but it wasn’t clear if he would be the long-term answer anyway. Three of the Sooners’ top four pass-catchers (Bauer Sharp, JJ Hester and Brenen Thompson) have also landed at other SEC programs through the portal. Even before those transfers, the Sooners ranked 12th from the bottom in FBS passing yards per game (167.6). This game will be for fans of the run.

Between Navy’s wing-T offense and Oklahoma’s supreme volatility (they dominated Alabama but finished 2-6 in the SEC), this should be one of the stranger outings of the bowl season.

Oklahoma vs Navy odds

Oklahoma vs. Navy picks

More bowl season coverage

Bowl Predictions: The athletic staff picks each college football bowl game

Bowl watch guide: Schedule, odds and most interesting matchups

Ranking the Top 10 Non-College Football Playoff Bowl Games

(Photo by Blake Horvath: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)