After a season filled with many peaks and valleys, the 2024 Oklahoma Sooners football season will come to an end on Friday against Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth. The Midshipmen made an appearance in the Top 25 this year and also beat Army a few weeks ago in a strong showing. Here’s a quick preview of today’s game along with updates on the Sooners’ moves in the transfer portal.
2024 Armed Forces Bowl: Oklahoma Preview and Transfer Portal Additions
Armed Forces Bowl Preview
Oklahoma Sooners (6-6) vs. Navy Midshipmen (9-3)
Navy finished 9-3 this year with their best win coming two weeks ago over fierce rival, Army. Of course, the Midshipmen and coach Brian Newberry run one of the most unique offenses in the country. They averaged less than 14 pass attempts per game while attempting 46 rushes per game. They finished with 249.3 rushing yards per game while averaging 5.4 yards per attempt. Quarterback Blake Horvath led his squad in both passing and rushing yards, ending with 1261 and 1091 yards respectively.
He threw 13 touchdowns and just four picks while scoring 15 times on the ground and averaging 6.9 yards per rush attempt. Horvath is the most explosive player on Navy’s team and Brent Venables and his defense will need to make shutting him down a priority. Running backs Alex Tecza and Eli Heidenreich finished second and third on the team in rushing, while Heidenreich also led the team in receiving with 37 catches for 649 yards and 6 scores.
On defense, the Midshipmen are led by linebacker Colin Ramos, who led the team in tackles with 117 while chipping in 8 tackles for loss and three sacks. Defensive end Justin Reed led Navy in tackles for loss with 10 and sacks with 5. Cornerback Dashaun Peele is one of this team’s best players and one of the best corners in the AAC. He racked up 40 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 5 interceptions, and two pick-sixes.
Oklahoma, on the other hand, will be shorthanded in this game. They’ll be without quarterback Jackson Arnold, who entered the portal and committed to Auburn. Stud senior defenders Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman Jr. both opted out of the game to begin preparing for the next step in their careers. Nearly all of OU’s wide receiver room has entered the transfer portal and committed elsewhere, including Nic Anderson, J.J. Hester, Andrel Anthony, and Jalil Farooq. That means true freshman Michael Hawkins and the running backs will need to carry the load in this bowl.
Transfer Portal Updates
With Arnold and Oklahoma’s most important receivers gone, Brent Venables has his work cut out for him in the portal. The good news is that he already landed the number one quarterback in the portal, John Mateer, out of Washington State. He was electric for the Cougars and still has two years of eligibility remaining, making this arguably the best-case scenario for the Sooners. OU also landed Cole Gonzales, a quarterback from Western Carolina to shore up that position group.
Venables has also secured commitments from three receivers and one tight end. Isaiah Satenga is a wideout coming from Arkansas, where he caught 37 passes for 491 yards and 1 score this season. Keontez Lewis is transferring from Southern Illinois, after putting up 790 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns for the Salukis in 2024. JaVonnie Gibson, from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, is a sophomore who had an incredible season, catching 70 passes for 1,215 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Carson Kent, a tight end, is also a sophomore who had 18 receptions, 217 yards, and 3 scores for Kennesaw State this season. While this is a good start to the offseason, neither the quarterback nor receivers will matter much next year if the Sooners can’t attract better offensive linemen. So far, OU only has one o-line commit, Derek Simmons from Western Carolina. There is still plenty of time for the Sooners to shore up their line, but that’s certainly a position to watch going into next season.
Main Image: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
