It appears Oklahoma might be lucky to field a team in its first bowl game after leaving the Big 12, as the Sooners are set to face Navy in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Friday.
After struggling to a 6-6 record in the SEC, Oklahoma is hoping to avoid its second losing season in three years under Brent Venables, but will have to take down a Midshipmen team that finished the regular season at 9-3 with a win over a ranked Army team.
In addition to the challenges of facing an option team – and a service academy, no less – Oklahoma will be incredibly short-handed for the matchup, as Venables announced in the bowl press conference on Thursday morning.
Yes, you read that correctly. The Sooners will have a total of 56 scholarship players at their disposal, and wait; it gets worse.
Of those 56 scholarship players, just 24 of them are on the offensive side of the ball – and 12 of those players are freshmen. A dozen of the scholarship players available on the defensive side of the ball are freshmen, too.
It’s no wonder why the Sooners went from nine-point favorites to just field goal favorites in the days leading up to the game.
Oklahoma (6-6) and Navy (9-3) are set for an 11:00 a.m. kickoff on Friday, December 27 in Fort Worth, TX.
