Navy coach Brian Newberry grew up only a few miles from the University of Oklahoma campus, and the first college game he attended as a kid was to watch the Sooners. His parents still live in his childhood home in Moore,

The Midshipmen will play an SEC opponent for the first time since 2011 and the Sooners for the first time since 1965.

Navy heads into its first bowl game since before the pandemic with a good deal of momentum, having upset Army in its annual rivalry game on Dec. 14. Oklahoma, on the other hand, is coming off a loss as it tries to avoid a second losing season in three years under head coach Brent Venables.