2018 Armed Forces Bowl

The 2018 Armed Forces Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 22, 2018.^[4] It was the 16th edition of the Armed Forces Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin, the game was officially known as the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. On December 18, it was announced that the game had officially sold out of tickets, the first such sellout in the Armed Forces Bowl's 16-year history.^[5]

2018 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
16th Armed Forces Bowl
Houston Cougars Army Black Knights (8–4) (10–2) The American Independent 14 70 Head coach:  Major Applewhite Head coach:  Jeff Monken AP Coaches 22 25
1 2 3 4 Total Houston 0 7 0 7 14 Army 14 28 14 14 70
Date	December 22, 2018
Season	2018
Stadium	Amon G. Carter Stadium
Location	Fort Worth, Texas
MVP	Kelvin Hopkins (QB, Army) & Romello Brooker (TE, Houston)[1]
Favorite	Army by 3[2]
Referee	Luke Richmond (MAC)
Attendance	44,738
Payout	US$900,000 [3]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Chris Cotter, Emmanuel Acho, Jim Mora and Quint Kessenich
International TV coverage
Network	ESPN Deportes
Armed Forces Bowl  < 2017  2020 (Jan.) >

Army's 70–14 victory tied the then largest margin of victory in a bowl game, 56,^[6] set by Tulsa in the 2008 GMAC Bowl when they defeated Bowling Green 63–7. Army's 70 points tied the record for most points in an FBS bowl game,^[7] set by West Virginia in the 2012 Orange Bowl, when they defeated Clemson 70–33. The then-tied record of largest margin of victory in a bowl game would go on to be broken in the 2023 National Championship game, where Georgia would defeat TCU by a final score of 65–7.^[8]

Teams

The bowl originally planned to invite teams from the Big 12 Conference and the American Athletic Conference (The American). When fourth-ranked Oklahoma was selected for the College Football Playoff, a Big 12 bowl tie-in was left open. Army, an FBS Independent, was selected to fill this opening, facing off with The American member Houston.^[9]

Army Black Knights

Main article: 2018 Army Black Knights football team

Army received and accepted a bid to the Armed Forces Bowl on December 2.^[9] The Black Knights subsequently won the Army–Navy Game on December 8, and entered the bowl with a 10–2 record.^[10]

Houston Cougars

Main article: 2018 Houston Cougars football team

Houston received and accepted a bid to the Armed Forces Bowl on December 2.^[9] The Cougars entered the bowl with a 8–4 record (5–3 in conference).

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP HOU ARMY 1 3:58 14 80 7:47 ARMY Kelvin Hopkins Jr. 1-yard touchdown run, John Abercrombie kick good 0 7 1 0:00 2 80 0:50 ARMY Kelvin Hopkins Jr. 77-yard touchdown run, John Abercrombie kick good 0 14 2 14:46 ARMY Fumble recovery returned 23 yards for touchdown by Cameron Jones, John Abercrombie kick good 0 21 2 12:04 9 77 2:42 HOU Romello Booker 3-yard touchdown reception from Clayton Tune, Dalton Witherspoon kick good 7 21 2 10:46 3 62 1:18 ARMY Kelvin Hopkins Jr. 1-yard touchdown run, John Abercrombie kick good 7 28 2 7:24 3 8 1:22 ARMY Kelvin Hopkins Jr. 2-yard touchdown run, John Abercrombie kick good 7 35 2 0:51 8 69 4:33 ARMY Artice Hobbs IV 11-yard touchdown run, John Abercrombie kick good 7 42 3 12:09 5 47 2:51 ARMY Kelvin Hopkins Jr. 1-yard touchdown run, John Abercrombie kick good 7 49 3 1:21 6 35 3:21 ARMY Connor Slomka 3-yard touchdown run, John Abercrombie kick good 7 56 4 10:31 8 54 4:59 ARMY Jordan Asberry 15-yard touchdown reception from Cam Thomas, John Abercrombie kick good 7 63 4 6:25 13 74 4:06 HOU Clayton Tune 6-yard touchdown run, Dalton Witherspoon kick good 14 63 4 1:58 7 75 4:27 ARMY Cam Thomas 20-yard touchdown run, John Abercrombie kick good 14 70 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 14 70

Statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	7	0	7	14
No. 22 Black Knights	14	28	14	14	70

Statistics	HOU	ARMY
First downs	23	27
Plays–yards	73–317	62–592
Rushes–yards	41–87	58–507
Passing yards	230	85
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	21–32–0	4–4–0
Time of possession	24:55	35:05

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston	Passing	Clayton Tune	21/32, 230 yds, 1 TD
	Rushing	Patrick Carr	9 car, 52 yds
	Receiving	Marquez Stevenson	8 rec, 72 yds
Army	Passing	Kelvin Hopkins Jr.	3/3, 70 yds
	Rushing	Kelvin Hopkins Jr.	11 car, 170 yds, 5 TD
	Receiving	Jordan Asberry	2 rec, 22 yds, 1 TD

Records set or tied

NCAA FBS

• Margin of victory in a bowl game (tied): 56 points by Army (tied with Tulsa in its 63–7 win over Bowling Green in the 2008 GMAC Bowl)
• Most points scored by a single team in a bowl game (tied): 70 points by Army (tied with West Virginia in its 70–33 win over Clemson in the 2012 Orange Bowl)

Armed Forces Bowl

• Most points scored: 70, Army vs. Houston
• Largest margin of victory: 56, Army vs. Houston
• Most team total yards: 592, Army vs. Houston
• Most team rushing yards: 507, Army vs. Houston
• Most team sacks: 10, Army vs. Houston
• Most rushing touchdowns by an individual: 5, by Kelvin Hopkins Jr. of Army
• Most sacks by an individual: 3.5, by James Nachtigal of Army
• Largest attendance of Armed Forces Bowl Game: 44,738

Army (football program)

• Most wins in a season: 11
• Most rushing TDs by an individual in a game (tied): 5 by Kelvin Hopkins Jr.
• Most rushing TDs by an individual in a season (tied): 17 by Kelvin Hopkins Jr.
• Most TDs responsible for by an individual in a season (tied): 23 (6 passing, 17 rushing) by Kelvin Hopkins Jr.
• Total offense by an individual in a season: 2,143 yards (1,026 passing, 1,117 rushing) by Kelvin Hopkins Jr.

References

1. Wilson, Jeff (December 22, 2018). "Army West Point dominates en route to 70-14 victory". armedforcesbowl.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
2. Fawkes, Ben (December 10, 2018). "Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
3. "2018 Bowl Schedule". CFP.com. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
4. "2018-19 College Football Playoff and bowl schedule". ESPN. May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
5. "Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Sold Out". armedforcesbowl.com (Press release). December 18, 2018. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
6. Linton, Chance (December 22, 2018). "Army has record-setting day in 70-14 rout of Houston". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
7. "Postgame Notes: Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl". armedforcesbowl.com. December 22, 2018. Archived from the original on December 23, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
8. "Georgia blasts TCU 65-7 in the College Football Playoff championship game, wins back-to-back titles". NCAA.com. January 9, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
9. "Houston and Army West Point selected for 2018 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | Armed Forces Bowl". Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
10. "Navy vs. Army - Game Recap - December 8, 2018 - ESPN".

External links

• Official website
• Box score at ESPN