The Army Black Knights will take on Houston in Fort Worth, as they seek to earn their fourth consecutive bowl victory.
The Army Black Knights will return to familiar territory for their third consecutive postseason appearance.
For the second consecutive season, the Black Knights will partake in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, where they will face the University of Houston Cougars. The game will be held on December 22 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. ESPN’s broadcast will commence at 3:30 p.m. ET.
“We are extremely excited to have the University of Houston and United States Military Academy in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl this year,” Armed Forces Bowl director Brant Ringler said in a statement on Army athletics’ official site. “We are honored to host Army West Point for a second straight year and to have a service academy playing in the game for the 10th time in the past 12 years.”
Fort Worth has been a popular destination for the Black Knights, as they will appear in their third Armed Forces Bowl. They posted victories in each of their first two meetings, defeating Southern Methodist by a 16-14 final in 2010 and San Diego State in a 42-35 thriller in 2017.
Last season’s showdown with the Aztecs was one of the more exciting matchups of the postseason. Trailing 35-28 late in the fourth quarter, the Knights embarked on a 15-play, 72-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown from Darnell Woolfolk with 18 seconds to go.
Kell Walker’s two-point conversion secured Army’s third consecutive bowl victory, the longest in bowl history. The teams combined for 726 of offense in the game, 446 of which was earned by Army.
A bowl victory would be the perfect sendoff for Woolfolk and the Black Knights’ senior class. The group has tallied a 29-21 record over their four seasons and led Army to the postseason in three consecutive seasons for the first time in program history. This season, the Knights have gone 9-2 and currently ranked 22nd in the Associated Press poll. Their entry into the poll was their first since 1996.
The senior class also ended the Knights’ infamous losing streak against rival Navy, doing so with a 21-17 victory in 2016. Army will go for their third consecutive win against the Midshipmen on Saturday (3:00 p.m. ET, CBS). The Knights have not earned three wins in a row over Navy since a five-game streak in 1992-96. They will also seek to earn 10 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.
Houston (8-4) finished in a three-way tie for first in the American Athletic Conference’s West division. They will likewise be seeking their third Armed Forces Bowl victory, as they’re making their fifth appearance in the game.
The Cougars would top Air Force and Pittsburgh for their respective wins in 2008 and 2015. Air Force would avenge their loss a year later, while the Cougars also dropped a 42-13 decision in 2005 to Kansas when the game was still known as the Fort Worth Bowl.
