| Game Name: | Armed Forces Bowl |
| Subheader: | 16th Armed Forces Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Lockheed Martin |
| Date Game Played: | December 22 |
| Year Game Played: | 2018 |
| Football Season: | 2018 |
| Stadium: | Amon G. Carter Stadium |
| City: | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Visitor School: | University of Houston |
| Visitor Name Short: | Houston |
| Visitor Nickname: | Cougars |
| Visitor Record: | 8–4 |
| Visitor Conference: | The American |
| Visitor Coach: | Major Applewhite |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home School: | United States Military Academy |
| Home Name Short: | Army |
| Home Nickname: | Black Knights |
| Home Record: | 10–2 |
| Home Conference: | Independent |
| Home Rank Ap: | 22 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 25 |
| Home Coach: | Jeff Monken |
| Home 1Q: | 14 |
| Home 2Q: | 28 |
| Home 3Q: | 14 |
| Home 4Q: | 14 |
| Mvp: | Kelvin Hopkins (QB, Army) & Romello Brooker (TE, Houston)[1] |
| Odds: | Army by 3[2] |
| Referee: | Luke Richmond (MAC) |
| Attendance: | 44,738 |
| Payout: | 900,000 [3] |
| Us Network: | ESPN |
| Us Announcers: | Chris Cotter, Emmanuel Acho, Jim Mora and Quint Kessenich |
| Intl Network: | ESPN Deportes |
| Different Next: | 2020 (Jan.) |
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]
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]
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]
See 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]
See 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).
| 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 | 21/32, 230 yds, 1 TD | |
| Rushing | 9 car, 52 yds | ||
| Receiving | 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 |
NCAA FBS
Armed Forces Bowl
Army (football program)