Middle Tennessee vs. Navy, 2013 Armed Forces Bowl: Midshipmen win ugly game

Offensive touchdown scored by Oregon in the Alamo Bowl. The Ducks did gain 469 yards (6.9 per play) on Texas, but the Longhorns were able to limit damage on third downs (4-for-12), and special teams gave Oregon long fields from which to work all night despite six Texas three-and-outs -- nine of 11 Oregon drives began at the Ducks’ 25 or further back.

Texas bent but rarely broke and did what a defense has to do to give itself a chance against the Oregon offense. Unfortunately…

Navy defeated Middle Tennessee State in the Armed Forces Bowl, overcoming dirty play from their opponents to win 24-6.

Box Score Hero: Keenan Reynolds. The quarterback ran 20 times for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

INDEED. All other signs can be shredded. Here is the most applicable, accurate, succinct, powerful sports fan sign in any crowd anywhere.

Someone should be holding this sign at every game everywhere on the planet. Now we just need a “SPROTS” sign for when there are sprots.

A collision over the middle of the field in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl left two players down on the field for several minutes at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.

During the regular season, Richardson recorded 23 tackles, forcing one fumble. Henry is the Blue Raiders’ second-leading receiver, with 36 catches for 528 yards and three touchdowns.

The last couple days of the year are always loaded with entertaining bowl games, and that will be the case once again when Dec. 30 rolls around on this year’s calendar. At Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Middle Tennessee and Navy are set to face off in the 2013 Armed Forces Bowl. Here’s everything you need to know about the game.

Rankings and records: Both teams come in with 8-4 record, though neither of them are ranked. The Midshipmen come in riding a four-game winning streak, while the Blue Raiders haven’t lost since mid-October.

Two years ago, things were on the downside for two of the more successful coaches in the mid-major ranks. Navy’s Ken Niumatalolo had gone 27-13 in his first three years as Navy’s coach, but in Year 4 (Year 1 A.R., or After Ricky Dobbs) the Midshipmen had gone just 5-7, sinking to 73rd in the F/+ rankings.

Things were even worse in Murfreesboro. Rick Stockstill, engineer of the first three bowl bids in Middle Tennessee’s history, had gone from 10-3 in 2009 to 2-10 in 2011, 114th in the F/+ rankings. Upon the departure of defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, Stockstill’s defense had fallen apart, and an efficiency-based offense didn’t have enough efficient weapons.

Underdogs have covered the past 5 editions of this game according to the Armed Forces Bowl odds history, which is not a great trend for Navy backers. But other trends support a Navy wager (Navy is 5-1 ATS past six games in 2013 and MTSU was just 1-6 ATS past seven games away from home).

Middle Tennessee (C-USA, 8-4 SU, 5-7 ATS, 5-7 OU) only covered in one of its six road games this season with the total staying UNDER in four of those games. The Blue Raiders ended the season on a high note with five straight victories including a 48-17 pasting of UTEP as 24-point home favorites in their season finale. They went 3-2 ATS during this run and the total went OVER in three of the five games.

The Armed Forces Bowl is sponsored by Bell Helicopter, as it tries to lock up the important “college football fan who owns a helicopter or is in the market for one” demographic. The game has a rotating (not unlike a helicopter) tie-in, with the AAC, Big Ten, Mountain West and Big 12 sending representatives, and Army fitting in there every once in a while. This year, the Naval Academy was supposed to face off against a Mountain West representative, but C-USA’s evidently made a trade.

Date and time, ET: Dec. 30 at 11:45 a.m.