Military Bowl First Look: Navy vs. Pittsburgh

The 2015 Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman will feature a matchup between the Navy Midshipmen and Pittsburgh Panthers.

Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman Broadcast Info

Date: Monday, December 28
Time: 2:30 pm ET
Network: ESPN
Venue: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

Maybe Navy should have enlisted in a league a long time ago

Following well over a century of independence, the Midshipmen joined the American for the start of the 2015 season. And they made quite a splash as the league’s newest member, darn near making it all the way to the inaugural title game. Spearheaded by record-setting QB Keenan Reynolds, Navy cracked the Top 25 for the first time in 11 years after handing then-No. 13 Memphis its initial loss of the season on Nov. 7. While the Mids’ bid for the West Division crown fell short in Houston three weeks later, they can still win 10 games and capture another Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy with a victory this week over Army.

Pitt is off and running under first-year head coach Pat Narduzzi

Behind only North Carolina, the Panthers were this year’s biggest surprise in the ACC, finishing second in the Coastal Division. And they did it with a rookie on the sidelines and star RB James Conner on the shelf for all but a few series of the opener. Plus, three of Pitt’s losses came against highly ranked opponents, Iowa, the Tar Heels and Notre Dame, by an average of only seven points. RB Qadree Ollison and S Jordan Whitehead were named league offensive and defensive rookie of the year, respectively, indicative of the program’s bright future under Narduzzi.