James Madison -1.5 (-110) over Air Force
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- James Madison will be looking to prove they belong this bowl season, after nearly getting denied a spot despite losing just once.
- Air Force lost four games in a row going into bowl season and their struggles will continue in this game.
The Armed Forces Bowl is a game that typically features one of the three service academies, depending on their bowl eligibility statuses each year. That means you are likely to see at least one option offense in this game, though that does not guarantee a boring game either. Here, we break down the upcoming Armed Forces Bowl and look at the history of this bowl tradition as well.
2023 Armed Forces Bowl Analysis
With the Armed Forces Bowl choosing Air Force as its service academy representative this year, the Falcons are hoping the time off during the college football bowl schedule will help them right the ship. The Falcons have lost four games in a row heading into bowl season, going from being a ranked team to sliding down the bowl game totem pole in their final month of action.
Meanwhile, the James Madison Dukes enjoyed one of the greatest success stories in college football this year. They went 11-1 and got into a bowl game despite originally being denied a waiver to play in one. With there not being enough six-win teams to fill the bowl calendar this year, the Dukes and Jacksonville State were both given bowl bids in spite of their transitioning from FCS to FBS football. The Dukes will look to take advantage of their opportunity in this contest.
Armed Forces Bowl History
The Armed Forces Bowl has been around since 2003, originally going by the Fort Worth Bowl before taking their current name. This game doesn’t always feature traditional conference tie-ins, as Army is an independent. But the Big 12, Big Ten, Mountain West, and American Athletic Conference are all tied into this game in some form or fashion. Below is the full list of previous Armed Forces Bowl matchups and their outcomes.
Year | Winner | Runners-Up |
2003 | Boise State | TCU |
2004 | Cincinnati | Marshall |
2005 | Kansas | Houston |
2006 | Utah | Tulsa |
2007 | California | Air Force |
2008 | Houston | Air Force |
2009 | Air Force | Houston |
2010 | Army | SMU |
2011 | BYU | Tulsa |
2012 | Rice | Air Force |
2013 | Navy | Middle Tennessee |
2014 | Houston | Pittsburgh |
2015 | California | Air Force |
2016 | Louisiana Tech | Navy |
2017 | Army | San Diego State |
2018 | Army | Houston |
2019 | Tulane | Southern Miss |
2020 | Mississippi State | Tulsa |
2021 | Army | Missouri |
2022 | Air Force | Baylor |
Bowl Game MVPs
In the Armed Forces Bowl, an MVP is selected from both the winning and losing teams, something that has happened in every previous edition of the game. Below is the full list of those MVPs and which teams they have represented either in victory or defeat.
Year | Winning Team MVP | Team | Losing Team MVP | Team |
2003 | Ryan Dinwiddie | Boise State | Brandon Hassell | TCU |
2004 | Gino Guidugli | Cincinnati | Josh Davis | Marshall |
2005 | Jason Swanson | Kansas | Kevin Kolb | Houston |
2006 | Louie Sakoda | Utah | Paul Smith | Tulsa |
2007 | Kevin Riley | California | Shaun Carney | Air Force |
2008 | Bryce Beall | Houston | Jared Tew | Air Force |
2009 | Asher Clark | Air Force | Tyron Carrier | Houston |
2010 | Stephen Anderson | Army | Darius Johnson | SMU |
2011 | Cody Hoffman | BYU | Dexter McCoil | Tulsa |
2012 | Jordan Taylor | Rice | Austin Niklaas | Air Force |
2013 | Keenan Reynolds | Navy | TT Barber | Middle Tennessee |
2014 | Kenneth Farrow | Houston | Chad Voytik | Pittsburgh |
2015 | Jared Goff | California | Karson Roberts | Air Force |
2016 | Trent Taylor | Louisiana Tech | Zach Abey | Navy |
2017 | Ahmad Bradshaw | Army | Rashaad Penny | San Diego State |
2018 | Kelvin Hopkins Jr. | Army | Romello Brooker | Houston |
2019 | Justin McMillan | Tulane | Quez Watkins | Southern Miss |
2020 | Lideatrick Griffin | Mississippi State | Christian Williams | Tulsa |
2021 | Arik Smith | Army | Brady Cook | Missouri |
2022 | Haaziq Daniels | Air Force | Dillon Doyle | Baylor |