Who’s playing in the 2018 Armed Forces Bowl?

Houston (8-4, 5-3 in AAC)

The Cougars could’ve had a much better year. They lost a blowout to Memphis in Week 13, costing themselves a berth in the AAC Championship Game for the second year in a row. And for the second year in a row after his boss said Houston would fire coaches with 8-4 records, Major Applewhite failed to do better than exactly that record. But UH averages out to solid overall, with a tremendous offense and an all-around bad defense, which was bad enough to get coordinator Mark D’Onofrio fired after the Memphis loss. And that unit’s No. 100 S&P+ ranking was despite having Ed Oliver at tackle.

QB D’Eriq King, who’s great, is injured and won’t play. DT Ed Oliver, who might have been the best player in college football, will skip the game after declaring for the draft.

Army (9-2)

The Black Knights’ most important game is the one they play against Navy, before they’ll kick off this bowl. But they’ll be happy to be here, too, in a bowl for the third year in a row after making just one in the previous 17. Army’s not just good for Army at this point, either. Jeff Monken’s built one of the best mid-major programs, period. The Knights control the ball like few others and demonstrated they could play with just about anyone when they took Oklahoma to overtime in Norman in Week 4.

Where is the Armed Forces Bowl?

Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, where it’s been since 2012. It was previously hosted in University Park, Texas from 2003-11.

When is the Armed Forces Bowl, and how can I watch it?

3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 22 on ESPN and WatchESPN