The 2015 Military Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 28, 2015 at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. The eighth edition of the Military Bowl featured the Pittsburgh Panthers of the Atlantic Coast Conference against the hometown Navy Midshipmen of the American Athletic Conference. It began at 2:30 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. Sponsored by aerospace and defense technology company Northrop Grumman, it was officially known as the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman.[3]

2015 Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman
8th Military Bowl
1234 Total
Pittsburgh 70147 28
Navy 1471013 44
DateDecember 28, 2015
Season2015
StadiumNavy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
LocationAnnapolis, Maryland
FavoriteNavy by 4[1]
National anthemBetty Cantrell[2]
RefereeJoe Pester (C-USA)
Attendance36,352
PayoutUS$TBD
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN/ESPN Radio
AnnouncersBeth Mowins, Rocky Boiman, & Jane Slater (ESPN)
Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic, & Mike Golic, Jr. (ESPN Radio)
Military Bowl
 < 2014  2016

Teams

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The game featured the Pittsburgh Panthers against the Navy Midshipmen.

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On September 14, 2015, it was announced that Navy would play in the Military Bowl should they be bowl-eligible and not selected for one of the New Year's Six bowl games.[3] After compiling a 9–2 record in their regular season and losing to Houston in their American Athletic Conference finale, the Midshipmen automatically qualified for the game.

This will be the Midshipmen's second Military Bowl, after the inaugural 2008 game (when it was known as the EagleBank Bowl) where they lost to Wake Forest by a score of 29–19.

Pittsburgh Panthers

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The Panthers are heading to their eighth straight bowl game, the longest such streak in school history. First-year head coach Pat Narduzzi led the Panthers to an 8–4 record and a 2nd-place finish in the ACC Coastal division. Pittsburgh is 13–18 all-time in bowl games.

Game summary

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Scoring summary

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Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP PITT NAVY
1 14:46 PITT Quadree Henderson 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, Chris Blewitt kick good 7 0
1 9:26 10 75 5:20 NAVY Kennan Reynolds 1-yard touchdown run, Austin Grebe kick good 7 7
1 0:41 14 86 6:47 NAVY Keenan Reynolds 5-yard touchdown run, Austin Grebe kick good 7 14
2 1:41 12 84 4:23 NAVY Tyler Carmona 11-yard touchdown reception from Keenan Reynolds, Austin Grebe kick good 7 21
3 12:28 5 75 2:32 NAVY Demond Brown 26-yard touchdown run, Austin Grebe kick good 7 28
3 8:11 6 59 2:42 NAVY 35-yard field goal by Austin Grebe 7 31
3 3:14 10 85 4:57 PITT Qadree Ollison 4-yard touchdown reception from Nathan Peterman, Chris Blewitt kick good 14 31
3 2:57 PITT Jordan Whitehead fumble recovery returned 22 yards for a touchdown, Chris Blewitt kick good 21 31
4 10:58 14 68 6:59 NAVY Toneo Gulley 15-yard touchdown run, Austin Grebe kick good 21 38
4 9:35 4 73 1:23 PITT Qadree Ollison 45-yard touchdown run, Chris Blewitt kick good 28 38
4 4:19 9 75 5:16 NAVY Keenan Reynolds 9-yard touchdown run, Austin Grebe kick blocked 28 44
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 28 44
 
Navy players celebrating their Military Bowl victory

Statistics

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Statistics PITT NAVY
First Downs 17 31
Total offense, plays – yards 42–335 89–590
Rushes-yards (net) 21–198 71–417
Passing yards (net) 137 173
Passes, Comp-Att-Int 13–21–3 10–18–0
Time of Possession 17:55 42:05

References

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  1. ^ Odds, Los Angeles Times, December 10, 2015
  2. ^ "Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell to perform national anthem presented by Fortinet". December 16, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "2015 Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman Tickets On Sale Now: ACC vs. Navy*/American". Military Bowl. September 14, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2015.