2025 Military Bowl
| 2025 Go Bowling Military Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 16th Military Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 27, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Annapolis, Maryland | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Anthony Smith (WR, East Carolina) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Pittsburgh by 10.5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Luke Richmond (Big 12) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 17,016 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Jay Alter (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst), and Madison Fitzpatrick (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2025 Military Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 27, 2025, at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium located in Annapolis, Maryland. The 16th annual Military Bowl game started at approximately 11:00 a.m. EST and aired on ESPN.[1][2] The Military Bowl was one of the 2025–26 bowl games concluding the 2025 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by GoBowling.com, a website operated by the Bowling Proprietors Association of America to promote bowling as a sport, and was officially known as the Go Bowling Military Bowl.
The 2025 Military Bowl featured the Pittsburgh Panthers (8–4) of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the East Carolina Pirates (8–4) of the American Conference. East Carolina beat Pittsburgh, 23–17.[3]
Teams
Based on conference tie-ins, the game was expected to feature teams from the American Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), or FBS independent Notre Dame. The announced matchup featured East Carolina from the American Conference and Pitt from the ACC. This was the fifth meeting between Pitt and East Carolina; each team had won twice, with their most recent prior game being in 1992.[4]
Pittsburgh Panthers
Pitt's record stood at 7–2 in early November and they were ranked as high as 22nd. They finished their regular season with three games against ranked opponents, and lost two of those contests, to Notre Dame and Miami (FL). The Panthers entered the Military Bowl with an 8–4 record.[5]
East Carolina Pirates
East Carolina opened their season with three losses in their first six games. The Pirates then won five of their final six games and entered the Military Bowl with an 8–4 record.[6]
Game summary
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| East Carolina | 0 | 3 | 14 | 6 | 23 |
at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, Maryland
- Date: Saturday, December 27, 2025
- Game time: 11:00 a.m. EST
- Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 39 °F (4 °C) • Wind: 13 mph (21 km/h) north
- Game attendance: 17,016
- Referee: Luke Richmond
- TV announcers (ESPN): Jay Alter (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst), and Madison Fitzpatrick (sideline)
- Box score
Statistics
| Statistics | PITT | ECU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 24 | 11 |
| Plays–yards | 85–376 | 59–249 |
| Rushes–yards | 40–120 | 42–72 |
| Passing yards | 256 | 249 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 25–40–1 | 8–17–0 |
| Time of possession | 33:05 | 26:55 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | Passing | Mason Heintschel | 25/40, 256 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Ja'Kyrian Turner | 16 carries, 93 yards | |
| Receiving | Justin Holmes | 6 receptions, 100 yards | |
| East Carolina | Passing | Chaston Ditta | 8/17, 177 yards, 2 TD |
| Rushing | Marlon Gunn Jr. | 18 carries, 50 yards | |
| Receiving | Anthony Smith | 4 receptions, 156 yards, 2 TD |
References
- ^ "2025-26 College Football Playoff schedule, dates, TV channel, sites". NCAA.com. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "College Football Bowl Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "ECU TD Negated by Whistle in Pirates' Military Bowl Win". ESPN. Associated Press. December 27, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
- ^ "Pittsburgh vs. East Carolina football series history games list". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Panthers". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
- ^ "East Carolina Pirates". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
External links
- Game statistics at statbroadcast.com