2018 Military Bowl
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| 2018 Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 11th Military Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
 Coin toss prior to the game | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Annapolis, Maryland | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Michael Warren II (RB, Cincinnati)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Cincinnati by 5[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Kevin Hassell (Mountain West) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 32,832[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$2,067,000 [4] | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN & ESPN Radio | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Mike Corey, Rene Ingoglia and Alex Corddry (ESPN) Marc Kestecher and Brad Edwards (ESPN Radio) | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2018 Military Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 31, 2018.[5] It was the 11th edition of the Military Bowl, and was one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by defense contractor Northrop Grumman, the game was officially known as the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman.
Virginia Tech Hokies
The game was played between Virginia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Cincinnati of the American Athletic Conference (The American).[6] The two programs had previously met 11 times, with Virginia Tech holding a 6–5 lead in the series.[7] It was their second meeting in the Military Bowl, having previously contested the 2014 edition, with Virginia Tech winning 33–17.
Virginia Tech received and accepted a bid to the Military Bowl on December 2.[6] The Hokies entered the bowl with a 6–6 record (4–4 in conference). After starting the season 4–2, the Hokies lost four games in a row, then finished with two wins, giving them the six wins needed for bowl eligibility. This was Virginia Tech's 26th consecutive bowl appearance, having played in a bowl every season since the 1993 Independence Bowl.[8]
Cincinnati Bearcats
Cincinnati received and accepted a bid to the Military Bowl on December 2.[6] The Bearcats entered the bowl with a 10–2 record (6–2 in conference).