| Game Name: | Military Bowl |
| Title Sponsor Suffix: | presented by Northrop Grumman |
| Subheader: | 11th Military Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 31 |
| Year Game Played: | 2018 |
| Football Season: | 2018 |
| Stadium: | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium |
| City: | Annapolis, Maryland |
| Visitor School: | University of Cincinnati |
| Visitor Name Short: | Cincinnati |
| Visitor Nickname: | Bearcats |
| Visitor Record: | 10–2 |
| Visitor Conference: | The American |
| Visitor Coach: | Luke Fickell |
| Visitor 1Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 14 |
| Home School: | Virginia Tech |
| Home Name Short: | Virginia Tech |
| Home Nickname: | Hokies |
| Home Record: | 6–6 |
| Home Conference: | ACC |
| Home Coach: | Justin Fuente |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 10 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Mvp: | Michael Warren II (RB, Cincinnati)[1] |
| Odds: | Cincinnati by 5[2] |
| Referee: | Kevin Hassell (Mountain West) |
| Attendance: | 32,832[3] |
| Payout: | 2,067,000 [4] |
| Us Network: | ESPN & ESPN Radio |
| Us 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.
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.
See main article: 2018 Virginia Tech Hokies football team. 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]
See main article: 2018 Cincinnati Bearcats football team. 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).