FORT WORTH, Texas -- There was no doubt that Louisiana Tech and No. 25 Navy were going to score points and give game statistical personnel a run for their money when the two teams squared off Friday in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.

And in a game in which the two teams combined for 93 points and 956 yards of total offense, this thrilling contest came down who had the ball last and to the right foot of Louisiana Tech kicker Jonathan Barnes, who booted a 32-yard field goal on the game's final play to lift the Bulldogs past Navy 48-45 in cool and often rainy conditions at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University.

Ryan Higgins passed for four touchdowns and 409 yards, 57 of those on the Bulldogs' final drive to set the table for Barnes' winning kick. Higgins' 29 completions (on 40 throws) was an Armed Forces Bowl record, as was the Bulldogs' total first downs (31) and first downs passing (19), among others.

"To come in here and beat a team like Navy is big for our program," Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz said. "It took us a while to get going offensively, and we had some sacks early, but our running game got going and opened up the pass. This was a tremendous win, and everyone contributed. I'm proud of this team, and that was a really clutch kick to win it by Jonathan (Barnes) to get the victory."

Higgins hit Trent Taylor, who had an Armed Forces Bowl record of 233 receiving yards on 12 catches, on touchdowns from 19 and 51 yards away, found Carlos Henderson for a 3-yard scoring hookup and ran 1-yard for another score in the first half as Louisiana Tech (9-4) garnered a 31-24 lead.

"Everybody did a good job on offense, and that helped me get open," Taylor said. "We knew we had to control the ball through passing and running against a ball-control team like Navy, and we did. It was just a great team win."

Navy (9-6), which was playing to earn back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in school history, countered with quarterback Zach Abey's two rushing touchdowns, from 3 and 2 yards, respectively, and his 64-yard scoring pass to Darryl Bonner prior to halftime.

"We all fought hard," Abey said. "Obviously, I had some missed assignments. Like, the turnover (on Navy's first possession) -- it's something that we can't have early on in the game, especially knowing that they have a high-scoring offense. Everyone played their heart out. And I wish we could have got it for the seniors because I know they wanted it so bad."

The Midshipmen used the first 7:02 of the third quarter to maneuver 90 yards for the tying touchdown, which came via a 24-yard scoring run by Chris High on the 14th play of the possession. Scott Boston's 12-yard touchdown run with 13:10 to play pushed Louisiana Tech back to the seven-point lead.

High allowed Navy to tie the contest again with a 9-yard scoring run with 9:05 remaining in the fourth quarter. That's when Higgins and Henderson went back to work, first drawing a crucial pass interference plenty against Navy's Jarid Ryan and then making an acrobatic 4-yard scoring catch from behind the Midshipmen's Tyris Wooten to produce a final Louisiana Tech touchdown.

Penalties were a big part of the loss for Navy; its 70 yards in penalties were the most for a Navy team since 2006.

Navy freshman quarterback Malcolm Perry tied the game with 3:46 to play with a 30-yard touchdown run on his only snap in relief of Abey, who was injured on a roughing-the-passer penalty by the Bulldogs' Jordan Bradford. After a review by replay officials, Bradford ejected for targeting. But that left too much time for Louisiana Tech and Higgins and ultimately, Barnes.

Navy's triple-option attack racked up 459 yards, with 273 of those produced by Abey (159 passing and 114 on the ground on 25 carries).

"It was a hard-fought game and obviously, it came down to the wire -- unfortunately, we came out on the short end of the stick," Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "I'm proud of our guys. I thought they played really well this year. I've been coaching 27 years and the injury bug really got us this year but just proud of the way our guys just battled."

NOTES: Both Louisiana Tech (Conference USA) and Navy (American Athletic Conference) played in, and lost, in their respective league championship games. ... Navy's senior class (2017) entered the game with a 37-15 (.712) mark and is the school's all-time winningest class over a four-year period. ... The game featured contrasting styles of play, with Bulldogs and Midshipmen each ranking in the top 10 nationally in passing and rushing, respectively. ... The one-of-a-kind Armed Forces Bowl trophy weighs nearly 50 pounds and is topped with a steel-cast football made from combat-tested pieces of a C-130 Hercules, a F-18 Hornet, an AH-1 Cobra and a Littoral Combat Ship. ... Prior to Ken Niumatalolo taking over as coach, Navy had just two 10-win seasons in 127 years of football (1905 and 2004).