Air Force Falcons vs Colorado State Rams Football Recap

Air Force 49, Colorado State 27

Now this was more like it. After weeks upon weeks of ringing up big yardage numbers but comparatively scant point totals, the Air Force Falcons finally lit up a scoreboard and enabled their offensive prowess to translate into a prolific afternoon between the painted white lines.

Yes, after scoring just 20 points against Wyoming and only 14 points against Navy, forcing 290- and 300-yard rushing efforts to amount to very little on the gridiron, the Air Force Academy began to resemble something much more akin to a fighter jet on Saturday afternoon in Colorado Springs. The crowd in attendance at Falcon Stadium was finally able to revel in the fun of a 49-point joyride. The Air Force student body was finally able to do lots of repetitions of push-ups in the best of the military tradition. Many officers-in-training, the leaders of tomorrow’s America, were able to acquire new dimensions of physical fitness at long last. Yes, with Air Force stacking one seven-point score on top of another, this impressive season of academy football reached a new zenith of quality.

Just how good was Air Force’s offense in this 22-point demolition of the visiting Colorado State Rams? First, consider the fact that coach Troy Calhoun’s AFA offense achieved a substantial degree of balance. More to the point, though, that balance wasn’t empty or idle balance; it really did throw the Rams into a state of perpetual confusion.

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When Coach Steve Fairchild’s CSU crew expected what everyone came to see – Air Force’s wishbone attack in full rhythm on the ground – the academy threw the Rams a curveball. AFA quarterback Tim Jefferson completed passes of 51, 39, and 24 yards to propel the Falcons to some of their seven touchdowns on the day. Because of those strikes through the air, Colorado State became more concerned with the pass.

Placed on a pendulum by the Falcons, the Rams were then vulnerable to the old-time Air Force religion on the ground. The academy football squad gashed CSU for 248 rushing yards, with Asher Clark accumulating 125 of those yards for the Falcons on just 17 carries. With Clark averaging 7.4 yards per carry, CSU simply couldn’t find the answers needed to bottle up Air Force’s relentless offense.

As a result of Air Force’s mixture of run and pass – 248 yards on the ground, 185 in the air – the Falcons were able to convert 8-of-11 third downs and score their 49 points in just over 22 minutes. Proving that time of possession certainly can be one of the more overrated statistics in football (it isn’t always so, but it was on this day), the Falcons made sure that their work was carried out as efficiently as possible.

Utah and TCU rule the roost in the Mountain West, but with the way Air Force is playing, the Falcons will have a very legitimate shot at both the Utes and Horned Frogs. If the academy can continue to finish drives and not settle for three points in the red zone, the Utah/TCU axis could get broken up by the boys from Colorado Springs.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer