Air Force Falcons vs Utah Utes Football Recap

Utah 28, Air Force 23

The Air Force Falcons just kept coming at the Utah Utes in many more ways than one.

The Air Force Falcons just couldn’t finish drives, plays, or the team on the other side of the line.

As a result, the Mountain West’s game of the year – which will look a whole lot like the 2008 game of the year in the conference – is intact.

Utah managed to make it to the big show in Salt Lake City by first taking care of business at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs. The Utes weren’t pretty or terribly effective, but they did do something that Air Force failed to do: win. In a game like this, that’s the only thing that really matters.

Say this much about Utah: Coach Kyle Whittingham’s team played a mediocre game, and that might be putting the matter charitably. Air Force held the ball for only 23 minutes and change, a disadvantage of more than 13 minutes, but the Falcons were the ones constantly driving toward the Utah goal line. Air Force has played Utah close since 2005, winning once and losing by eight points or fewer on every other occasion. Unfortunately for AFA coach Troy Calhoun, his team played exactly according to script – it fought the Utes on even terms, but lacked enough to get to the finish line first. Had the Falcons merely taken care of the ball a little bit better, they might have prevailed.

It wasn’t that Utah turned Air Force’s five turnovers (plus two other turnovers on downs) into points. On only one turnover – an interception of AFA quarterback Tim Jefferson that was returned to the Falcons’ 18-yard line – did the Utes translate a gift into points. On AFA’s other four turnovers, Utah and quarterback Jordan Wynn didn’t do much with the pill. Utah was limited by Air Force’s defense to just 327 total yards, and Wynn tallied under 150 yards passing on a chilly evening in the Rocky Mountains. It took a strong dose of stingy defense from the Utes in order to hang on for dear life against the relentless but reckless challenger in the blue home jerseys.

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Air Force didn’t just fumble three times. The Falcons fumbled when they couldn’t afford to. Air Force lost hold of the pigskin at the Utah 9, the Utah 32, and the Utah 42. The fumble at the Utah 42 occurred when the Falcons’ hard-charging running back, Asher Clark, converted a fourth-and-two with a seven-yard burst, only to lose hold of the rock before hitting the deck. The ledger sheet therefore shows that Air Force went 0-for-3 on fourth downs, but it was really 1-for-3 with a costly fumble added into the mix.

Utah built up a 28-10 lead not because of short fields after Air Force turnovers, but because the Falcons’ defense stayed on the field for too many minutes. Once the academy held onto the ball, it scored; the Falcons posted 13 points in the final quarter and drove down to the Utah 41 in a 28-23 game, but the Utes stopped Air Force’s triple option on fourth-and-three midway through the final period. Air Force got the ball back one more time with over three minutes left, but the Utes’ defense denied still one more fourth-and-three in Falcon territory to seal the deal.

It was ugly, no question. However, the result is beautiful in the standings, and now the relieved roster from Salt Lake City can go home and gear up for big, bad TCU. It’s on.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer