Air Force Falcons vs Tennessee State Tigers Football Recap

Air Force 63, Tennessee State 24

Saturday afternoon, one last glorified scrimmage unfolded in the 2011 college football season. One hopes that the Air Force Falcons got their mistakes out of the way and trimmed off their rough edges, because their season now shifts into high gear. The boys with the lightning bolts on their helmets struck early and often against a Football Championship Subdivision foe, but they won’t enjoy such smooth sledding over the next two months.

This game wasn’t expected to be close, and despite Air Force fumbling twice near the goal line, the Falcon offense was much too overwhelming for Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon in Colorado Springs. Air Force piled up 792 yards of total offense on its way to a 63-24 victory that closed the book on the month of September and set up the stretch that will define this team’s season, one way or another.

The Falcon offense showed some balance early, with Tim Jefferson mixing in 25 passing yards on Air Force’s opening score. Tennessee State made a pretense that they would keep it close when Michael German hit Calvin McNairl for an 80-yard touchdown pass midway through the first to cut the deficit to 14-7. A missed field goal at the end of the first for Air Force kept the game close, but not for long. Early in the second quarter, Jefferson fired to Mikel Hunter for a 34-yard touchdown strike—a feat he replicated near the end of the quarter, finding Jonathan Warzeka for a 34-yard touchdown to make the halftime score 35-10.

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The total yard tally ended at 792 to 394, with Air Force giving up more yards than it likely wanted to against an FCS opponent. Jefferson did plenty of damage through the air, going 11-of-13 for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Jefferson’s ability to pass the ball is what will give Air Force a good chance to hit big-play gold against similarly matched opponents. Teams that use run-first offenses have to be able to break tendencies in order to win big-boy football games.

Yet, at the end of the day, there was no getting around the fact that against Tennessee State, the Air Force option attack won the day, with a whopping 15 different rushers accumulating 595 rushing yards. Asher Clark led the way with 148 yards on 13 carries. Trabis Ward ran for 98 yards for the Tigers in the loss.

Air Force now begins a grueling four-game stretch that includes Notre Dame, San Diego State, and Boise State, by traveling to Navy in the year’s first Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy matchup.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer