Falcons to compete in Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

  • Published
  • By Dave Toller
  • Athletic Communications
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Falcons Football will compete in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Dec. 29 in Fort Worth, Texas, at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Air Force has an 11-12-1 all-time bowl record, including a 3-4 mark, under head coach Troy Calhoun.

The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl will be the Falcons' eighth bowl in nine years and its fifth trip to the Armed Forces Bowl. The Falcons defeated the University of Texas at Houston 47-20 in 2009; fell to the University of California at Berkeley 42-36 in 2007; the University of Texas at Houston 34-28 in 2008; and Rice University at Houston, 33-14, in 2012.

Air Force met the Cal Golden Bears (Berkeley) in the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl; a 42-36 win by Cal. Air Force is 2-6 all-time vs. Cal. The last Air Force win was in 2002 at Cal, 23-21. The teams first met in 1961 when Air Force won at Cal, 15-14.

The Falcons, Mountain Divisions Champions of the Mountain West Conference, are 8-5 this season after falling to San Diego State, 27-24, Dec. 5.

Offense
Air Force ranks third in the nation in rushing with 321.1 yards. Senior quarterback Karson Roberts and junior running back Jacobi Owens lead the offensive line.

Roberts stepped into the starting role after Nate Romine's season-ending injury. He's one of 12 quarterbacks in the Football Bowl Subdivision to rush, pass and catch a touchdown this season. Roberts set an Air Force record for passing yards in consecutive MW games, completing 20 of 33 passes for 550 yards and three touchdowns against Utah State and Boise State.

During the regular season, Roberts completed 70 of 134 passes for 1,446 yards and nine touchdowns, and rushed 674 yards for nine touchdowns.

Owens is an honorable mention All-Mountain West selection and the fourth player in Academy history with two 1,000-yard seasons. He rushed for 156 yards in the MW championship game to become the 11th Falcon to rush more than 2,000 yards in his career.

Defense
Air Force is 19th in the nation, allowing 337.1 yards a game. The defensive line features three first-team All-MW selections: senior defensive lineman Alex Hansen, junior safety Weston Steelhammer and junior cornerback Roland Ladipo.

Hansen led the team and ranked fourth in the conference with 7.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. Steelhammer lead the team with 80 tackles and five interceptions. His five interceptions ranked fifth in the league. Ladipo lead the league and ranked 15th in the nation with 16 pass breakups. He was second on the team in tackles with 74.