Air Force wins 20-3 defensive battle against Army

  • Published
  • By John Van Winkle
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Two touchdowns by Falcons tight end Garrett Griffin tipped the scoring balance for a 20-3 Air Force win over Army, Nov. 7.

The first quarter was a scoreless battle for field position, with Army's punt coverage putting the Falcons behind their 25-yard line three times in the first half.

Falcons head coach Troy Calhoun expected a struggle.

"I thought there was a good chance that could be the case," he said. "I thought Army played pretty well upfront on both sides of the ball. It was just one of those games -- bone on bone -- the whole way."

The Falcons started to win the field possession battle with several drives and managed to get kicker Luke Strebel into scoring range in the second quarter. Strebel nailed a 22-yard attempt to put the Falcons up 3-0.

After another defensive stop on defense, the Falcons offense sustained a drive to hit paydirt by taking to the air. Senior quarterback Karson Roberts connected on a 57-yard pass to Garrett Brown to move the chains deep into Army territory. Several runs by fullback D.J. Johnson, tailback Ben Washington and wide receiver Tyler Williams, took the defenders' minds away from the passing attack, allowing Griffin to slip past the line of scrimmage and haul in a 3-yard touchdown pass from Roberts. Strebel's kick put the Falcons up 10-0 for the game-deciding score.
 
The second half saw repeat performances from the Falcons, with Strebel adding another field goal and Roberts connecting with Griffin for a 23-yard touchdown pass to keep the game out of reach for Army.

Defensively, the Falcons won the battle in the trenches to smother Army's attempts at offense, limiting the Black Knights to 169 yards of total offense, nine first downs and a 3-of-14 third down conversion rate.

"They outplayed us, they did a good job getting off blocks and we couldn't sustain blocks," said West Point head coach Jeff Monken.

Army held the line firm when it came to defense, holding Air Force's high-octane offense to 14 first downs and a season-low 196 yards rushing yards. But 156 yards passing by senior quarterback Karson Roberts tipped the score in Air Force's favor, thanks to Griffin and other receivers beating single coverage.

"Our defense played tough but we gave up some big plays," said Monken. "They were also doing a good job running the fullback, cutting it back behind the nose. They held onto the ball and did some nice things sustaining their drives."

Once the game was over, players, cadets and staff joined each team during the singing of each team's song. After the last song, the distinct cry of "Sink Navy" rang out from fans, highlighting the game's implications for the coveted Commander-In-Chief's Trophy.

The Army-Navy game is Dec. 12. If Army sinks Navy (7-1), the resulting three-way tie between the service academies would allow Air Force to retain the trophy for a series-record 20th year. If Navy beats Army, the Midshipmen would win the trophy for the 15th time. 

Air Force's 20-3 win over Army advances the Falcons to 6-3 on the season and second place in the Mountain Division of the Mountain Conference. The Falcons' remaining three games are against the Mountain Division's top teams and bowl contenders, and will shape the conference's championship and bowl pictures.

Air Force will next host Utah State (5-4), and then hit the road to play Mountain Division leader Boise State (7-2) and finish out at New Mexico (5-4).

The Falcon's sixth win makes the team bowl-eligible. Bowl eligibility doesn't guarantee a bowl invitation, but Air Force has a reputation of travelling well, which makes the Falcons more attractive to the respective bowls. The Mountain West has agreements with seven bowls: the Las Vegas and New Mexico bowls on Dec. 19; the Idaho Potato bowl, Dec. 22; the San Diego bowl, Dec. 23; the Hawai'i bowl, Dec. 24; and the Armed Forces and Arizona bowls, Dec. 29.

Brigham Young University has a contract to take the Mountain West's slot in either the Las Vegas or Hawai'i bowls this season, and take the other bowl in 2019 if the team is bowl-eligible that season. The Cougars advanced to 7-2 after a 17-16 win over San Jose State on Nov. 6 and should be expected to land a bid from the Las Vegas or Hawaii bowls.

An invitation to a College Football Playoff bowl would normally muddle the conference's bowl picture, but the Mountain West's eventual champion will have a minimum of two losses, limiting the possibility of an extra bowl game for the conference.

Army's loss to Air Force also clarifies one part of the Mountain West's post-season. Army was slated to go to the San Diego bowl and face a Mountain West team, if bowl-eligible. The Black Knights fell to 2-7 with their loss to Air Force and are now out of bowl contention. Despite that, count on Air Force fans to be rooting for Army to sink Navy on Dec. 12.