PHOENIX, AZ – Air Force capped off their first 11 win season in the last two decades with a 31-21 win over Washington State in the Cheez-It Bowl. The Falcons completed the job with their dominating running game, tallying 371 yards on the ground led by running back Kadin Remsbergs 186 yards on 26 carries.
Things started slow; however, they picked up after a scoreless first quarter. Air Force was the first to get on the board with a 98 yard 20 play drive that was capped off by a 1 yard TD run from quarterback DJ Hammon III. The Falcons ate 12:23 off the clock on the drive.
The Cougars answered right back with a 74-yard scoring drive, capped off by an Anthony Gordon touchdown pass to Dezmon Patmon. After two more Falcons scoring drives, Washington State closed out the half with a bit of momentum with a 55-second scoring drive as Gordon cashed in with a 5-yd TD pass to Max Borghi, with 24 seconds left in the 2nd quarter.
At the half, Air Force held the slight 17-14 advantage over WSU. Despite the close score, the Falcons were dominating possession, 21:59 to 8:01. They also led the turnover margin 1-0, and first downs 15-8. Remsberg had already tallied 91 yards on the ground off 12 carries.
In the 2nd half, the Falcons again continued to milk the clock. They opened with a 13 play 75-yard drive that ended in a 7 yard TD run from Hammon, eating 6:41 off the clock. This made it 24-14 with 8:19 left in the 3rd.
Washington State would get the ball into the red zone early in the 4th quarter as they still trailed by 10. However, on 4th and 2 from the Falcons 5 yard line, instead of kicking the field goal to cut it to a one-score game, the Cougars elected to go for it and were stood up.
The Cougars would get into the endzone on their ensuing possession. The score came on a 13-yard TD pass from Gordon to Arconado again to cut the deficit to three. However, the Falcons answered with a ten-play 60-yard drive that milked off 6:09 from the clock.
Washington State had the ball with 3:50 left to play, trailing 31-21. The problem, however, was their inability to move the ball downfield. After getting the ball across midfield, an offensive pass interference call would push them back to their side of the 50. WSU was able to get back across midfield. However, it came on a 4th and 23, and only accumulated 11 yards as Gordon connected with Easop Winston, resulting in a turnover on downs with 52 seconds left to play.
Air Force capped off the game with two final kneel-downs to seal the 31-21 victory. It marks the Falcons fist bowl win since 2016 when they beat South Alabama in the Tuscan Bowl. Falcons Head coach Troy Calhoun improves to 5-5 all-time in bowl games as head coach at Air Force.
Written by Adrain Beecher
