On Saturday afternoon, the Air Force Falcons arrived in Phoenix, three days ahead of when their opponents Washington were set to arrive.
This gave the Falcons a chance to get to work earlier and get settled into the Arizona Climate. Upon arriving the Team made a visit to the USO as well. On Sunday afternoon the team held their first on site Cheez-It Bowl practice.
The Falcons enter their matchup against Washington State at 10-2, having only lost to rival Navy and 20th ranked Boise State. Though they are the Air Force Academy, most of their attacking I’m done in the ground.
Their stable boast’s three 700+ yard rushers and 22 players with rushes this year for a combined total of 3,510 yards on the ground. That was good enough for 3rd best in the country as they averaged 292 yards per game on the ground. Though for the Falcons opponent, things are very different.
Cougar football is played a little different. Washington State will arrive by “Air” on Tuesday, and hope to continue with an “Air” assault on Friday in the Cheez-It Bowl.
Led by Senior quarterback Anthony Gordon, Washington State has thee most lethal passing game in the country. A 5,228 yard season total through the air, has Gordon sitting 6th in the NCAA all time for a single season. He sits just 605 yards away from the all-time single season record, which was set by B.J. Symons of Texas Tech in 2003. Gordon will need one heck of a game if he hopes to break that mark.
Though, don’t put it past the kid, he already threw for 606 yards against Oregon State back in late November. Now, with those numbers and a second in the Nation mark of 45 passing touchdowns, he isn’t doing this by himself.
Combined with a stout offensive line with the likes of right tackle Abraham Lucas and left tackle Liam Ryan, the Cougars have a impressive receiving corps. Brandon Arconado and Easop Winston Jr. Hi light this group as the teams two leading receivers with 900+ yards each. But the list goes on, with five more wide-outs that sit with 500+ receiving yards this season.
They will surely put the Falcons defense to the test, after allowing only 208 passing yards per game to opponents this season so far.
After the Cougars arrived, their first scheduled on site practice will be on Christmas Day.
Kickoff for the 2019 Cheez-It Bowl is scheduled for Friday December 27th at Chase Field with an 8:15 PM PST scheduled kick in Phoenix, Arizona.
Written by Adrian Beecher
