Football: Utah downs Air Force 30-23

  • Published
  • By Maj. Don Kerr
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  The University of Utah scored on a 9-yard game-winning touchdown with 58 seconds to play giving them a narrow 30-23 win over the U.S. Air Force Academy Sept. 20 here.

The Air Force appeared to have the momentum when they scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Savier Stephens that tied the game at 23 apiece with 5:06 left. 

On third-and-11 from their own 30, Falcon quarterback Shea Smith completed a 37-yard pass to Kevin Fogler and then three plays later an acrobatic 29-yard catch by Josh Cousins set up a first-and-goal at the Utah 2-yard-line. After a defensive penalty, Savier Stephens barreled into the end zone on the next play, knotting the game at 23 and having the crowd of 36,952 sniffing an upset.

But the Utes did not back down, methodically marching down and scoring the go-ahead touchdown. Utah intercepted a pass by Smith with 53 seconds left to seal a victory for Utah, while handing Air Force its first loss of the season and its first home loss in eight games.

"They executed a little better than us today," said Falcon outside linebacker Hunter Altman. "We had a few mistakes that cost us. But they are a great team."

Air Force's defense turned in a heroic effort forcing two fumbles and an interception, and frustrating the Utes' quarterback. The Falcon defense also had five sacks.

"Utah is good, really, really good," said Falcons head coach Troy Calhoun. "They are strong at every position. They have tremendous quickness. They are certainly a squad that deserves to be in the top 15."

After not completing a pass in the last two games, Coach Calhoun didn't hesitate to come out throwing against one of the highest-rated defenses in the country. Smith connected on seven of 13 passes for 138 yards with two interceptions, with the last one coming at the end of the game. And uncharacteristically, it was the Air Force rushing attack that couldn't get on track, rushing for a season-low 53 yards on the day. The 53 yards is the second-lowest output since Air Force went to the option offense in 1980.

After a muffed snap that punter Ryan Harrison batted out of the back of the end zone, Utah held a 9-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Falcons were held to just three yards of total offense in the opening quarter.

The Air Force was held to -4 yards rushing in the fourth quarter and finished the game with 191 total yards. They now hold a 3-1 record, and a 1-1 Mountain West Conference record.

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