Colorado State rams Falcons, 41-23

  • Published
  • By Wayne Amann
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AFPN) --  The only pretty thing about the academy playing Colorado State University Sept. 29 that many Falcon fans saw was the scenery lining the 110-mile drive along I-25 from Colorado Springs, Colo., to here.

Falcon fans who made the trek north to join the crowd of 26,711 fans at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium, and those watching on television, hoped to see the bluesuiters rebound after back-to-back losses.

Instead, they saw CSU quarterback, Justin Holland, and CSU running back, Kyle Bell, combine for four second-half touchdowns to turn a 16-13 third quarter-deficit into a decisive 41-23 Mountain West Conference victory for the Rams.

Air Force offense totaled 357 yards, but fumbled on two of its first three plays of the game. Adding to their woes, the Falcons converted only 3 of 14 third-down situations and failed to score on three consecutive second-half drives. This allowed the Rams to take control of the game. CSU wore down the Falcon defense which gave up a season-high 551 yards.

“There’s no excuse,” said Fisher DeBerry, Air Force head coach. “We got a good old (butt) kicking by a better football team tonight. What disappointed me most was we weren’t able to rush the football the way I thought we would. The two early fumbles dictated that. When you trade field goals for touchdowns, it’ll catch up with you.”

Trailing 7-0 on a Bell 1-yard touchdown run in the opening quarter, the Falcons needed 12 plays to travel just 15 yards before settling for a 37-yard Scott Eberle field goal.

Following Air Force cornerback Chris Sutton’s first interception of the season, the Falcon offense drove 58 yards in 11 plays, but once again stalled. Eberle’s 25-yard field goal closed the gap to 7-6.

After a Rams’ punt, Air Force took 10 plays to march 59 yards before settling for a 30-yard Eberle kick to go ahead 9-7, but its lead was short-lived.

CSU’s Holland needed just 58 seconds on the ensuing possession to cap an 88-yard drive for the Rams with a 27-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Luke Roberts. He broke out for five receptions and a game-high 123 yards against the Falcons. In three previous games, Roberts caught only three balls for 35 yards.

Trailing 13-9 at halftime, the Falcons started quickly in the third quarter when running back Chad Hall raced down the right sideline for 43 of his team-high 107 yards on 11 carries. On the next play, running back Chad Smith scored from 30 yards out. Eberle’s extra point gave Air Force its last scoreboard advantage at 16-13.

Holland answered with touchdown strikes of 19 and 23 yards to the Rams’ leading receiver, David Anderson, giving CSU a 27-16 cushion after three quarters. Anderson caught a game-high seven passes for 105 yards.

Bell, who rushed for a game- and season-high 197 yards on 32 carries, sandwiched fourth-quarter touchdown runs of 30 and 9 yards around Falcon fullback Ryan Williams’ 14-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Shaun Carney.

Despite the loss, Air Force still holds a 24-19-1 all-time lead over their intrastate rival.

That was little consolation, however, to an understandably dejected Air Force locker room. The players held a post-game meeting, conducted by seniors Jon Wilson and Weaver, who afterward said their message was clear.

“We can be as positive as we want,” Weaver said. “But if we don’t take the opportunities we get and make the plays that need to be made, we’re going to have a disappointing season.”

DeBerry put it another way.

“When you lose three games in a row you have to suck it up and regroup,” he said. “We’re fortunate we’ve got two seasons. The second, (the chase for the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy), starts this week at Navy.”

Air Force has captured 16 CIC Trophy titles compared with Army and Navy taking 13 combined.

With the loss, Air Force falls to 2-3 for the season, and 1-3 in conference play. CSU evened its record to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the MWC conference.