Air Force Dominates Houston in Armed Forces Bowl
by bhsmarine on Dec 31, 2009 12:42 PM PST
in Mountain West Football
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The Air Force Falcons have redeemed last years loss to Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl in a big way with a dominating 20-47 victory. It was Air Force's highest scoring bowl game ever. The Falcons defense forced Case Keenum into a career high 6 interceptions and held the potent Cougar offense to only 331 yards on the day, by far a season low for Houston. Air Force lead in every facet of the game as they finish their season 8-5 and Houston at 10-4. With the Falcons winning it puts the Mountain West Conference at 4-0 on the bowl season with TCU left in the Fiesta Bowl.
Air Force ran for 400 yards on the day behind Jared Tew and Asher Clark who had 175 yards and 126 yards rushing respectively. Tim Jefferson played his most complete game of the year with 162 yards passing and 37 on the ground. Jefferson made the right reads in the triple option offense which lead to the success of the running game. The Falcons followed my key to victory for them as they controlled the clock and finished their drives with touchdowns only attempting three field goals on the day.
Houston did not follow my keys to victory for them and turned the ball over six times and only forced one three and out against the triple option. Houston only had the ball for 18:56 compared to Air Force's 41:04. The interceptions were really the problem as Houston couldn't keep and drives going and couldn't connect long due to windy conditions. Keenum had nine interceptions in 13 regular season games compared to his 6 today. The Falcon defense should get a lot of credit for slowing down an explosive offense. Anthony Wright Jr. had three interceptions to lead the team and Chris Thomas had 2 interceptions along with 12 tackles in a great performance.
Troy Calhoun did a great job getting his team ready for this game and it showed. With the scheme to keep Kennum in check along with some gutsy special team fake calls it was Air Force's best all around game this year. Air Force fans should be excited to have Calhoun at the helm as they head into next year along with their growing talent base.
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domination today
good job AFA
Yeah, I just stare at my desk, but it looks like I'm working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch too, I'd say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work. - Peter Gibbons
by norcaliangelsfan on Dec 31, 2009 1:43 PM PST reply actions
The way I count it, the MWC will be 5-1 no matter how the Fiesta works out.
I think that Boise’s inclusion is inevitable and that everybody is simply waiting for optimal timing. So I’m counting them as a MWC team now. They’re simply parasiting off the WAC for another year.
by David Hooper on Dec 31, 2009 3:31 PM PST up reply actions
Who Else Do We Add?
I just read that we need 12 teams to have a championship game, though I can’t vouch for the source. If that is true, who else should we add, or should we not worry about a championship game right now?
Fear the Frog!
I'm not sure.
Houston, SMU, Nevada, and Fresno seem to be the four most common names. I think that adding at least one Texas team for recruiting / viewership purposes would be necessary. That would also make for easier divisional alignments (TCU, New Mexico, UNLV, San Diego State, Air Force, plus the other Texas team; everybody else in the north).
Personally, I’d be happy with either SMU and Houston, as I believe that both will remain relevant in the future. Of course, adding both would allow for Air Force to be in the North, which I would like.
I like Nevada the least because they have practically zero fan support. A bad year or two, and they will be at risk of forced relegation to 1-AA due to attendance. (1-A requires an average of at least 15,000/game.)
I’m not really plussed about Fresno. They seem to have peaked. However, they would be a solid gain and would help with California ties for recruiting and viewership. That might be good.
So … SMU/Houston and Fresno? SMU and Houston? Either is fine.
by David Hooper on Dec 31, 2009 3:48 PM PST up reply actions
The thing about Fresno State...
…is that they have national appeal. They’re known as the program who will take on anyone, at any time. They schedule like the MWC likes (Big 6 programs) and would, at worst, add a competitive mid-level team along the lines of Oregon State in the Pac-10, Oklahoma State in the Big 12, and Arkansas in the SEC.
As is mentioned below, Fresno also strengthens the foothold in California which is a great recruiting state.
The knock on the MWC is that it’s not a “deep” conference. There’s TCU, Utah, BYU….then Air Force is solid…..Colorado State has potential…..Wyoming had a good season……then New Mexico, San Diego State, and UNLV.
You add a top-tier team in Boise State, another solid team in Fresno State, and then a Houston (which makes a lot of sense on a lot of levels such as TV market, recruiting, and balancing out the divisions).
You’ve a 12 team conference that stacks up well with any conference. Then the MWC should focus on a contract with any national network.
Finally, the conference should re-work their bowl tie-ins. The conference champion (if not in the BCS) currently goes to Las Vegas (against the Pac-10 #5), then there’s the Poinsettia (From 2010-2014 against a service academy or a WAC team), Independence (ACC 7), Armed Forces (C-USA), and New Mexico Bowl (WAC). If they expanded to 12 teams , they should seek bowls like the Cotton Bowl (against the Big 12) and a bowl in Florida (against the SEC).
The conference definitely deserves a better bowl line-up and a better television package.
I think you're right, though. 12 for a chamipnship game.
Does the MWC want one? I’m not sure, really. I don’t like the PAC-10 model all that much, but if adding Boise is all the MWC needs to force an AQ bid, then maybe they should stop there. I realize that championship games mean money, but I’d hate to add two more and then regret them later.
by David Hooper on Dec 31, 2009 3:51 PM PST up reply actions
12 is required for a title game
We all assume Boise (crossing my fingers), then I would want Nevada and Houston.
by Jeremy Mauss on Dec 31, 2009 6:19 PM PST up reply actions
Adding teams other than Boise would likely pull down our overall stats, so it would be better to expand by one, get the automatic qualification cinched up and then evaluate what teams would help the MWC expand its influence best after that.
I personally think SMU is going to try to use its traditional rivalry in all sports with TCU to gain support from the Frog higher ups to slide into the MWC, but thanks to SMU’s appalling 4 year record they won’t be added if we add three teams this next year.
Personally, I think Boise and Houston are the top choices, any other school we bring in will be a small gain, if any.
by HawkeyedFrog on Dec 31, 2009 9:23 PM PST up reply actions
good point
On waiting by just bringing in Boise. SMU has been so bad and they really do not really bring anything more then TCU does since they are in the same marker. Houston is obvious for TV and recruiting, Nevada is good to help bring a rival for UNLV and they are solid.
Nevada seemingly always gets a mention in these discussions, but… I really don’t see the appeal. Fresno State gets us into more homes in California which gives us broader recruiting bases in two of the big 3 recruiting states. Nevada… is ok in some things at some times? Not exactly what you’re looking for in the final school of a BCS conference.
Unless you’re in the Big 12. Hi Baylor!
!!!!News Flash MWC Expansion Announced!!!
Mountain West Conference Commisioner Craig Thompson announced expansion plans today. He stated that applications from schools wishing to move up to a better conference will be accepted starting on Monday. In related events USC, UCLA & Texas immediately expressed interest in applying for admission to the MWC.
What's Your Source?
The Mountain West Conference’s official Web site doesn’t say anything about expansion, Liberal. Where should I be looking for official information? (And, welcome to the site. I see you joined so that you could pass on this bit of information.)
Fear the Frog!
Funny!
Though they might turn down UCLA. ;-)
by David Hooper on Dec 31, 2009 3:35 PM PST up reply actions
Shame that Navy is on the other coast.
They’d be a great addition to the conference if they made any geographic sense.
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