2008 Bell
Armed Forces Bowl
Air Force (8-4) vs. Houston (7-5)
Dec. 31, 12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Payout:
$750,000 Location: Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort
Worth TX
-
2008 Armed Forces Bowl
Player Profiles, Histories, & More
 |
|
National
Rankings |
|
Air
Force |
Houston |
|
Total Offense |
|
71st 348.83 ypg |
1st 575.08 ypg |
|
Total Defense |
|
45th 335.33 ypg |
102nd 418.58 ypg |
|
Scoring Offense |
|
54th 26.67 ppg |
10th 41.17 ppg |
|
Scoring Defense |
|
33rd 21.25 ppg |
92nd 31.17 ppg |
|
Run Offense |
|
5th 268.92 ypg |
49th 161 ypg |
|
Run Defense |
|
57th 139.75 ypg |
90th 169.50 ypg |
|
Pass Offense |
|
117th 79.92 ypg |
2nd 414.08 ypg |
|
Pass Defense |
|
43rd 195.58 ypg |
95th 249.08 ypg |
|
Turnover Margin |
|
10th 1.00 |
85th -0.42 |
|
Air Force
So Utah W 41-7
at Wyoming W 23-3
at Houston W 31-28
Utah L 30-23
Navy L 33-27
at SDSU W 35-10
at UNLV W 29-28
N Mexico W 23-10
at Army W 16-7
Col St W 38-17
BYU L 38-24
at TCU L 44-10 |
Houston
Southern W 55
at Okla St L 56-37
Air Force L 31-28
at Col St L 28-25
at E Carolina W 41-24
UAB W 45-20
at SMU W 44-38
at Marshall L 37-23
Tulane W 42-14
Tulsa W 70-30
UTEP W 42-37
at Rice L 56-42 |
|
Position
Ratings
relative to each
other |
|
AF |
5
highest
1 lowest |
H |
|
3.5 |
Quarterbacks |
5 |
|
4.5 |
RBs |
4 |
|
1.5 |
Receivers |
5 |
|
4 |
O
Line |
3 |
|
3.5 |
D
Line |
2 |
|
3.5 |
Linebackers |
2.5 |
|
3 |
Secondary |
2 |
|
3.5 |
Spec
Teams |
2 |
|
5 |
Coaching |
4 |
|
By
Richard Cirminiello
Is it true that it’s tough to
beat a second time in the same
year, or just some urban legend?
Having already beaten a Houston
team that was displaced by
Hurricane Ike, Air Force will
test that old adage in Fort
Worth.
Both the Cougars and Falcons are
very different teams than when
they met back on Sept. 13 in
Dallas. After starting slowly,
Houston has come around under
first-year head coach Kevin
Sumlin, winning six of the last
eight games and scoring at least
40 points in all but one. Many
of the underclassmen, who looked
lost three months ago, are now
key contributors, especially at
wide receiver. Sumlin almost
delivered immediately on his vow
to bring championships to
Houston before losing the
regular season finale to Rice.
To get over the hump, he’ll need
to get a little more out of a
defense that routinely
disappeared at the worst
possible time. Oh, it would also
help to finally win a bowl game.
The Cougs have lost eight
straight in the postseason,
dating back to 1980.
Houston has a different look
since September, but it’s not
alone. Air Force head coach Troy
Calhoun made a bold mid-season
move when he turned his
backfield over to a pair of true
freshmen, QB Tim Jefferson and
RB Asher Clark. While there’s
been a typical learning curve
for both rookies, the moves have
to be hailed as successes. The
Falcons invested in their future
without sacrificing the present.
No matter what happens in
December, the month will be a
success if Calhoun is still with
the Academy. After leading Air
Force to 17 wins in his first
two seasons, he’s made it to the
short of many athletic directors
looking for new head coaches.
The Falcons are appearing in
back-to-back bowl games for the
first time in a decade, but
still have a way to go before
catching Mountain West bullies,
Utah, TCU and BYU.
Players to watch:
A tweak or two in the starting
lineup is not the only thing to
change at Air Force. The Falcons
have also welcomed back two keys
offensive players that weren’t
available in the first meeting
TE Travis Dekker and Z
receiver Ty Paffett.
Dekker is an outstanding
pass-catching tight end, who’ll
enjoy an edge over the Houston
linebackers. Paffett is one of
those undersized, versatile
Falcon players, who can be used
as a receiver or as a back
taking handoffs on misdirection
plays. The additional options
will benefit Jefferson in the
first start of his career. He’ll
find plenty of empty space
against a Cougar team that can’t
stop the run and is 102nd
nationally in total defense.
Houston’s prize on that side of
the ball, Conference USA sack
leader Phillip Hunt, will
be neutralized by Air Force’s
commitment to the run.
Houston QB Case Keenum
spent 12 games showing the new
coaching staff that he was an
ideal fit for Sumlin’s wide-open
offense. He flourished at the
expense of Conference USA
defenses, accounting for 48
touchdowns and just under 5,000
yards of total offense. He’s
gotten an assist from a couple
of freshmen, leading rusher
Bryce Beall and leading
receiver Tyron Carrier.
Beall has added a new dimension
to the attack, running for more
than 1,000 yards, despite not
becoming the feature back until
the fourth game. Carrier is a
little guy with a knack for
getting lost in the creases of a
defense. He takes 75 catches and
a streak of three straight
100-yard receiving games into
the postseason.
Keenum’s biggest challenges will
be avoiding the rush of DE
Jake Paulson and the chests
of DBs Reggie Rembert and
Chris Thomas. Paulson
leads an underrated and
unheralded defense with 14
tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.
Thomas and Rembert are a couple
of terrific athletes, who’ll
have their hands trying to
control the wave of Cougar
receivers who’ll be running
patterns.
Air Force will win if...
it rushes for more than 250
yards. The Falcons did it seven
times last fall and won six of
those games. Air Force is not
going to shut down the Houston
offense the old-fashioned way.
The Cougars are just playing too
well on that side of the ball.
Instead, the Falcons must play
keep-away, running Jefferson,
Clark, and Todd Newell at
a Houston D that’s soft on the
interior and prone to getting
blown off the ball by opponents
that commit to the run. If Air
Force can slow down the tempo of
the game and control the clock,
it’ll completely take the
Cougars out of their rhythm.
Houston will win if... it
can lure the Falcons into a
track meet. The Cougars are at
their most dangerous when the
scoreboard is changing like a
pinball machine. Heck, it’s the
Armed Forces Bowl, and few
schools are armed with more
heavy artillery than Houston,
which leads the nation in total
offense. Keenum needs to have
the ball in his hands as often
as possible, which means the
defense will have to make a stop
or two along the way. If Keenum
is allowed to operate and get
the ball in the hands of his
playmakers, Air Force won’t be
able to keep pace in that type
of a game.
What will happen: It’s
true. It is difficult beating
the same team twice in the same
year. At least that’s what
Houston will prove for one
afternoon in Fort Worth. Both
teams will move the ball
liberally, but in a game that’ll
be dictated by the offenses, the
Cougars have the edge by a wide
margin, especially behind
center. Keenum will shine with
four more touchdown passes, two
to Mark Hafner, while getting a
big assist from Beall in the
running game.
Line: Houston -2.5
... CFN Prediction:
Houston 38 ... Air Force 33
-
2008 Armed Forces Bowl
Player Profiles, Histories, & More