NCAAF

Army Black Knights at Air Force Falcons

· NCAA - Football
3-6, 1-3 Away
Final
23 - 3
8-1, 4-0 Home

Army's swarming defense forces 6 turnovers in 23-3 win, deals No. 17 Air Force first loss of season

Bo Nicolas-Paul gets the interception vs. Air Force

Nothing like beating a rival to salvage — or jump-start — a season that hasn’t gone according to plan for the Black Knights.

Quarterback Bryson Daily ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns, Army's swarming defense forced six turnovers and the Black Knights knocked Air Force from the list of undefeated teams with a 23-3 win on Saturday.

Daily and the Black Knights entered as an 18 1/2-point underdog, according to . But they quickly set the tone with a dominant opening half in which they led 23-3. A stunned and staggered Falcons team never got on track in front of 52,401 fans at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.

“We kind of were overlooked for sure,” Army linebacker Leo Lowin said. “We haven’t had a great season. We saw this as a huge opportunity to turn that around, turn that in our favor."

The mistake-prone Falcons (8-1) had four fumbles, threw two interceptions, missed a 32-yard field goal and turned the ball over twice on downs as their best start since 1985 came to a halt. They entered the day as one of eight undefeated major college football teams.

“We had high expectations to come out here and win this game and we didn’t. So we’re very disappointed,” said Air Force tailback John Lee Eldridge III, whose team was held without a touchdown for the first time since Nov. 4, 2017, against Army. “We just didn’t go out there and execute on the small things like we usually do.”

Army (3-6) snapped a five-game skid and moved into the driver’s seat to hoist the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. The Black Knights need to beat Navy on Dec. 9 to claim the prize in the annual round-robin competition between the service academies. Air Force can retain the trophy if Army loses to the Midshipmen.

The CIC Trophy outright winner earns a trip to the White House and of course bragging rights.

Daily set the tone early with a 62-yard TD run less than two minutes into the game. He's been banged up but carried the ball 36 times.

“He’s just a tough kid,” Army coach Jeff Monken said. “You could hit him with a sledgehammer 36 times and he’ll get back up and he’ll go again. ... That’s just who he is.”

Lowin led a menacing defensive performance with 12 tackles, a sack, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. The Black Knights were constantly pressuring Air Force quarterback Zac Larrier.

The senior Larrier turned the ball over four times, including twice being picked off by cornerback Bo Nicolas-Paul. Larrier lost for the first time as a starter after tying the program mark for a QB by going 8-0.

The Falcons never got their nation-leading ground game churning. Air Force was held to 155 yards rushing, which is about 145 yards below the team's season average.

“We’re familiar with Air Force, we know what to expect from them,” Lowin said. “It just put us in a position to play as hard as you can.”

A second-half team all season, the Falcons felt if they could just march down the field soon after halftime, it could turn the momentum. They did, too, but missed a field goal midway through the third quarter.

“We’ve had a pretty good go of it for a while and yet you realize how hard it is to win,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “Credit to Army — played really hard, played really well."

THE TAKEAWAY

Army: The Black Knights have won three of the last four over Air Force. They trail in the all-time series 19-38-1.

Air Force: The Falcons saw their streak of 13 straight wins dating to last season come to an end. It matched the school mark set in 1984-85.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Air Force rose to its highest ranking in two decades, but will tumble — maybe even out of the poll.

THIS & THAT

The stadium flyover consisted of four A-10s. ... Colorado and coach Deion Sanders hosted Army for a practice this week in Boulder. ... Army kicker Quinn Maretzki was 3 for 3 on field goals.

UP NEXT

Army: Host Holy Cross next Saturday.

Air Force: At Hawaii next Saturday.

Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here

How To Watch

How can I watch Army Black Knights vs. Air Force Falcons?
  • TV Channel: Black Knights at Falcons 2021 College Football, week 10, is broadcasted on CBSSN.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Falcons: 88.0%
Black Knights: 12.0%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

ARMY TD 1st Period 13:06 Bryson Daily 62 Yd Run (Quinn Maretzki Kick)
ARMY FG 1st Period 9:42 Quinn Maretzki 45 Yd Field Goal
ARMY TD 1st Period 1:53 Bryson Daily 5 Yd Run (Quinn Maretzki Kick)
ARMY FG 2nd Period 13:14 Quinn Maretzki 40 Yd Field Goal
AFA FG 2nd Period 2:31 Matthew Dapore 30 Yd Field Goal
ARMY FG 2nd Period 0:00 Quinn Maretzki 38 Yd Field Goal

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/349.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originARMY https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2005.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originAFA
11 1st Downs 19
4-14 3rd down efficiency 5-14
1-2 4th down efficiency 0-2
253 Total Yards 259
40 Passing 104
4-9 Comp-Att 10-24
4.4 Yards per pass 4.3
213 Rushing 155
51 Rushing Attempts 40
4.2 Yards per rush 3.9
11-119 Penalties 6-55
0 Turnovers 6
0 Fumbles lost 4
0 Interceptions thrown 2
32:09 Possession 27:51

Game Information

Empower Field at Mile High

Location: Denver, CO
Attendance: 52,401 · Capacity:
Full Standings

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