B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

[BDawg35]

B-DAWG FLASHBACK



EDITORS'S NOTE: The following trip down memory lane is from
the only other game in which B-Dawg had two runners with at
least 145 yards.

No contest
Memphis doesn’t belong on same field
with Wolverines, gets pasted by 80-3 score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — It was stat-padding time for Michigan Saturday in a college football matchup that should never have happened.

Memphis, ranked No. 96 out of 117 Division I-A schools, had no business taking the field against No. 1-ranked Michigan, as the final score of 80-3 in the Wolverines’ victory suggests.

The score was only 14-0 after one quarter before Michigan rolled up a dynasty-record 38 points in the second quarter to make a mockery out of the game. Back-to-back interception returns for touchdowns by preseason All-Americans Ernest Shazor and LaMarr Woodley were part of a 21-point outburst in a 48-second span early in the second quarter.

“At that point, I knew it was time to pad the stats,” Michigan coach B-Dawg said.

So junior halfback Jerome Jackson kept getting the ball … and getting the ball … and getting the ball.

Jackson carried a dynasty-record 35 times and rolled up 328 yards, 23 yards shy of his own school record set last season against Northwestern. Jackson had 106 yards on only seven carries in the first quarter alone.

Antonio Haines had the most rushing yards by a quarterback in any video game played by B-Dawg, carrying 13 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns.

Michigan set a dynasty record by carrying 69 times for 548 yards. Memphis had only 20 rushing yards on 24 carries and 170 yards of total offense, compared to Michigan’s 658. Six Memphis turnovers helped facilitate the rout.

Woodley was named national Defensive Player of the Week after a monster game in which he had 12 tackles, two for losses, one sack, two interceptions, a touchdown and one fumble recovery.

[BDawg35]

2024 SEASON, GAME 6


Air Force running back Marion Benjamin ran 25 times for 220 yards and a touchdown at Navy.

HEISMAN CONTENDER?
Mann's replacement has big game
in Air Force's triumph over Navy

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — There were gasps of horror among Air Force football fans when news broke that Heisman-contending running back Jared Mann was done for the season after only two carries due to an injury suffered in the 2024 opener.

After all, there was a significant drop-off in talent from the 91 OVR Mann to his replacement, 75 OVR sophomore Marion Benjamin.

But Benjamin has alleviated those fears, thanks to his ability to exploit his 93 SPD.

Benjamin could find himself in the conversation for the ... shhhhhhhh ... following his performance in the 23rd-ranked Falcons' 27-24 victory over Navy on Sept. 28.

Benjamin ran 25 times for 220 yards and a touchdown, boosting his season totals to 685 yards and six touchdowns on 110 carries. Also picking up the slack is senior Matt Howard, who was buried deep on the depth chart until this season. Howard had a 30-yard touchdown run, finishing with 39 yards on five carries. He has 259 yards and six touchdowns on 42 carries.

Howard is rated 82 OVR, making him technically No. 2 on the depth chart, but B-Dawg rolled the dice with Benjamin's SPD rating and has thus far looked like a genius.

"The thing you worry about with Marion is that he can't battle his way through traffic," B-Dawg said. "He has some surprising moments where he'll break a tackle or run someone over, but his meal ticket is what he can do when he gets to the edge. If the defense cooperates with the right alignment and our blockers execute their assignments, he is absolutely deadly when we run 'strong stretch.'"

Benjamin's 2-yard touchdown run with 8:42 left in the game broke a 17-17 tie after Air Force jumped out to a 17-0 lead late in the first half. It's the second straight week that things have gotten dicey after the Falcons built a big lead. Last week, their 27-3 lead got cut to seven points with 4:40 remaining before scored late to beat Colorado State, 51-37.

"We can't let off the gas," B-Dawg said. "I think we think we're better than we really are. The Fresno State loss should have been the wake-up call, and certainly blowing the 24-point lead to Utah State last season."

After quarterback Chad Rice threw his third interception of the game with 6:02 left in the third quarter, B-Dawg pulled him in favor of Brandon Blount. Blount was a steady presence, going 5-for-6 for 58 yards. He led the Falcons on an eight-play, 81-yard touchdown drive upon his arrival.

"Chad has bounced back strongly in the past when we've had to pull him, so he wil get the start next week," B-Dawg said. "As always, when you have a quarterback who has a tendency to give up the ball and his backup is as good as Blount, Chad will be on a short leash."

Blount is 14-for-16 for 117 yards and two touchdowns this season. Rice is 122-for-208 for 1,631 yards, nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

"I've hitched my wagon to Chad," B-Dawg said. "He's the guy I want setting a bunch of records."

After a Kyle Stegall field goal gave Air Force a 10-point lead with 2:59 left, Navy scored a touchdown with 41 seconds remaining to get within three. Brian Brown recovered the onside kick.


Matt Howard battles his way into the end zone.

AIR FORCE FALCONS at NAVY MIDSHIPMEN
Sept. 28, 2024	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#23 Air Force Falcons (4-2)	14	3	0	10	27
Navy Midshipmen (2-1)	0	7	10	7	24

Team Stats Comparison
	AFA	NAVY
Total Offense	386	308
Rushing Yards	44-280	38-173
Passing Yards	106	135
First Downs	22	19
Punt Return Yards	23	0
Kick Return Yards	111	119
Total Yards	520	427
Turnovers	3	0
3rd Down Conversion	5-9	7-15
4th Down Conversion	1-1	3-3
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-2-2	5-3-1
Penalties	1-5	0-0
Possession Time	19:12	16:48

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		AFA	NAVY
5:53	(AFA) R. Sampson 5 pass from C. Rice (K. Stegall kick)	7	0
:11	(AFA) M. Howard 30 run (K. Stegall kick)	14	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		AFA	NAVY
1:06	(AFA) K. Stegall 28 field goal	17	0
:13	(NAVY) B. Coleman 7 pass from T. Newell (M. Wilkerson kick)	17	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		AFA	NAVY
7:38	(NAVY) M. Jean 6 run (M. Wilkerson kick)	17	14
1:59	(NAVY) M. Wilkerson 29 field goal	17	17
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		AFA	NAVY
8:42	(AFA) M. Benjamin 2 run (K. Stegall kick)	24	17
2:59	(AFA) K. Stegall 33 field goal	27	17
:41	(NAVY) T. Sims 16 pass from T. Newell (M. Wilkerson kick)	27	24

AIR FORCE FALCONS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Brandon Blount 5/6 58 0 0 Chad Rice 6/12 48 1 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Marion Benjamin 25 220 8.8 1 Matt Howard 5 39 7.8 1 Chad Rice 8 11 1.3 0 Brandon Blount 5 6 1.2 0 Brad Tremblay 1 4 4.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD J.B. White 3 29 9.7 0 Ryan Sampson 2 29 14.5 1 Eric Peterson 2 23 11.5 0 Brian Brown 2 15 7.5 0 Marion Benjamin 1 6 6.0 0 Lamar Hunter 1 4 4.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Phillip Nicholas 1 0 Mark Fine 1 0 Nate Allen 1 0 Josh Watson 1 0 Brandon Mitchell 0 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Alan Richards 9 1 0 0 DeAndre McCollum 7 2 0 0 Daniel Andrews 7 1 0 0 Mark Monroe 6 1 0 0 Kory Williams 6 0 0 0 Nick Lindsey 5 0 0 0 Patrick Dowdell 3 1 1 0 Phil Riggs 2 0 0 0 Jason McGill 2 1 0 0 Jason Pratt 1 0 0 0 Matt Howard 1 0 0 0 Matt Payne 1 0 0 0 Kyle Stegall 1 0 0 0 Tim Mangum 1 0 0 0 Frank Sharp 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Kyle Stegall 2/2 3/3 9 33 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Team 0 0 0.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG J.B. White 3 108 36.0 48 Brian Brown 1 3 3.0 3 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG J.B. White 3 23 7.7 8

NAVY MIDSHIPMEN PASSING C/A YDS TD INT T.J. Newell 13/28 135 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jason McClain 22 98 4.4 0 T.J. Newell 14 62 4.4 0 Marcus Jean 2 13 6.5 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD John Rucker 4 40 10.0 0 Brian Coleman 4 35 8.8 1 Jason McClain 2 26 13.0 0 Tyrone Sims 1 16 16.0 1 Marcus Jean 1 10 10.0 0 Kyle Wiggins 1 8 8.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Alex Brown 5 0 Jeremy Williams 2 0 Tyrone Sims 2 0 John Rucker 2 0 Connor Ford 2 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Jared Leach 9 1 0 0 David James 6 1 0 1 Avery Reddick 6 0 0 0 Robert Hicks 5 2 0 0 Rufus Terrell 5 0 0 1 Kevin Randle 5 4 1 0 William Pittman 3 1 0 0 Shannon Moore 3 0 0 0 Dan Wise 3 0 0 0 Julius White 2 1 0 0 Michael Harris 2 0 0 1 Simon Louis 2 0 0 0 Clay Adams 1 0 0 0 Jason Booker 1 0 0 0 Andre McNeal 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Maurice Wilkerson 1/3 3/3 6 29 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Paul Miller 3 127 42.3 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Brian Coleman 3 119 39.7 48 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Team 0 0 0.0 0

[BDawg35]

2024 SEASON, GAME 7


Marion Benjamin ran 28 times for 158 yards and five touchdowns against Utah State.

NOT THIS TIME
Utah State takes early 7-0 lead
but Air Force takes control in win

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The pregame headline from ESPN screamed, "The MWC mismatch of the week."

On paper, yes. Utah State was 0-6, while Air Force was 4-2 and ranked No. 18 in the nation.

But the Falcons weren't falling into the trap of overconfidence against the Aggies, not again.

This was the same team that stormed back from 24 points down last season to beat Air Force, a loss that no doubt cost the Falcons a spot in the national championship game.

"They had our undivided attention and we didn't plan to take our foot off the gas, no matter what the score was," Air Force coach B-Dawg said.

There was cause for concern when Utah State led 7-0 after one quarter, but the Falcons got their act together and used five touchdown runs by Marion Benjamin to beat the Aggies, 38-7, on Oct. 12, 2024.

Utah State marched methodically down the field on its first drive, going 63 yards in 13 plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 5-yard run by John Weber with 2:28 left in the first quarter.

"Shades of the second half of last year's game," B-Dawg said. "I was pretty nervous."

It turned out, the Aggies wouldn't score again the rest of the game.

Benjamin had three touchdown runs in the second quarter, the first coming on the first play of the quarter. He finished with 158 yards on 28 carries.

The performance moved Benjamin into the fifth spot on the Heisman hype list. Benjamin is tied for third in the nation with 11 rushing touchdowns and seven with 843 rushing yards on 138 carries.

"It looks like we will be featuring Marion in a bid to get us another Heisman," B-Dawg said. "We won't do it at the expense of trying to win a game, but when Marion does well, we do well."


Alan Richards scoops up a fumble by Utah State quarterback Nick Reid.

UTAH STATE AGGIES at AIR FORCE FALCONS
Oct. 12, 2024	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Utah State Aggies (0-7)	7	0	0	0	7
#18 Air Force Falcons (5-2)	0	21	10	7	38

Team Stats Comparison
	USU	AFA
Total Offense	305	378
Rushing Yards	30-132	39-196
Passing Yards	173	182
First Downs	19	22
Punt Return Yards	0	10
Kick Return Yards	0	45
Total Yards	305	433
Turnovers	1	0
3rd Down Conversion	5-9	5-8
4th Down Conversion	0-1	1-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2-10	6-5-1
Penalties	1-10	1-15
Possession Time	15:43	20:17

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		USU	AFA
2:28	(USU) J. Weber 5 run (D. Anderson kick)	7	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		USU	AFA
8:57	(AFA) M. Benjamin 3 run (K. Stegall kick)	7	7
3:03	(AFA) M. Benjamin 1 run (K. Stegall kick)	7	14
:19	(AFA) M. Benjamin 6 run (K. Stegall kick)	7	21
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		USU	AFA
5:51	(AFA) K. Stegall 33 field goal	7	24
:00	(AFA) M. Benjamin 1 run (K. Stegall kick)	7	31
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		USU	AFA
1:41	(AFA) M. Benjamin 1 run (K. Stegall kick)	7	38

UTAH STATE AGGIES PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Nick Reid 20/25 173 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Terrance Shelton 16 100 6.2 0 Nick Reid 11 26 2.3 0 Vincent Holt 1 3 3.0 0 John Weber 2 3 1.5 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Sean Ralph 9 86 9.5 0 Terrance Shelton 5 41 8.2 0 Brandon Griffin 2 12 6.0 0 C.J. Clark 1 15 15.0 0 Jorge Wright 1 9 9.0 0 Travis Tyler 1 8 8.0 0 Vincent Holt 1 2 2.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Sean Ralph 3 0 Tyler Madison 2 0 Michael McKeon 2 2 Michael McCloud 1 0 James Bonds 0 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Warren Mathis 14 1 0 0 Joe Brown 6 0 0 0 Lorenzo Pennington 6 0 0 0 Lance King 5 0 0 0 Sam Miller 5 1 0 0 Jammal Wilson 3 0 0 0 Bruce Williams 3 0 0 0 Kevin Gilliam 3 0 0 0 Jorge Wright 2 0 0 0 Lonnie Williams 2 1 1 0 Vincent Holt 1 0 0 0 Thomas Mayfield 1 0 0 0 Brian Fuller 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG David Anderson 0/3 1/1 1 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Michael Walden 1 45 45.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Team 0 0 0.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Team 0 0 0.0 0

AIR FORCE FALCONS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Chad Rice 15/25 182 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Marion Benjamin 28 158 5.6 5 Chad Rice 10 33 3.3 0 Matt Howard 1 5 5.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Brian Brown 4 44 11.0 0 J.B. White 3 52 17.3 0 Eric Peterson 2 43 21.5 0 Marion Benjamin 2 15 7.5 0 Ryan Sampson 2 13 6.5 0 Michael Freeman 1 10 10.0 0 Ryan Mueller 1 5 5.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Nate Allen 3 0 Brad Tremblay 3 0 Brandon Mitchell 1 0 Chris Holt 1 0 Jeff Gallagher 1 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT DeAndre McCollum 9 0 0 0 Kory Williams 8 1 0 0 Daniel Andrews 6 2 0 0 Ashton Hogan 4 0 0 0 Phil Riggs 4 0 0 0 Nick Lindsey 4 0 0 0 Alan Richards 3 0 0 0 Mark Monroe 2 0 0 0 Matt Payne 2 1 1 0 Patrick Dowdell 1 0 0 0 Fred DeLuca 1 1 1 0 Jason Pratt 1 1 1 0 William Davis 1 0 0 0 Scott McKenzie 1 0 0 0 Rush/McGill 1/1 0/0 0/0 0/0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Kyle Stegall 1/1 5/5 8 33 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Matt Jackson 1 30 30.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG J.B. White 2 45 22.5 24 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG J.B. White 1 10 10.0 10

[BDawg35]

2024 HEISMAN UPDATE



1. BOBBY PATTON, Penn State, QB, rSr., 96 OVR
2024 stats: 122-for-177, 1,823 yards, 21 TD, 2 int.; 76 carries, 355 yards, 6 TD

2. MATT WARD, Notre Dame, HB, Jr., 91 OVR
2024 stats: 125 carries, 808 yards, 12 TD; 17 catches, 157 yards, 1 TD

3. DARRELL RICE, Kentucky, HB, rJr., 84 OVR
2024 stats: 192 carries, 1,117 yards, 13 TD; 21 catches, 230 yards, 2 TD

4. TERRENCE HENRY, Virginia Tech, HB, rJr., 86 OVR
2024 stats: 117 carries, 738 yards, 11 TD; 7 catches, 46 yards, 0 TD

5. MARION BENJAMIN, Air Force, HB, Soph., 75 OVR
2024 stats: 138 carries, 843 yards, 11 TD; 17 catches, 103 yards, 0 TD

[BDawg35]

2024 SEASON, GAME 8


Air Force running back Marion Benjamin hauls in a 39-yard touchdown pass.

Reversal of fortune
After trailing early to New Mexico,
Falcons explode to win going away

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Well, that changed in a hurry.

A game which Air Force was losing 10-6 in the second quarter became a runaway when the Falcons scored two touchdowns 22 seconds apart and added another one 2:33 later in a 52-17 rout of New Mexico on Oct. 19, 2024.

It looked like Air Force had a real battle on its hands when a 19-yard pass from Anthony Rutledge to Erick Walton gave the Lobos a 10-6 lead with 6:21 left in the second quarter.

That's when Marion Benjamin started to look like the Heisman contender he is. Benjamin broke off a 51-yard touchdown run to get the Falcons rolling and hauled in a 39-yard touchdown pass on third down with 2:59 left in the quarter to make it a 28-10 game.

In between cornerback Mark Monroe scooped up a fumble by halfback Scott Carroll and took it 36 yards to the hosue just 22 seconds after Benjamin's long run.

The Lobos wouldn't score again until it was too late, having surrendered 46 consecutive points.


Heisman watch

Benjamin enhanced his Heisman candidacy by running 20 times for 131 yards and three touchdowns and catching five passes for 75 yards and a score.

The game didn't start out so swimmingly for the speedy sophomore running back, as he lost a fumble with 1:22 left in the first quarter. Air Force responded by getting a quick three-and-out.


One-sided attack

New Mexico came into the game ranked 124th in the nation in passing at 100 yards per game, so it's no surprise the Lobos were clueless when they had to pass to try getting back into it.

The Lobos were heavily reliant upon throwing screen passes to Walton, who had 12 catches for 67 yards and a score. The rest of the team had only 10 catches for 86 yards.


M*A*S*H unit

After losing halfback Jared Mann for the year early in the season opener, the Falcons have lost another player for the remainder of the schedule.

Wide receiver J.B. White suffered a season-ending torn rotator cuff after making a catch 57 seconds into the game.

"Maybe our guys aren't warming up properly," B-Dawg said. "Both of our season-ending injuries have come in the opening minutes."

Air Force didn't have a season-ending injury in this dynasty until this year.


Mark Monroe returns a fumble 36 yards for a touchdown.

AIR FORCE FALCONS at NEW MEXICO LOBOS
Oct. 19, 2024	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#15 Air Force Falcons (6-2)	6	25	14	7	52
New Mexico Lobos (4-3)	3	7	0	7	17

Team Stats Comparison
	AFA	UNM
Total Offense	500	276
Rushing Yards	44-281	27-123
Passing Yards	219	153
First Downs	24	13
Punt Return Yards	66	11
Kick Return Yards	81	151
Total Yards	647	438
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Conversion	6-12	4-14
4th Down Conversion	2-2	0-1
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	6-4-1	2-2-0
Penalties	0-0	0-0
Possession Time	21:47	14:13

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		AFA	UNM
4:58	(AFA) R. Mueller 1 pass from C. Rice (kick failed)	6	0
3:28	(UNM) P. Parker 47 field goal	6	3
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		AFA	UNM
6:21	(UNM) E. Walton 19 pass from A. Rutledge (P. Parker kick)	6	10
5:54	(AFA) M. Benjamin 51 run (R. Sampson catch)	14	10
5:32	(AFA) M. Monroe 36 fumble return (K. Stegall kick)	21	10
2:59	(AFA) M. Benjamin 39 pass from C. Rice (K. Stegall kick)	28	10
:05	(AFA) K. Stegall 25 field goal	31	10
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		AFA	UNM
6:26	(AFA) M. Benjamin 4 run (K. Stegall kick)	38	10
:21	(AFA) M. Benjamin 3 run (K. Stegall kick)	45	10
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		AFA	UNM
5:23	(AFA) M. Freeman 1 run (K. Stegall kick)	52	10
1:01	(UNM) S. Alston 14 run (P. Parker kick)	52	17

AIR FORCE FALCONS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Chad Rice 14/22 175 2 0 Ben Brittain 4/9 37 0 0 Brandon Blount 1/1 7 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Marion Benjamin 20 131 6.5 3 Matt Howard 6 56 9.3 0 Chad Rice 6 30 5.0 0 Brandon Blount 2 27 13.5 0 Anthony Kelly 3 16 5.3 0 Michael Freeman 4 13 3.3 1 Ben Brittain 1 6 6.0 0 Brad Tremblay 2 2 1.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Marion Benjamin 5 75 15.0 1 Ben Charles 3 23 7.7 0 Matt Howard 1 19 19.0 0 Eric Peterson 1 13 13.0 0 Michael Freeman 1 11 11.0 0 Nate Allen 1 10 10.0 0 Matt Humphrey 1 9 9.0 0 Brian Brown 1 9 9.0 0 White/Hunter 1/1 8/7 8.0/7.0 0/0 Ryan Mueller 1 1 1.0 1 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Nate Allen 3 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Mark Monroe 6 2 0 0 Matt Payne 5 2 0 0 Scott McKenzie 5 0 0 0 Daniel Andrews 5 1 0 0 Grant Hayden 4 1 0 0 DeAndre McCollum 3 0 0 0 Alan Richards 3 0 0 0 William Davis 2 0 0 0 Craig Hunt 2 0 0 0 Jason Pratt 2 1 1 0 Patrick Dowdell 2 1 0 0 Nick Lindsey 2 0 0 1 Paul Kenney 2 1 1 0 Kevin Leonard 2 0 0 0 Fred DeLuca 1 1 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Kyle Stegall 1/2 5/6 8 25 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Matt Jackson 3 115 38.3 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Mark Monroe 2 63 31.5 33 J.B. White 1 16 16.0 16 Michael Freeman 1 2 2.0 2 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Mark Monroe 2 26 13.0 15 Matt Humphrey 2 14 7.0 12 Ryan Sampson 1 26 26.0 26

NEW MEXICO LOBOS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Anthony Rutledge 22/34 153 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Stan Alston 2 42 21.0 1 Scott Carroll 8 38 4.8 0 Anthony Rutledge 11 30 2.7 0 Erick Walton 4 7 1.8 0 Andrew Payne 2 6 3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Erick Walton 12 67 5.5 1 Tony Sledge 2 32 16.0 0 Napoleon Anderson 2 18 9.0 0 Stan Alston 2 17 8.5 0 Scott Carroll 2 12 6.0 0 Chris Palmer 1 4 4.0 0 Erik Jenkins 1 3 3.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Aaron Wood 6 0 Keith Riley 5 0 Bernard Payne 4 2 Danny Parker 2 0 Michael McKinney 0 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Lorenzo Dunlap 8 0 0 0 Howard Manning 8 0 0 0 Ben Williams 6 0 0 0 Nathan Givens 5 0 0 0 Gary Hayes 5 2 0 0 Jacques Harris 5 1 0 0 Martin West 4 1 0 0 Tom Harrison 4 0 0 0 Adrian Williams 4 1 0 0 Roosevelt Woods 4 0 0 0 Lee Hall 2 0 0 0 Paris Parker 2 0 0 0 Daniel Stewart 2 0 0 0 Anthony Carpenter 2 0 0 0 Trent Stanford 2 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Paris Parker 1/3 2/2 5 47 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Eric Smith 5 210 42.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Napoleon Anderson 5 135 27.0 32 Andrew Payne 1 16 16.0 16 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Napoleon Anderson 1 11 11.0 11

[johnstone1987]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

That's it I'm buying a Matt Howard Jersey haha

[Careless Whisper]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

You've really seem to be hitting on these mid-to-high 70s overall, 90+ speed backs in this report. How does Benjamin compare to Remsberg?

[BDawg35]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

That's it I'm buying a Matt Howard Jersey haha

Or you could buy some Matt Howard autographed swag now that it's legal for him to make bank off his name, image and likeness. (Which I hope bodes well for the return of NCAA Football.)

You've really seem to be hitting on these mid-to-high 70s overall, 90+ speed backs in this report. How does Benjamin compare to Remsberg?

Remsberg topped out around 97 SPD. Benjamin is around 94, I think. Doesn't sound like a huge gap, but I felt much more confident sending Remsberg deep than Benjamin. I don't try motioning him out and hoping for mismatches nearly as much as I did with Remsberg. I think a big part of it is I've found other ways to move the ball since then. There were times in my first season or two that I was worried how I would move the ball once Remsberg moved on.

I still prefer to have a power back like Jared Mann to lug the mail. I get tired of seeing my speedy guys go down like they've been shot the moment contact is made.

[BDawg35]

2024 SEASON, GAME 9


Ryan Sampson is wide freakin' open in the end zone for a touchdown late in the first half.

REMSBERG CLONE
Speedy Air Force halfback dominates
on ground, as deep threat vs. Army

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Kadin Remsberg never really went away — he was just cloned and reinserted into the Air Force football program.

Coach B-Dawg thought he would never again see a running back do the things Remsberg did, simply because he'd never had one who was as dangerous as a deep-ball threat in his entire NCAA Football coaching career.

But sophomore Marion Benjamin is showing he is capable of doing Kadin Remsberg things.

In a performance that was Remsberg-esque, Benjamin scored three touchdowns on the ground and three through the air in the 13th-ranked Falcons' 63-38 victory over Army on Oct. 26, 2024.

Benjamin ran 25 times for 124 yards and caught seven passes for 186 yards. Benjamin, who has 93 SPD, caught scoring strikes of 85, 64 and 8 yards from Chad Rice.

"I've held back in throwing the deep ball to Benjamin, because he's just a touch slower than Kadin and we've diversified our offense since the early days of this dynasty," B-Dawg said. "We figured we could get a mismatch against some slow Army defenders and we also found ourselves trading touchdown for touchdown in the early going."

Army quarterback Chris Silva kept the heat on the Falcons with his legs, running 18 times for 193 yards and two touchdowns. His 9-yard run with 52 seconds left in the first half tied the game, 35-35, but Ryan Sampson's second touchdown catch in the final 1:17 of the half gave Air Force a 42-35 halftime lead.

An Army offense that ran for 260 yards and had 373 yards of offense in the first half was shut down in the second half, managing only a 50-yard field goal on the first possession of the third quarter. Benjamin scored the only three touchdowns after halftime.


Fast start

Mark Monroe got Air Force off to a quick start, returning the opening kickoff 100 yards for at touchdown 11 seconds into the game.

It was the first touchdown return for a touchdown in this dynasty, coming on Air Force's 334th kick return of B-Dawg's seven-year tenure.

"I kept waiting for Monroe to get angled toward the sideline by some defender who was off screen, but it never happened," B-Dawg said. "It's good to know it's possible to return a kick for six. I thought it wasn't actually possible."


Reliable mitts

While Benjamin was making the explosive plays, 77 OVR freshman Eric Peterson emerged as a reliable possession receiver for the Falcons.

Peterson made a 27-yard catch in traffic on third-and-18, a 38-yard catch on third-and-16, a 20-yard catch on second-and-11 and a 32-yard catch in traffic on third-and-10.

He finished with 146 yards on seven catches.

"He really saved our butts in pivtol moments when the game could have gone in an entirely different direction," B-Dawg said.


Marion Benjamin hauls in one of his three touchdown catches.

ARMY BLACK KNIGHTS at AIR FORCE FALCONS
Oct. 26, 2024	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Army Black Knights (5-4)	14	21	3	0	38
#13 Air Force Falcons (7-2)	14	28	7	14	63

Team Stats Comparison
	ARMY	AFA
Total Offense	448	571
Rushing Yards	36-317	40-153
Passing Yards	131	418
First Downs	15	22
Punt Return Yards	0	39
Kick Return Yards	57	234
Total Yards	505	844
Turnovers	0	1
3rd Down Conversion	3-9	9-12
4th Down Conversion	0-1	1-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-3-0	5-5-0
Penalties	0-0	1-10
Possession Time	13:20	22:40

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		ARMY	AFA
8:49	(AFA) M. Monroe 100 kick return (K. Stegall kick)	0	7
7:49	(ARMY) C. Silva 43 run (D. Barber kick)	7	7
6:49	(ARMY) C. Robinson 2 run (D. Barber kick)	14	7
4:11	(AFA) M. Benjamin 1 run (K. Stegall kick)	14	14
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		ARMY	AFA
7:33	(ARMY) K. Coley 15 run (D. Barber kick)	21	14
7:17	(AFA) M. Benjamin 85 pass from C. Rice (K. Stegall kick)	21	21
5:12	(ARMY) K. Coley 40 run (D. Barber kick)	28	21
4:18	(AFA) M. Benjamin 64 pass from C. Rice (K. Stegall kick)	28	28
1:17	(AFA) R. Sampson 26 pass from C. Rice (K. Stegall kick)	28	35
:52	(ARMY) C. Silva 9 run (D. Barber kick)	35	35
:05	(AFA) R. Sampson 3 pass from C. Rice (K. Stegall kick)	35	42
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		ARMY	AFA
7:49	(ARMY) D. Barber 50 field goal	38	42
3:58	(AFA) M. Benjamin 8 pass from C. Rice (K. Stegall kick)	38	49
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		ARMY	AFA
6:08	(AFA) M. Benjamin 1 run (K. Stegall kick)	38	56
1:16	(AFA) M. Benjamin 1 run (K. Stegall kick)	38	63

ARMY BLACK KNIGHTS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Chris Silva 10/15 131 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Chris Silva 18 193 10.7 2 K. Coley 3 58 19.3 2 R. West 4 26 6.5 0 C. Robinson 4 20 5.0 1 Q. Lewis 5 11 2.2 0 F. Connor 2 9 4.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD S. Riley 6 99 16.5 0 R. West 2 26 13.0 0 Q. Lewis 1 6 6.0 0 C. Robinson 1 0 0.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK M. Rowe 4 0 J. Pickens 3 0 W. Skinner 3 0 S. Riley 1 0 D. Leak 1 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT E. Jones 7 0 0 0 J. Harris 7 3 0 0 D. Jones 6 0 0 0 M. McDuffie 6 2 1 0 D. Rogers 6 0 0 0 E. Tate 6 1 0 0 K. Young 3 1 0 0 M. Jones 3 0 0 0 S. Richardson 3 1 0 0 J. Burks 2 0 0 0 M. Morgan 2 0 0 0 K. Simmons 2 0 0 0 J. Parker 2 0 0 0 A. Mitchell 1 0 0 1 T. Smith 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG D. Barber 1/1 5/5 8 50 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 D. Pettway 4 181 45.2 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG S. Alford 2 57 28.5 38 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG S. Alford 1 0 0.0 0

AIR FORCE FALCONS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Chad Rice 22/31 418 5 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Marion Benjamin 25 124 4.9 3 Matt Howard 4 16 4.0 0 Brad Tremblay 4 10 2.5 0 Chad Rice 7 3 0.4 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Marion Benjamin 7 186 26.5 3 Eric Peterson 7 146 20.8 0 Ryan Sampson 3 46 15.3 2 Brad Tremblay 2 16 8.0 0 Brian Brown 1 9 9.0 0 Ryan Mueller 1 8 8.0 0 Ben Charles 1 7 7.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Chris Holt 3 0 Phillip Nicholas 2 0 Marcus Fine 1 0 Josh Watson 0 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT DeAndre McCollum 10 4 0 0 Nick Lindsey 6 0 0 0 Alan Richards 5 2 0 0 Mark Monroe 5 1 0 0 Kory Williams 4 1 0 0 Phil Riggs 4 0 0 0 Tim Mangum 2 1 1 0 Nate Allen 2 0 0 0 Jason McGill 2 0 0 0 Jason Pratt 2 1 1 0 Daniel Andrews 1 0 0 0 Ashton Hogan 1 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Kyle Stegall 0/0 9/9 9 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Matt Jackson 1 31 31.0 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Mark Monroe 6 234 39.0 100 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Mark Monroe 2 39 19.5 27

[BDawg35]

2024 AWARDS SEMIFINALISTS/HEISMAN UPDATE



MAXWELL
2. Marion Benjamin, Air Force, HB, Soph.
2024 stats: 183 carries, 1,098 yards, 17 TD; 39 catches, 364 yards, 4 TD

WALTER CAMP
2. Marion Benjamin, Air Force, HB, Soph.

BEDNARIK
2. Mark Monroe, Air Force, CB, Sr.
2024 stats: 44 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 int., 1 FR TD

3. DeAndre McCollum, Air Force, SS, Soph.
2024 stats: 62 tackles, 9 TFL, 1 sack

7. Alan Richards, Air Force, CB, rSoph.
2024 stats: 46 tackles, 10 TFL, 1 sack, 1 int.

8. Kory Williams, Air Force, MLB, rSr.
2024 stats: 46 tackles, 12 TFL, 1 sack

10. Nick Lindsey, Air Force, FS, rSoph.
2024 stats: 44 tackles, 1 int.


NAGURSKI
11. Mark Monroe, Air Force, CB, Sr.

DOAK WALKER
2. Marion Benjamin, Air Force, HB, Soph.

BUTKUS
5. Kory Williams, Air Force, MLB, rSr.

THORPE
1. Mark Monroe, Air Force, CB, SR.
3. DeAndre McCollum, Air Force, SS, Soph.
5. Alan Richards, Air Force, CB, rSoph.
7. Nick Lindsey, Air Force, FS, rSoph.

BEST RETURNER
5. J.B. White, Air Force, WR, Soph.




1. MARION BENJAMIN, Air Force, HB, Soph., 75 OVR
2024 stats: 183 carries, 1,098 yards, 17 TD; 39 catches, 364 yards, 4 TD

2. DARRELL RICE, Kentucky, HB, rJr., 84 OVR
2024 stats: 259 carries, 1,491 yards, 16 TD; 33 catches, 376 yards, 4 TD

3. MATT WARD, Notre Dame, HB, Jr., 91 OVR
2024 stats: 154 carries, 1,027 yards, 15 TD; 18 catches, 161 yards, 1 TD

4. BOBBY PATTON, Air Force, QB, rSr., 96 OVR
2024 stats: 147-for-220, 2,060 yards, 21 TD, 4 int.; 88 carries, 399 yards, 6 TD

5. DON HARRELL, The U, QB, Soph., 81 OVR
2024 stats: 91-for-184, 1,221 yards, 11 TD, 2 int.; 106 carries, 642 yards, 8 TD

[BDawg35]

2024 SEASON, GAME 10


Air Force receiver Eric Peterson makes it across the goal line with the game-winning touchdown.

INSTANT CLASSIC
Air Force blows up ESPN Classic scale
with comeback victory over Hawaii

HONOLULU — Eric Peterson was the table-setter last week, making big catches to move the chains and ultimately allow his teammates to get all the glory of celebrating in the end zone.

Suffice to say, Peterson can have any woman he wants in Colorado Springs this week.

Peterson caught the game-winning 27-yard pass from Chad Rice with four seconds left and Marion Benjamin scored a gutsy 2-point conversion, giving No. 8 Air Force a 32-31 victory over Hawaii in a game that generated the highest ESPN Classic score ever in a game played by B-Dawg.

The game received an ESPN Classic score of 3,819 points. B-Dawg's previous high was 3,689 for a 53-52 victory for his Michigan team over Iowa in NCAA 2012. In that game, B-Dawg also went for two to win the game after scoring as time expired.

He's had only two other games eclipse 3,000 points: 3,083 for a 35-32 loss to Ohio State while coaching Western Michigan in NCAA 2014 and 3,043 for a loss to Louisiana-Monroe while using Western Michigan in an online game of NCAA 2014 against long-time rival Yragha.

"Great games are always greater when you win," B-Dawg said. "I'm not that guy who says it was a privilege to be part of a great game that I lost. That's for losers."

The chain of events that triggered a high ESPN Classic score began when Benjamin tied the game, 24-24, on a 2-yard fourth-and-one run with 2:14 left in the game.

Hawaii took a 31-24 lead on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Skip Franklin to Jason Fuller with 59 seconds remaining, then appeared to have the game in the bag when a deflected pass was scooped up by Quinton Lamb before it hit the ground for an interception with 47 seconds to go.

Even though Air Force had all three timeouts remaining, Kirk Herbstreit was already chalking it up as a loss for the Falcons and saying how they overlooked Hawaii.

Air Force made Herbstreit eat his words. Strong safety DeAndre McCollum ensured the Falcons would get the ball back when he stopped Andy Moody for a 3-yard loss on a third-and-six pitchout with 36 seconds remaining.

The Falcons got the ball at their own 35 with 28 seconds left. Rice locked in on Peterson for the entire three-play, 65-yard touchdown drive, hitting him with three straight passes. On the winning touchdown, Peterson caught the ball just inside the 3-yard line before getting himself across the goal line.

"I was sweating that one out," B-Dawg said. "I was seeing a repeat of the game we lost to Michigan this year where we had a guy tackled short of the goal line on the final play."

B-Dawg just wanted to end the game one way or the other, so he went for two points. Hawaii called three timeouts to ice the Falcons before the play could be run.

"That had me second-guessing myself," B-Dawg said. "I had too much time to think about it. They kept coming out with their players bunched up in the middle, so I'm confident we can score with a toss play, but their edge linebackers have been tough on that the entire game. It wasn't a gimme. We would have taken a delay of game penalty and probably kicked had their defense been more balanced."

Rice tossed the ball left to Benjamin, who hit the edge and dove across the goal line before outside linebacker Sean Broussard could cut him off.

The Heisman front-runner coming into the game, Benjamin was held to 43 yards on 21 carries and had only three catches for six yards.

Phil Riggs broke up a deep ball on Hawaii's desperation final pass from its own 25-yard line to end the game.


Strength vs. strength

Hawaii had the No. 1 rushing offense coming into the game at 284.4 yards per game, while Air Force's defense was ranked seventh against the run at 156.8.

Air Force usually wins those battles, but the Warriors' ground attack was too much for the Falcons.

Hawaii had 313 yards on 40 carries, with 84 OVR junior halfback Joe Lloyd running 10 times for 178 yards and two touchdowns and Franklin keeping it 24 times for 124 yards.

"Nothing worked," B-Dawg said. "We're just lucky they didn't give Lloyd the ball more, because he was an absolute beast."


Kory Williams scoops up a fumble that he took to the house.

AIR FORCE FALCONS at HAWAII WARRIORS
Nov. 9, 2024	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#8 Air Force Falcons (8-2)	7	10	0	15	32
Hawaii Warriors (6-4)	14	7	3	7	31

Team Stats Comparison
	AFA	HAW
Total Offense	409	435
Rushing Yards	30-86	40-313
Passing Yards	323	122
First Downs	20	16
Punt Return Yards	38	15
Kick Return Yards	145	16
Total Yards	592	466
Turnovers	3	2
3rd Down Conversion	6-11	5-10
4th Down Conversion	1-3	0-0
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-2-1	2-2-0
Penalties	0-0	2-10
Possession Time	21:35	14:25

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		AFA	HAW
5:17	(HAW) J. Lloyd 9 run (M. Woods kick)	0	7
2:34	(AFA) M. Benjamin 2 run (K. Stegall kick)	7	7
1:26	(HAW) N. Slaughter 17 pass from S. Franklin (M. Woods kick)	7	14
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		AFA	HAW
5:45	(AFA) K. Williams 69 fumble return (K. Stegall kick)	14	14
3:07	(HAW) J. Lloyd 80 run (M. Woods kick)	14	21
:01	(AFA) K. Stegall 26 field goal	17	21
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		AFA	HAW
2:14	(HAW) M. Woods 50 field goal	17	24
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		AFA	HAW
2:14	(AFA) M. Benjamin 2 run (K. Stegall kick)	24	24
:59	(HAW) J. Fuller 35 pass from S. Franklin (M. Woods kick)	24	31
:04	(AFA) E. Peterson 27 pass from C. Rice (M. Benjamin run)	32	31

AIR FORCE FALCONS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Chad Rice 25/35 323 1 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Marion Benjamin 21 43 2.0 2 Chad Rice 7 39 5.5 0 Matt Howard 1 5 5.0 0 Ben Charles 1 -1 -1.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Eric Peterson 8 162 20.3 1 Ryan Sampson 4 40 10.0 0 Brian Brown 3 27 9.0 0 Marion Benjamin 3 6 2.0 0 Lamar Hunter 2 27 13.5 0 Ryan Mueller 2 24 12.0 0 Ben Charles 2 17 8.5 0 Nate Allen 1 20 20.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Josh Watson 2 0 Phillip Nicholas 1 0 Chris Holt 1 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT DeAndre McCollum 9 4 0 1 Alan Richards 8 3 0 0 Nick Lindsey 8 0 0 0 Daniel Andrews 5 2 0 0 Mark Monroe 3 0 0 0 Phil Riggs 3 0 0 0 Jason Pratt 2 1 0 0 Jason McGill 2 0 0 0 Kory Williams 2 0 0 0 Brian Brown 2 0 0 0 William Davis 1 0 0 0 Ryan Sampson 1 0 0 0 Grant Hayden 1 0 0 0 Patrick Dowdell 1 1 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Kyle Stegall 1/1 3/3 6 26 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Matt Jackson 2 63 31.5 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Mark Monroe 5 118 23.6 32 Ryan Sampson 1 27 27.0 27 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Mark Monroe 2 38 19.0 25

HAWAII WARRIORS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Skip Franklin 9/16 122 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Joe Lloyd 10 178 17.8 2 Skip Franklin 24 124 5.1 0 Jabari Coe 3 14 4.7 0 Andy Moody 3 -3 -1.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jason Fuller 4 64 16.0 1 Andy Moody 2 35 17.5 0 Nick Slaughter 1 17 17.0 1 Joe Lloyd 1 4 4.0 0 Eric Kennedy 1 2 2.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Travis Irby 4 0 Nick Slaughter 3 0 Jason Hines 2 0 Randy Williams 2 0 Erik Slaughter 0 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Quinton Lamb 8 1 0 1 Dan Jefferson 7 1 0 1 Sean Chandler 6 1 0 0 Sean Broussard 5 0 0 0 Mike Williams 5 1 0 0 Seth Battle 5 0 0 0 Michael Herron 5 1 0 0 Brent Brown 3 2 0 0 John Franklin 3 2 0 0 Scott Harris 2 0 0 0 Ramon Rhodes 2 1 0 0 Gavin Taylor 1 0 0 0 Nick Bates 1 0 0 1 Mark Stone 1 0 0 0 Bobby Rivers 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Mike Woods 1/2 4/4 7 50 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Charles McNamara 3 126 42.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Mike Summers 1 16 16.0 16 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Nick Slaughter 1 15 15.0 15

[BDawg35]

2024 HEISMAN UPDATE/AWARDS FINALISTS



1. BOBBY PATTON, Penn State, QB, rSr.
2. MARION BENJAMIN, Air Force, HB, Soph.
3. DARRELL RICE, Kentucky, HB, rJr.
4. MATT WARD, Notre Dame, HB, Jr.
5. BRADY COOK, Missouri, QB, rSr.




WALTER CAMP
2. Marion Benjamin
2024 stats: 204 carries, 1,141 yards, 19 TD; 32 catches, 370 yards, 4 TD

BEDNARIK
2. Mark Monroe
2024 stats: 47 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 int., 11 def., 1 FF, 1 TD

WALKER
2. Marion Benjamin

THORPE
1. Mark Monroe

[BDawg35]

2024 SEASON, GAME 11


John Gaston of San Jose State returns an interception for a touchdown.

INEPT DEFENSE
Air Force can't stop a thing
in loss to San Jose State

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Air Force coach B-Dawg expressed the frustration of every video game player who has experienced NCAA Football Heisman mode on steroids.

"I should've just put the controller down, let the defense get picked randomly and just watch," he said. "I couldn't have done any worse. Attempting to play defense was an exercise in futility."

Probably not.

The Falcons' defense couldn't have done much worse than it did in a 48-33 loss at San Jose State on Nov. 16, 2024.

San Jose State quarterback Lamont McNair, an 81 OVR red-shirt junior, looked like Trevor Lawrence the way he picked apart the Falcons. He went 25-for-39 for 353 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He spread the ball to nine different receivers.

B-Dawg would just as soon never see the Spartans again. The Falcons have allowed an average of 44.3 points against San Jose State in three meetings, winning 55-45 in 2020 and losing 40-37 in 2021.

"Some teams are just bad matchups for me," B-Dawg said. "San Jose State is high on that list. I hope I never have to play them in a Mountain West championship game."

Things were going fine for one quarter for Air Force, which ended the opening nine minutes tied at 7-7.

San Jose State built a 21-7 halftime lead and led 42-14 after three quarters. A 70-yard interception return for a touchdown by John Gaston 41 seconds into the third quarter was devastating.

"We were feeling confident we could get back into the game if we scored on our first possession of the second half," B-Dawg said. "We go from possibly being down 21-14 and looking at a 28-7 deficit on a play like that ... it's a gut punch."

Despite the loss, Air Force is still atop the Mountain West's Mountain Division with a 5-2 conference record because second-place New Mexico lost 31-28 to Utah State.


Phil Riggs intercepts a pass for Air Force.

SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS at AIR FORCE FALCONS
Nov. 16, 2024	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
San Jose State Spartans (6-5)	7	14	21	6	48
#8 Air Force Falcons (8-3)	7	0	7	19	33

Team Stats Comparison
	SJSU	AFA
Total Offense	428	466
Rushing Yards	27-75	38-112
Passing Yards	353	354
First Downs	20	23
Punt Return Yards	0	22
Kick Return Yards	88	179
Total Yards	516	667
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Conversion	10-14	5-18
4th Down Conversion	0-0	6-7
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-2
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	5-3-2	6-5-0
Penalties	0-0	0-0
Possession Time	13:16	22:44

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		SJSU	AFA
3:55	(AFA) M. Benjamin 2 run (K. Stegall kick)	0	7
1:46	(SJSU) E. Pollard 20 pass from L. McNair (J. Davis kick)	7	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		SJSU	AFA
8:22	(SJSU) J. Scott 3 run (J. Davis kick)	14	7
2:39	(SJSU) M. Tillman 36 pass from L. McNair (J. Davis kick)	21	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		SJSU	AFA
8:19	(SJSU) J. Gaston 70 interception return (J. Davis kick)	28	7
4:09	(AFA) M. Benjamin 3 run (K. Stegall kick)	28	14
2:49	(SJSU) L. McNair 4 run (J. Davis kick)	35	14
:08	(SJSU) B. Bell 20 pass from L. McNair (J. Davis kick)	42	14
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		SJSU	AFA
6:18	(AFA) M. Benjamin 1 run (K. Stegall kick)	42	21
5:17	(SJSU) J. Davis 34 field goal	45	21
3:53	(AFA) B. Blount 5 run (run failed)	45	27
2:05	(SJSU) J. Davis 31 field goal	48	27
:29	(AFA) M. Freeman 1 run (run failed)	48	33

SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Lamont McNair 25/39 353 3 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Joshua Scott 11 50 4.5 1 Lamont McNair 16 25 1.5 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Brady Bell 6 91 15.1 1 Matt Baker 4 43 10.8 0 Jonathan Pittman 4 43 10.8 0 Bobby McCollum 4 70 17.5 0 Johnny Fellows 3 31 10.3 0 Martin Tillman 1 36 36.0 1 Eric Pollard 1 20 20.0 1 Brent Johnson 1 11 11.0 0 Joshua Scott 1 8 8.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Gemara Patrick 2 0 Sean Manning 1 1 Bryan Griffith 1 3 Kyle Brock 0 2 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT John Gaston 11 0 0 2 John Shelton 10 1 0 0 Sean Browning 7 2 0 0 Corey Hardy 5 1 0 0 Brandon Walter 4 1 1 0 Kenneth Brown 4 0 0 0 Leo Gaston 4 0 0 0 Brady Chandler 4 0 0 0 William Pace 4 0 0 0 Dan Jones 3 0 0 0 Jerry McClellan 3 1 0 0 John Doty 2 2 2 0 A.J. Smith 2 0 0 0 Kevin Ware 1 0 0 0 Eric Tucker 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Jerry Davis 2/2 6/6 12 34 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Charlie Smith 2 83 41.5 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Johnny Fellows 2 60 30.0 32 Brandon Walter 1 21 21.0 21 Johnson/Bell 1/1 5/2 5.0/2.0 5/2 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Team 0 0 0.0 0

AIR FORCE FALCONS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Brandon Blount 13/21 224 0 1 Chad Rice 13/28 130 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Marion Benjamin 22 65 2.9 3 Chad Rice 4 23 5.8 0 Matt Howard 3 16 5.3 0 Michael Freeman 3 3 1.0 1 Brandon Blount 5 3 0.6 1 Brad Tremblay 1 2 2.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Eric Peterson 8 133 16.6 0 Ryan Sampson 5 65 13.0 0 Brian Brown 4 83 20.8 0 Marion Benjamin 3 6 2.0 0 Ben Charles 2 31 15.5 0 Brad Tremblay 1 23 23.0 0 Lamar Hunter 1 5 5.0 0 Michael Freeman 1 4 4.0 0 Matt Howard 1 4 4.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Nate Allen 3 0 Brandon Mitchell 1 2 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT DeAndre McCollum 7 0 0 0 Nick Lindsey 6 0 0 0 Jason McGill 5 4 3 0 Kory Williams 4 0 0 0 Mark Monroe 4 0 0 0 Alan Richards 4 0 0 0 Grant Hayden 3 1 0 0 Ashton Hogan 3 1 1 0 Daniel Andrews 3 1 1 0 Craig Hunt 2 0 0 0 Jason Pratt 2 1 0 0 Patrick Dowdell 2 2 1 0 Phil Riggs 1 0 0 1 Matt Payne 1 0 0 0 Tim Mangum 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Kyle Stegall 0/1 3/3 3 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Matt Jackson 3 93 31.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Mark Monroe 7 179 25.5 41 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Mark Monroe 2 22 11.0 11

[BDawg35]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

Someone asked a while back who the coaches are at the various teams Air Force plays regularly, given how Navy's offense has changed so dramatically. Here are the coaches in the 2024 season:

Bryan Harsin, Boise State
Larry Fedora, Fresno State
Bob Davie, New Mexico
Doug Martin, San Diego State
Blake Anderson, San Jose State
Mike Bobo, Colorado State
Bill Bedenbaugh, Nevada
Ivin Jasper, Hawaii
Mike Canales, Utah State
Tracy Claeys, Wyoming
Chip Lindsey, UNLV
Jeff Monken, Army
Brian Ferentz, Navy

[BDawg35]

2024 SEASON, GAME 12


Defensive tackle Patrick Dowdell sacks Cornelius Felder.

REMATCH SET
Falcons get another shot at Fresno
after rolling past Wyoming, 37-10

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The competitive balance in the Mountain West Conference played into Air Force's favor.

There wasn't a dominant team that was simming victory after victory, allowing the Falcons to qualify for the 2024 conference championship game despite two losses in league play.

With a 37-10 victory over Wyoming on Nov. 23, 20th-ranked Air Force is returning to the title game for the third straight years. The Falcons are going for a third consecutive championship.

Air Force finished 6-2 in the league to win the Mountain Division. Boy-Z State was 5-3 and New Mexico was 4-4.

"You play in this league to win Mountain West championships," coach B-Dawg said. "We've put ourselves in a position to win another one."

To do so, the Falcons will have to find away to beat a Fresno State team that won a 55-42 shootoug with Air Force on Sept. 7.

"We need to find a way to play some defense, because we can't keep up with that pace," B-Dawg said.

The Falcons hope that the defense that showed up against Wyoming shows up in the rematch with the Bulldogs.

Air Force didn't allow a point until the Cowboys kicked a field goal on the final play of the third quarter. The Falcons were already comfortably ahead, 24-0. Wyoming settled for three after having a touchdown pass to Chris Lacey taken off the board because of illegal touching.

"Holding them to three was huge for our state of mind," B-Dawg said. "If they scored a touchdown and got the two-point conversion, it's suddenly a two-possession game and we're thinking about that blown 24-point lead against Utah State last year."

After Wyoming scored its only touchdown with 4:57 left in the game to make it 31-10, the Falcons created some controversy by throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Ben Charles with nine seconds left and going for a two-point conversion. The run was stopped.

"I remember them scoring a tack-on touchdown against us early in my time here," B-Dawg said. "They could've taken a knee. I never forget when teams run it up against us."

Kirk Herbstreit, for one, was appalled by the move.

"You can start to question the class of the coach here," Herbstreit said. "There was absolutely no reason to go for two here. They're trying to run up the score. I'm glad the defense was able to stop that conversion."


DeAndre McCollum intercepts a pass.

WYOMING COWBOYS at AIR FORCE FALCONS
Nov. 23, 2024	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Wyoming Cowboys (4-8)	0	0	3	7	10
#20 Air Force Falcons (9-3)	10	14	0	13	37

Team Stats Comparison
	WYO	AFA
Total Offense	261	407
Rushing Yards	21-38	41-215
Passing Yards	223	192
First Downs	14	21
Punt Return Yards	0	42
Kick Return Yards	53	44
Total Yards	314	493
Turnovers	1	1
3rd Down Conversion	3-11	9-15
4th Down Conversion	0-1	2-2
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-1-1	6-5-1
Penalties	2-10	1-15
Possession Time	10:54	25:06

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		WYO	AFA
6:12	(AFA) B. Tremblay 3 run (K. Stegall kick)	0	7
:54	(AFA) K. Stegall 35 field goal	0	10
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		WYO	AFA
3:51	(AFA) C. Rice 5 run (K. Stegall kick)	0	17
:23	(AFA) B. Brown 10 pass from C. Rice (K. Stegall kick)	0	24
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		WYO	AFA
:00	(WYO) J. Grigsby 40 field goal	3	24
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		WYO	AFA
5:50	(AFA) M. Benjamin 4 run (K. Stegall kick)	3	31
4:57	(WYO) N. Thurman 5 run (J. Grigsby kick)	10	31
:09	(AFA) B. Charles 4 pass from C. Rice (run failed)	10	37

WYOMING COWBOYS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Cornelius Felder 20/28 223 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jason Hobbs 6 26 4.3 0 Nate Thurman 4 9 2.2 1 Cornelius Felder 11 3 0.2 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Chris Lacey 5 79 15.8 0 Robbie Moore 4 53 13.3 0 Tyrone Clark 3 44 14.7 0 Jason Hobbs 3 27 9.0 0 Tom Coley 3 9 3.0 0 Nate Thurman 2 11 5.5 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Scott Lee 2 1 Robert Walters 1 1 Alex Flynn 1 2 Ricky Stanford 1 0 Cameron Hart 1 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT James Walton 14 2 0 0 Anthony Manning 9 1 1 0 Caleb Bell 7 0 0 0 Matt Williams 6 0 0 0 Will Bradley 5 2 1 0 James Thibodeaux 5 0 0 0 Jason Adams 4 1 0 0 Brett Berg 4 0 0 0 Rashad Kelly 2 0 0 0 Scott Larson 2 1 0 0 Donald Coleman 1 0 0 1 Joel Jones 1 0 0 0 Eric Horne 1 0 0 0 Bryan Jordan 1 0 0 0 Robbie Moore 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Jeff Grigsby 1/1 1/1 4 40 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Walter Huff 5 241 48.2 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Joel Jones 2 53 26.5 33 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Team 0 0 0.0 0

AIR FORCE FALCONS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Chad Rice 22/30 192 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Marion Benjamin 24 121 5.0 1 Chad Rice 11 65 5.9 1 Matt Howard 2 15 7.5 0 Brad Tremblay 4 14 3.5 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Ben Charles 5 38 7.6 1 Marion Benjamin 5 13 2.6 0 Eric Peterson 4 74 18.5 0 Brian Brown 3 22 7.3 1 Ryan Mueller 3 18 6.0 0 Ryan Sampson 2 27 13.5 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Chris Holt 3 0 Brandon Mitchell 1 0 Nate Allen 1 0 Phillip Nicholas 1 0 Josh Watson 1 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Daniel Andrews 6 2 0 0 Nick Lindsey 5 1 0 0 Jason McGill 4 2 1 0 Kory Williams 4 2 1 0 Alan Richards 4 0 0 0 DeAndre McCollum 3 0 0 1 Ashton Hogan 3 2 1 0 Phil Riggs 2 0 0 0 Jason Pratt 2 1 1 0 Grant Hayden 1 0 0 0 Mark Monroe 1 0 0 0 Patrick Dowdell 1 1 1 0 Tim Mangum 1 1 1 0 Scott McKenzie 1 0 0 0 Ryan Sampson 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Kyle Stegall 1/2 4/4 7 35 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Matt Jackson 1 65 65.0 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Mark Monroe 2 44 22.0 27 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Mark Monroe 3 42 14.0 18