Ground attack leads Air Force to 31-21 victory in Armed Forces Bowl. Photo by Don Mooney
FORT WORTH, Texas – Air Force piled up 351 yards on the ground in its triple option attack to deny James Madison 31-21 in the 2023 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Saturday afternoon at Amon G. Carter Stadium. The Falcons won for the second-straight season at the Armed Forces bowl with a combination of its running game and a defense that racked up four sacks and an interception. Air Force also ran its bowl win-streak to five games.
Air Force churned out 351 yards on the ground despite facing the nation’s top-ranked rush defense of JMU (62 yards per game). Senior fullback Emmanuel Michel ran for an Air Force bowl-record 203 yards on 35 carries. Michel was named Armed Forces Bowl MVP for his performance.
The Falcons were the first team to surpass 300 yards against JMU since 2016 in their run-dominated offensive scheme. Emmanuel Michel rushed for 203 yards and two scores with the second-most yards on the ground in Armed Forces Bowl history.
JMU was limited to 283 total yards, 248 through the air, as Sun Belt Player of the Year Jordan McCloud completed 20 of 33 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Elijah Sarratt caught eight passes for 115 yards, going over 100 for the sixth time this season. Phoenix Sproles also had a pair of touchdown catches for the Dukes, making five grabs for 55 yards.
On the defensive side, Aiden Fisher turned in a career-best 17 tackles, including 12 solo, while Devyn Coles recorded seven stops with a career-high two tackles for loss. Jamree Kromah made a career-high eight tackles in his final collegiate game, and Jacob Thomas added seven of his own.
The game was tied 7-7 before Air Force struck for a pair of second-quarter touchdowns. JMU pulled within a score at 21-14 in the third quarter, but the Falcons essentially put the game away with two more scores on a field goal and touchdown to make it 31-14.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Air Force struck first on an 86-yard drive, boosted by a 54-yard run by Michel.
- JMU responded with a 7-play, 75-yard drive for the quick tie, capped by a McCloud 18-yard pass to Sproles.
- The Falcons took charge in the second quarter, posting a pair of scores and posting a 125-42 advantage over JMU in yardage.
- A JMU interception in field goal range led to the go-ahead score for Air Force on Michel’s second 1-yard touchdown run of the game.
- The Falcons doubled the lead just before half on a 42-yard pass from Larrier to Roznos with 33 seconds before the break.
- After a big fourth-down stop at midfield to start the third quarter, JMU responded with a quick 5-play, 51-yard drive, capped by a 5-yard pass from McCloud to Black to make it 21-14.
- Air Force struck right back with its rushing attack. Michel’s 31-yard run got it to the 1-yard line and Larrier kept it for the 1-yard score to regain a 14-point advantage after a 75-yard drive.
- The Falcons made it a three-score lead with a clock-draining 17-play, 49-yard drive that soaked up 9:45 off the clock and ended in a field goal to make it 31-14. AFA converted three third downs on the drive.
- The Dukes got a score back with a 12-play, 70-yard drive as McCloud connected with Sproles for the second time to make it 31-21. However, JMU’s onside kick attempt went out of bounds as Air Force ran out the clock.
GAME NOTES
- The Falcons outgained the Dukes by a 396-283 margin, including 351-35 in the run game.
- Air Force finished 8-of-15 on third down, going 4-for-5 in the fourth quarter alone, while JMU was held to 4-of-11 on third.
- Possession time was heavily favored in AFA’s direction, at 36:51 to 23:09.
- Teams combined for 7-of-7 in the redzone, with four scoring drives coming from Air Force and three from JMU.
- McCloud ended the season with 3,648 yards through the air, good for second in program history for a season and just shy of the top 10 career totals. His 35 touchdown passes are tied for eighth in JMU career history, matching Rodney Landers. He also moved to third in season completions with 281.