AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Air Force may have ended a
two-game skid with its 31-14 Mountain West Conference win over
UNLV, but coach Troy Calhoun was less than jovial.
"We didn't play like a hard-nosed football team tonight," the
first-year head coach said Saturday. "I'm just not pleased with
the way we played tonight. We have to be a team that plays to the
hilt every single week. Assignment-wise, concentration-wise, just
doing the raw basics of the game, we've got to be a heck of a lot
better."
The Falcons (4-2, 3-1 MWC) piled up 432 yards of total offense
but surrendered 471 to the visiting Rebels (2-4, 1-1). Air Force
also lost two fumbles and held the ball 25:21, compared to UNLV's
34:39.
Still, there were high points, with Chad Hall turning in a
career night. Air Force took the lead for good when Hall broke free
on a career-long 52-yard scamper on an option play to put Air Force
up 14-7 with 12:50 left in the third quarter.
Hall, 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, finished with two touchdowns and
a career-high 169 rushing yards. He had gained just 158 yards
rushing in the Falcons' first five games.
"We had some guys get hurt, and they called my number," Hall
said. "Our offensive line was great, and I give them a lot of
credit. We had a new formation in where I was the tailback, but I
thought I'd probably only get three or four carries back there. Our
defense played great, and (quarterback) Shaun (Carney) had a great
game as well."
Hall's 169 rushing yards were the most by an Air Force running
back since Jason Jones had 171 yards against Notre Dame in 1991.
Carney threw for 123 yards for Air Force and added 73 yards on
the ground, including a career-long 71-yard touchdown run that put
the Falcons up 21-7 with 3:38 remaining in the third quarter.
Carney's 123 passing yards brought him to within seven yards of
Air Force's all-time career passing yards mark of 4,789 yards, held
by Dave Ziebart since 1979. Carney, already the Falcons' all-time
total offense career leader, could eclipse Ziebart's record next
week against Colorado State.
After an unproductive drive on its first possession, the Falcons
offense was able to break a scoreless tie. A one-yard touchdown
plunge by Chad Smith capped a 12-play, 74-yard drive that gave Air
Force a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter. The drive began on the
Air Force 26, after Ryan Kemp and Drew Fowler stuffed Travis Dixon
on a quarterback sneak on a fourth-and-one.
A failed fourth down and fumble by senior running back Jim Ollis
kept Air Force off the scoreboard in the second quarter, and UNLV
capitalized.
UNLV tied the score at 7-7 as time expired in the first half.
Freshman quarterback Travis Dixon ran to his left on a second-down
play from the 2-yard line, landing on his shoulder in the end zone
after being met by a pair of Air Force tacklers. Air Force
challenged the ruling on the field, but the replays upheld the
touchdown call.
The Rebels scoring drive covered 65 yards and included a key
fourth-down conversion on the Air Force 35, with Dixon passing 6
yards to Ryan Wolfe for a first down on the 29. It was UNLV's only
fourth-down conversion of the night, as the Falcons stopped the
Rebels on three other fourth-down occasions.
"We had opportunities in the first half to get first downs and
score touchdowns and we didn't do that," said UNLV coach Mike
Sanford. "We got ourselves into a hole and they made some big
plays on us. We just didn't play well enough to win."
UNLV closed the gap to 21-14 with 14:45 remaining in the game on
a four-yard touchdown run by Frank Summers.
The Falcons made it a two-possession game with a 28-yard field
goal by Ryan Harrison with 7:29 remaining after Rebels punter Brian
Pacheco netted just a seven-yard punt that gave Air Force the ball
on the UNLV 13.
Air Force capped the scoring with 1:40 remaining when Hall
scored his second touchdown of the night, an eight-yard run.
Summers led UNLV with 100 yards rushing on 25 carries, and Ryan
Wolfe grabbed 10 passes for 164 yards.