Air Force Academy
Wyoming
Air Force Falls To Wyoming, 43-26
10/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 30, 2004
By BOB MOEN
Associated Press Writer
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - Corey Bramlet passed for two touchdowns, and Ivan Harrison scored on a pair of fourth quarter 1-yard runs to lead Wyoming to a 43-26 victory over Air Force on Saturday.
Wyoming (5-3, 2-2 Mountain West Conference) ended a two-game losing streak and kept its chances for a bowl bid alive, while Air Force (3-5, 2-3) lost for the fourth time in five games.
The game featured two of the top three scoring offenses in the conference - Air Force ranked second and Wyoming third - and two defenses ranked in the bottom half of the league.
The teams did not disappoint offensively as Wyoming gained 559 total yards and the Falcons 420.
However, Wyoming ran off 88 plays that consumed 38 minutes, 57 seconds of the game clock, compared to 69 plays and 21:03 for the Falcons.
Bramlet completed 19 of 27 passes for 256 yards and rushed 13 times for 67 yards.
Harrison contributed 75 yards on 20 carries, while Joseph Harris ran for 128 yards on 18 carries and scored one touchdown.
Adam Fitch, who replaced freshman starter Shaun Carney at quarterback in the fourth quarter, led Air Force with two short TD runs and a 45-yard TD pass - all in the final 12:46 of the game. Fitch completed 7-of-11 for 132 yards. Carney was 3-of-10 for 57 yards and one interception.
In a first half that saw just one punt between the two teams, Wyoming took the opening kickoff and drove 79 yards in 17 plays but ended up with no points after two quarterback sneaks failed inches short of the goal line on third and fourth downs.
Air Force took over on downs, and Wyoming linebacker Guy Tuell caught Anthony Butler in the end zone for a safety on the Falcons' second play from scrimmage.
The Cowboys followed with a 64-yards drive that led to a 20-yard field goal by Deric Yaussi.
The Falcons, who ran just four plays in the first quarter, answered with a nine-play, 65-yard scoring drive that featured just one pass attempt and ended with Darnell Stephens taking a pitch from Carney for a 2-yard TD run in the second quarter.
Bramlet led Wyoming to scores on its next two possessions, sandwiched around an Air Force turnover when Terrance Butler made a juggling interception. Bramlet found Josh Barge on a 12-yard TD pass and followed with a 2-yard scoring pass to Wade Betschart for a 19-6 lead at the half.
Wyoming went up 29-6 on a 27-yard field goal by Yaussi and the first of Harrison's 1-yard TD runs. The touchdown was set up by a 36-yard punt return by Hoost Marsh.
Air Force pulled within 29-19 on a 45-yard TD pass from Fitch to Jason Brown and then a 1-yard run by Fitch.
But Wyoming put the game away with back-to-back touchdowns - one on a 10 play, 80-yard drive that consumed 5:25 and was capped by Harrison's 1-yard run, and a 28-yard score by Harris after an Air Force fumble.
Fitch scored the last points of the game on a 1-yard run with 15 seconds left.
