Air Force earns bowl eligibility while Navy and Army fall on Halloween
Halloween featured a full slate of service academy football as all three programs saw action. Air Force fans were treated to a victory that secured their team’s eligibility for a postseason bowl game, while Army and Navy suffered tough losses against formidable opponents away from the friendly confines of their home stadiums.
Air Force and Army now look ahead to a pivotal Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy matchup at West Point this weekend.
Notre Dame Pulls Away from Navy in Second Half
The Navy Midshipmen (2-6, 1-4 American) fell 35-13 to the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1) before an announced crowd of 61,293 at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, on Saturday.
The Midshipmen, clad in blue jerseys with gold pants and helmets, trailed 14-13 at halftime. The Fighting Irish responded with 21 unanswered points in the second half.
Navy quarterback Jackson Gutierrez got the start, completing four of seven passes for 25 yards. Most of his offensive production came on the ground, rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. His 2-yard touchdown run came in the second quarter.
Navy kicker Nolan Bartley converted both of his field-goal attempts in the first and second quarters.
Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr completed 19 of 29 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns. His primary target was wide receiver Jerome Bettis Jr., who recorded 78 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown on six catches. Wide receiver Micah Gilbert caught the Fighting Irish’s only first-half touchdown pass, an 11-yard reception with 1 minute, 47 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Running back Nolan James Jr. led Notre Dame in rushing with 107 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. Navy briefly took a 13-7 lead late in the second quarter before Notre Dame answered with a 52-yard touchdown run by James with 55 seconds remaining before halftime.
Running back Jonaz Walton added 51 rushing yards and a third-quarter touchdown on 12 carries for the Fighting Irish.
Despite the loss, the Midshipmen outrushed the Fighting Irish, 212-204, and controlled possession for 32:40. Entering Saturday’s contest, the Fighting Irish ranked third nationally in rushing defense, allowing 67.3 yards per game. Navy’s 212 rushing yards were the most that Notre Dame surrendered this season.
Navy will host the Temple Owls (2-6, 1-3 American) on Saturday, November 7, at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
Quarterback Ajani Sheppard has thrown for 1,245 yards and eight touchdowns for the Owls. He has also rushed for 400 yards and five touchdowns.
Linebacker Curly Ordonez leads the Owls’ defense with 77 tackles and two sacks through eight games. He ranks 13th nationally in total tackles.
Air Force Runs Past UConn
The Air Force Falcons (6-2, 3-2 Mountain West) defeated the UConn Huskies (4-4), 35-26, on Saturday in Colorado Springs. With its sixth win, Air Force secured bowl eligibility despite playing without its top two quarterbacks, Liam Szarka (knee injury) and Evan Medders (turf toe).
The Falcons wore special black uniforms honoring the U.S. Space Force, featuring “SPACE FORCE” across the front of the jersey and “SEMPER SUPRA,” the service’s motto, on the back in place of players’ names. Thousands of Guardians and airmen were in attendance at Falcon Stadium, including senior Space Force leadership.
Air Force never trailed UConn, relying exclusively on its rushing attack to secure the victory. The Falcons outrushed the Huskies, 366-105, and held the ball for 41:54. Air Force finished without a passing yard, while UConn recorded 263 yards through the air.
Freshman Howard Fisher IV started at quarterback for Air Force, sharing duties with senior Kemper Hodges. Hodges accounted for four of the Falcons’ touchdowns, rushing for 200 yards on 35 carries. His 62-yard rushing touchdown with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter, his second of the game, gave Air Force a 14-0 lead. Hodges’ fourth rushing score, with just more than three minutes remaining, sealed the Falcons’ victory.
Junior fullback Gage LaDue scored Air Force’s other rushing touchdown on a 4-yard run with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter.
UConn quarterback Kalieb Osborne completed 17 of 33 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns. His touchdown passes were caught by Ryder Treadway in the second quarter and Alex Godavitarne in the third.
On the ground, Trey Cornist and Kenji Christian scored touchdowns in the second and fourth quarters, respectively. Christian led the Huskies in rushing with 68 yards on five carries.
Despite Osborne’s strong passing performance, UConn struggled on fourth down and could not keep the Air Force offense off the field.
UConn linebacker John Lista led the Huskies with a game-high 15 tackles.
Memphis’ Offense Overwhelms Army in Road Loss
The Army Black Knights (5-3, 4-2 American) fell to the Memphis Tigers (7-2, 4-1 American), 49-22, on a rainy Halloween night in Tennessee. Despite outrushing Memphis, 320-183, Army trailed the Tigers in several other key statistical categories as the home team began to pull away with just more than six minutes left in the first half.
The 3rd Infantry Division, known as the “Rock of the Marne,” was recognized as the Honored Division for the game. The division’s insignia was displayed on Army’s traditional gold helmets with a black center stripe running from front to back.
Army quarterback Cale Hellums rushed for 34 yards and a third-quarter touchdown. He also completed four of seven passes for 40 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Samari Howard caught Hellums’ 8-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
Running back Godspower Nwawuihe led the Black Knights in rushing with 100 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Nwawuihe’s 5-yard score got Army on the scoreboard with 2:24 remaining in the first quarter.
Memphis quarterback Marcus Stokes was 29-for-35 passing for 371 yards and four touchdowns. He threw two first-quarter touchdown passes to wide receiver Jermane Hayes from 13 and 5 yards out, respectively.
Stokes also rushed for 30 yards and a touchdown. His fourth-quarter touchdown came when he recovered his own fumble in the end zone with 5:37 left to play.
Jaylin Carter led the Tigers in rushing with 96 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
Air Force at Army
The second showdown of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy series, Air Force at Army, is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, at 7:30 p.m. ET on CBS. The Falcons aim to capture the trophy with a victory, while Army looks to force a decisive matchup against Navy on December 12 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
A rivalry dating to Halloween 1959, Air Force leads the head-to-head series 38-21-1, with the Black Knights taking the last three matchups. Last season, Army defeated Air Force, 20-17, in Colorado Springs on Dawson Jones’ 27-yard field goal as time expired.
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