Air Force posted its second straight victory in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl – and third overall – defeating James Madison 31-21 Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth.
The win was the Falcons’ fifth consecutive bowl victory – they beat Baylor 30-15 in last year’s Armed Forces Bowl – and gave them a 9-4 record for the season. Air Force has made seven appearances in the Armed Forces Bowl, the first bowl game to host all three U.S. military academy teams. An academy team has played in the game 13 of the past 17 years.
James Madison finished at 11-2, losing in regulation for the first time this season while playing in the program’s first-ever bowl game. The Dukes, who are completing their transition to the FBS level from FCS, earned the trip to Fort Worth after there weren’t enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all the spots.
The Air Force triple-option running attack got the better of the top run defense in the FBS. The Falcons entered the game second in team rushing at 275.8 yards per game, and ground out 351 yards in the victory. JMU came in allowing 61.5 rushing yards, with a high of 146 yards.
“Bring it and let us show you what we’ve got,” said Air Force running back Emmanuel Michel, who burst up the middle for 54 yards on the Falcons’ first offensive play.
Michel led the Air Force offense, rushing for a career-best 203 yards and two 1-yard touchdowns. Quarterback Zac Larrier passed for one TD and ran for another score.
“To be able to win four straight bowl wins in our time here, it’s just a big deal,” said Michel, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound senior who left the academy early in the year and returned for the fall semester.
Michel scored midway through the first and second quarters. His second gave Air Force the lead for good at 14-7 following an interception by Johnathan Young at midfield after Dukes quarterback Jordan McCloud faced a heavy blitz and flipped an opposite-hand pass up for grabs.
Larrier tossed a 42-yard TD pass to Jared Roznos with 27 seconds remaining in the first half and scored from a yard out in the third quarter.
