FALCONS SOAR OVER BEARS
Haaziq Daniels had a short scoring run and threw a touchdown pass in Air Force’s 30-15 victory over Baylor in cold conditions Thursday night in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas.
Air Force 30, Baylor 15
The game kicked off with a temperature of 13 degrees and a wind chill of minus 4 at Amon G. Carter Stadium, the home of TCU, Baylor’s Big 12 rival. Baylor officials announced it was the coldest kickoff temperature in the history of the program based about 100 miles south of Dallas-Fort Worth in Waco.
It was even uncomfortable for the Falcons, where the temperature back home in Colorado Springs at kickoff was below zero.
“Cold might be putting it mildly,” Falcons coach Troy Calhoun said. “I don’t think I’ve experienced anything like that. When it’s not warm, it’s not easy. It never is at the United States Air Force Academy. But these guys, just the heart, the guts and the right, extraordinary young people. I’m glad they’re fighting for our country.”
Daniels had a 2-yard touchdown run and a 15-yard scored pass out of Air Force’s run-oriented triple-option offense.
Brad Roberts rushed for two touchdowns, and Matthew Dapore had a 37-yard field goal for the Falcons (10-3).
Blake Shapen threw touchdown passes of 8 yards to Hal Presley in the second quarter and 14 yards to Gavin Holmes in the closing minutes for Baylor (6-7).
With Air Force last in the FBS averaging 67.8 passing yards and 6.7 passes per game, Daniels was 4 for 7 for 103 yards and his fourth touchdown pass of the season to Caleb Rillos for his first touchdown catch in two seasons. He set up his
touchdown run with a 68-yard first-down bullet pass to Amari Terry thrown deep down the left sideline.
“I went with the wind,” Daniels said about the pass to Terry. “I didn’t want it to hang too much.”
Georgia gets transfers
No. 1 Georgia has bolstered its depth at wide receiver for the 2023 season by landing commitments from two wide receiver transfers from other Southeastern Conference teams.
Missouri’s Dominic Lovett and Mississippi State’s Rara Thomas announced their decisions on their Twitter accounts.
Each ranked among the SEC’s top 15 in yards receiving in 2022. Lovett, a sophomore, ranked fourth in the league with 846 receiving yards on 56 catches. He had three touchdown catches. Thomas, also a sophomore, was 14th with 610
yards on 38 catches, including seven for touchdowns.
Notable
Under court order, Michigan State University has released records related to multimillion-dollar donations by two wealthy alumni.
Mortgage executive Mat Ishbia pledged $14 million to MSU a year ago, on top of a $32 million gift announced earlier in 2021. The documents don’t reveal much that’s new.
But Michigan State nonetheless fought their disclosure in a public records lawsuit filed by the Detroit Free Press. The newspaper won. Ishbia played on Michigan State’s 2000 national championship basketball team. He’s now in line to buy a majority stake in the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury for $4 billion.
Ishbia agreed to donate $14 million to the athletic department in annual payments through 2030.
Another alumnus, Steve St. Andre, agreed to give $10 million at the same time. His twopage agreement was also part of the public records lawsuit.
Highly rated defensive back Peyton Bowen, who backed off a verbal commitment to Notre Dame and said he was going to attend Oregon, ended up signing with Oklahoma.
Bowen’s flip from the Fighting Irish to the Ducks during a ceremony at his high school in Denton, Texas, was one of the biggest stories Wednesday, the opening day of college football’s early signing period.
Bowen was one of several high-profile recruits to make a last-minute pivot to Oregon. But the five-star safety was never officially announced as part of Oregon’s class.
Bowen posted a statement on social media, saying he regretted some of his actions and apologizing to the fans of the schools he jilted.