Air Force runs wild in beating James Madison
Emmanuel Michel rushed for a career-best 203 yards and two one-yard touchdowns and Zac Larrier passed for one touchdown and ran for another score, leading Air Force to a 31-21 win over No. 24 James Madison in the Armed Forces Bowl on Saturday at Fort Worth.
Air Force (9-4) posted its fifth consecutive bowl win after losing its last four games of the season.
“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, 210pound senior who left the academy early in the year and returned for the fall semester.
James Madison (11-2) lost in regulation for the first time this season while playingintheprogram’sfirst bowl game. The Dukes, who are completing their transition to the FBS level from FCS after being a two-time national champion in the lower division, earned the bowl berth after there weren’t enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all the spots.
Air Force’s triple-option running attack got the better of the top run defense in the FBS. The Falcons entered second in team rushing at 275.8 yards per game, and ground out 351 yards in the victory. James Madison came in giving up 61.5 rushing yards.
“Bring it and let us show you what we’ve got,” said Michel, who burst up the middle for 54 yards on Air Force’s first offensive play.
James Madison gained 283 total yards — only 26 rushing.
“I’m frustrated at the loss, I’m proud of the team, aggravated at our execution at times,” said James Madison acting head coach Damian Wroblewski, who took over after head coach Curt Cignetti left for Indiana on Nov. 30.
Birmingham
Freshman Grayson Loftis threw for 183 yards and Duke’s defense came up with a final stop to beat Troy 17-10 at Birmingham, Ala.
Jeremiah Lewis intercepted Troy’s Gunnar Watson at the 50-yard line with 1:22 remaining to secure the victory for the Blue Devils (8-5).
Troy (11-3), the Sun Belt Conference champion, fell short of finishing the season on an 11-game winning streak for the second straight year.
Jaylen Coleman ran for Duke’s only touchdown. Todd Pelino kicked three field goals for Duke.
Camellia
Rocky Lombardi passed and ran for touchdowns and Northern Illinois held on to beat Arkansas State 21-19 when the Red Wolves couldn’t convert a late twopoint pass at Montgomery, Ala.
Antario Brown rushed for 132 yards for the Huskies (7-6), who won six of their final eight games.
Neither team scored in the second half until Jaylen Raynor’s 13-yard touchdown pass with 1:14 left to Corey Rucker. Raynor’s potential tying two-point pass sailed out of the end zone, and Arkansas State (6-7) couldn’t convert an onside kick.
Famous Idaho Potato
Darren Grainger threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two more, Freddie Brock rushed for a career-best 276 yards and a score, and Georgia State rolled past Utah State 45-22 at Boise, Idaho.
Georgia State (7-6), which had lost five of six entering the game, scored 31 straight points to break it open.
Utah State (6-7) fell apart after rolling up 161 yards of offense in the first quarter, tallying just 186 yards in the final three periods.
Grainger, a senior who transferred from Furman in 2021, was 19-of-22 passing and rushed for 111 yards, accounting for 368 yards of total offense.