Army stays hot, downs Air Force
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army is in rarefied air and coach Jeff Monken is impressed.
The third wheel in the annual round-robin series with service academy rivals Air Force and Navy — the Falcons have won the Commander-in-Chief ’s Trophy 20 times and the Midshipmen 15 — before Saturday, Army had won the coveted hardware, emblematic of supremacy among the three schools, just seven times.
Make that eight — and the first time in consecutive years.
Fullback Darnell Woolfolk rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown, Kelvin Hopkins Jr. scored on a 6-yard run, and Army held off rival Air Force 17-14 on Saturday.
It was the 11th straight victory at Michie Stadium for Army (7-2), which won the trophy outright last season for the first time since 1996 and will keep possession no matter the outcome of its game against archrival Navy next month.
“That epitomizes the mental toughness of this team,” Monken said. “It wasn’t always pretty. We could have done better. I’m really, really glad that we won the game. It’s an emotional game. It feels good to win.
“It was a battle. I was proud our team was able to find a way to win. I think our guys were pressed into a corner. Give them [Air Force] credit. They were fighting, too.”
Air Force (3-6), which beat Navy 35-7 a month ago, is 33-14 in Commander in Chief ’s Trophy games against Army since the trophy was first awarded in 1972 and could have won the trophy again on Saturday with a victory. The Falcons had won 18 of the previous 21 in the series against the Black Knights, but they couldn’t overcome a costly interception by Army’s Mike Reynolds at the Army 4 in the final minute of the first half.
“There was a chance to seize this one, but I’m not putting any blame on the offense at all,” Air Force linebacker Kyle Johnson said. “We didn’t do the job just the same way they didn’t.”
The Falcons were unable to score in the opening half with Isaiah Sanders at quarterback, fell behind by two scores, and couldn’t recover despite dominating the second half. Air Force outgained Army 212-77 after halftime with Donald Hammond III at quarterback. The Black Knights secured the victory when Hammond was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-3 play at the Army 40 with under 2 minutes to play.
“We were driving downfield. We should have made some plays we didn’t make,” Hammond said. “I just wanted to win this game for the team. We’re never going to give up. That’s one thing we’re not going to do.”
Baylor stuffs Oklahoma State
Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer started the week in concussion protocol and didn’t get his usual snaps with the first-team offense in practice. And he didn’t play the first three quarters against the Cowboys on Saturday.
When Brewer finally got in the game, he helped the Bears rally to beat Oklahoma State.
“It was time,” coach Matt Rhule said of the decision to put Brewer in the game.
Brewer led the Bears to consecutive touchdowns drives, and his second TD pass was a 6-yarder to Denzel Mims with seven seconds left for a 35-31 win.
The winning score came right after Brewer had a 2-yard run with no timeouts remaining and the clock still running. He expected the decision to clock the ball, but then got the signal for the last play that resulted in the gamewinning score.
“We were so close that we still would have had time to kick a field goal,” Brewer said. “As a quarterback you have to be ready for anything.”
The win gets Baylor (5-4, 3-3 Big 12) within one win of bowl eligibility, a year after winning only one game in Rhule’s first season.
On Brewer’s first drive, the Bears went 86 yards — aided by 30 yards of penalties against the Cowboys — and scored on a 36-yard TD pass to Jalen Hurd with 5:43 left.
Baylor’s game-winning drive started after Oklahoma State (5-4, 2-4) was stopped on fourth down, when Chris Miller sacked Taylor Cornelius for a 9-yard loss with 1:31 left.
“You’re in fourth-and-3. You get a chance to get a first down, the game’s over,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “If you punt it, they are going to get it at the 20. I would have liked for Taylor to have thrown the ball away.”