Wolverines hold off pesky Falcons
NO. 7 MICHIGAN 29, AIR FORCE 13 AFA’S upset bid is undone by kicking game breakdowns.
ANN ARBOR, MICH.» Air Force was this close. Until it wasn’t.
The Falcons held their own at the Big House on Saturday, trailing by just six points early in the fourth quarter. But issues in punt coverage, a sluggish and largely one-dimensional offense and a missed field goal provided more than enough for No. 7 Michigan to exhale with a 29-13 victory.
“We’re going to take this loss, grow from it,” said cornerback Marquis Griffin, who made 11 tackles for a defense that held the Wolverines out of the end zone until 62 seconds remained in the game. “We think we can play with anybody.”
The most glaring factor that prevented Air Force (1-1) from not only playing with Michigan, but truly challenging at the end, came with the punt team.
Sophomore punter Charlie Scott had one kick go off the side of his foot for 21 yards. Another short boot bounced backward to net just 22. Another traveled 54 yards but was returned for 25.
After all three of those punts, Michigan (3-0) started drives on Air Force’s side of the field and mounted short drives for field goals.
The biggest play in the punting game came when Michigan freshman Donovan Peoplesjones — a five-star recruit — returned a kick 79 yards for a touchdown.
That made three field goals and a touchdown — 16 points — directly linked to the punt team. In a 16-point loss.
“I think a lot of the things we did today were good. Obviously, there were some bad things,” said Scott, a Cherry Creek grad. “We just have to come back Monday and keep working.”
Air Force’s issues weren’t limited to the punt team. Offensively, a 64-yard touchdown pass from Arion Worthman to Ronald Cleveland was the only completion of the game in nine attempts, while also throwing an interception.
“They don’t have to quite commit as many guys to the run as maybe some other squads we’ve faced,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “It’s not like there were 11 guys within 4 yards of the line of scrimmage. That had something to do with that.”
The Falcons’ offense ran for 168 yards and gained 232 yards of total offense. The middle was clogged by Michigan’s large bodies, and the outside often closed because of its speed.
“They’re the top defense in the country for a reason,” said Worthman, who ran 26 times for 60 yards and completed 1-of-7 attempts for 64 passing yards. “They have a lot of guys who are going to be playing on Sundays.”
Michigan kicked a field goal to break a 6-6 tie with four seconds remaining in the first half. After the punt-return score and a field goal for the Wolverines, Cleveland’s touchdown cut the deficit to 16-13 in the third quarter. Michigan kicker Quinn Nordin’s fifth field goal — tying a program record — put Michigan up by nine with 14:15 remaining.
The Falcons missed a 29-yard field-goal attempt that would have cut the deficit to six points at the 7:19 mark in the fourth quarter.
The Wolverines final score was a 36-yard touchdown run with 1:02 left.