DALLAS — All 2,546 fans in attendance Saturday at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the Southern Methodist University campus had their eyes on the sky, trying to keep track of what Hurricane Ike was up to on its way north from the Texas coast.
But they needed their eyes on the ground if they wanted to see how the Air Force Falcons got the upper hand on the Houston Cougars.
Without the benefit of a single pass completion, the Falcons’ thunder was on the ground, with 380 yards and 17 first downs rushing on their way to a 31-28 victory and a surprising 3-0 start.
Senior quarterback Shea Smith misfired on all seven of his pass attempts, but was up to the task with three touchdowns among his 93 yards rushing on 15 carries. Smith’s third touchdown Saturday, with 4:25 left in the third quarter, gave the Falcons a 31-7 lead in a game moved to Dallas from Houston because of the hurricane.
“We were confident with the run because we ran the ball very well today,” Smith said. “That’s what we stuck with.”
Air Force’s defense had its significant moments with three sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery and stopping a fourth-down play at the Falcons’ 35-yard line in the second quarter.
But before it was over, the Falcons would need a 2-yard run by Smith on third-and-2 for a first down at Houston’s 12 with a minute to go to wrap up the nonconference victory.
“We’re going to find a bunch of ways to win,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “When we play really good football teams — and we played one today — rarely are you going to look up there and see a sizable difference on the scoreboard.”
Facing a 24-point deficit with the third quarter down to less than four minutes, Houston’s Case Keenum, who was 34-of-57 passing for 362 yards and four touchdowns, rallied the Cougars (1-2) with three touchdown passes to pull them to within three points with 3:38 left in the game.
After Keenum’s final touchdown pass, Houston coach Kevin Sumlin called for an onside kick. That was recovered by Air Force’s Spencer Armstrong at the 50-yard line. The Falcons got two first downs and ran out the clock.
“It was scary at the end,” Air Force defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter said. “In the second half, they got it cranked up and got us on our heels. We knew they could score points in bunches. Thanks to our offense for getting a couple first downs there at the end.”
The game was played under cloudy skies with intermittent rain that had the few fans in SMU’s stadium huddled under umbrellas and in rain gear much of the time. In addition to the site switch, the starting time was moved up to 10 a.m. locally from 2:30 p.m.
Air Force’s running game was at its best on touchdown drives of 59 yards and 80 yards during the third quarter. Smith ran 41 yards on a keeper to set up the first third-quarter score.
In the second quarter, Armstrong ran 51 yards on a reverse to set up Air Force’s first touchdown with 13:35 left. Later in the quarter, Reggie Rembert returned a punt 53 yards to Houston’s 20, setting up Savier Stephens’ touchdown and a 17-7 lead.
“They’re good at what they do,” Sumlin said. “Our two turnovers obviously were key. The weather was not any different on their sideline than ours.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
Key stat
Three for 23. While Houston quarterback Case Keenum had a big game, he also was sacked three times for losses of 23 yards. AFA defensive ends Jake Paulson and Ryan Kemp combined for the sacks. The three stops proved to be just enough to disrupt Keenum and the Cougars’ offense.
Key play
With 3:38 left, after his team had scored 21 straight points, Houston coach Kevin Sumlin decided to try an onside kick. Spencer Armstrong recovered for Air Force at midfield and the Falcons ran out the clock. “They tried a two-kicker formation. The first kicker faked the kick and everybody went that way. The ball came the other way on a high bounce right to me,” Armstrong said.
Quote
“It definitely was strange. The biggest thing was the crowd. Looking around, it was kind of like a small high school game. At the same time, not many people can say they played football in a hurricane.” – Air Force defensive end Jake Paulson, on the impact of Hurricane Ike
