AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Who knew? Texas Christian is a cold-weather team.
It took the boys from Forth Worth a couple quarters to thaw out, but once they did, they showed why they’re No. 10 in the land, defeating Air Force 20-17 at Falcon Stadium, where the wind chill at kickoff was 9 degrees.
With 3:43 left in the game, the Falcons’ Chris Thomas recovered a fumble at the TCU 46. Connor Dietz started at quarterback for Air Force and scored on an 8-yard run to pull within three points with 57 seconds to play. But the Falcons’ ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Horned Frogs, who ran out the clock.
TCU’s defense entered Saturday tops in the nation in run defense, allowing just 47 yards per game. The Falcons, with their triple-option offense, were second nationally with 291.8 rushing yards per game, but against those lane-clogging Frogs, AFA mustered just 229 yards and one touchdown.
Air Force (3-3) went with Dietz on Saturday, and he finished with 6-of-17 passing for 71 yards and also had a team-high 71 yards rushing on 15 carries. Counterpart Andy Dalton finished was 16-of-28 for 198 yards.
TCU (5-0) struck first in the first, with a Joseph Turner 1-yard run for a touchdown, set up two plays prior with a gorgeous 24-yard catch by Jimmy Young, with a cornerback seemingly up his jersey. The Horned Frogs then doubled the score in the second with a Jeremy Kerley 2-yard run, also set up two plays prior by a momentum-snatcher — Dalton’s 15-yard draw up the gut.
But Air Force marched resiliently on the next possession, scoring on a fancy Jonathan Warzeka halfback pass to Kevin Fogler, 16 yards for the Falcons’ first touchdown in 10 quarters — cutting the lead to 14-7 with 1:19 left in the first half.
Air Force’s defense sacked TCU twice in that final 1:19, and even though the Falcons were down seven at half, they darted toward the locker room with a little pep in their steps.
The teams traded field goals in the third quarter, and TCU notched another in the fourth quarter.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
