AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Brigham Young quarterbacks Riley Nelson and Jake Heaps combined to complete four of their first seven passes Saturday at Falcon Stadium, enough to give the Cougars a 14-7 lead in the first quarter.
After that?
“Lights out,” Air Force quarterback Tim Jefferson said of his team’s pass defense. “They brought in two rather inexperienced quarterbacks, and our defense ate them alive.”
BYU finished with just 88 yards passing — only 44 after the first quarter — in Air Force’s 35-14 rout.
Nelson, a junior, finished 8-of-19 for 73 yards. Heaps, a high-profile freshman, was 2-of-6 for 15 yards. It was the first time since 2003 that BYU finished with fewer than 100 yards passing.
When the Cougars beat the Falcons 38-21 last year in Provo, BYU quarterback Max Hall (who’s now in the NFL) completed 33-of-45 passes for 377 yards and five touchdowns.
Saturday? BYU failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time since 2008.
“We went into the game with a strong head, just because they had two new quarterbacks and it wasn’t a polished offense like it was last year,” said Air Force cornerback Jon Davis, a junior. “We knew we could do some things as long as we disguised. We knew we were going to do good things.”
Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said his defense “was absolutely special” after the Cougars scored touchdowns on two of their first three possessions — and threatened to score on the other before a BYU fumble in the end zone produced a touchback.
“It’s a group that has an opportunity to be a quality group,” Calhoun said. “After the initial drive, we probably played as well defensively against Brigham Young as we have maybe ever.”
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
