FORT COLLINS — The difference between going to a bowl game and getting bowled over was a 15-minute stretch of madness Saturday where sleight of style became en vogue and the outcome was two kinds of overwhelming.
Overwhelming joy.
Overwhelming frustration.
The score — Air Force 45, Colorado State 21 at Hughes Stadium — tells you which team belongs to which camp. The Falcons traveled a paved superhighway on their way to bowl eligibility, unexpectedly throwing their way to an insurmountable lead. Meanwhile, CSU shook its collective heads, wondering what happened to the game plan, what happened in a disastrous second quarter and why the football grim reaper has once again tapped on the Rams’ shoulders and made a promising football season so miserable.
“They jumped on us,” CSU coach Steve Fairchild said. “It was a fight uphill from that point on.”
Colorado State (3-8, 1-5 Mountain West) was dealt its seventh straight loss and is staring squarely at a third consecutive 3-9 season. All that separates it from that downer of a finish is a loss in the season finale against Wyoming.
On the other hand, Air Force is, well, flying high.
Some key injuries throughout the season have not stopped the Falcons from persevering and powering through to qualify for a fifth consecutive bowl game under coach Troy Calhoun. A stout early CSU defense didn’t stop the Falcons from overcoming an early CSU lead in a second quarter for the ages.
The Falcons (7-5, 3-4) scored 31 points in the second quarter, turning a 7-0 deficit into a 31-7 halftime lead. They scored on five consecutive possessions, and the nation’s 114th-ranked passing offense did it by tagging the CSU defense in the air.
Air Force senior wide receiver Zack Kauth had a day’s worth of production in the second quarter, catching three passes — all for touchdowns. By the time the dust settled on Kauth’s second quarter, he had a career-high 123 yards to go with it.
“We just practiced certain plays for certain defenses and they happened to give us a defense that allowed us to call bigger plays, longer throws,” said a smiling Kauth, who caught scoring passes of 33, 40 and 50 yards. “It just kind of happened that way and we took advantage of it.”
Remarkably, Air Force gained 267 yards in the second quarter alone. Senior quarterback Tim Jefferson completed 4-of-6 passes for 131 yards and three touchdowns in those 15 minutes. The Falcons made 12 first downs in the second quarter. The only time they didn’t score was when they knelt on the ball to run off the final 34 seconds of the first half.
It all led Calhoun to wonder aloud: “I don’t know if we’ve played much better.”
Colorado State, meanwhile, turned into a mistake-prone machine. Penalties piled up. Turnovers did too. Freshman quarterback Garrett Grayson, who burst onto the scene with poised and effective play in the first start of his career last weekend at TCU, was left pointing the finger at himself for the offense’s inability to keep up a high level of play.
“I didn’t play very well,” said Grayson, who threw for 125 yards and a touchdown, but had an interception and two fumbles. “I’ll take the blame for this one.”
Running back Chris Nwoke was the lone bright spot for the Rams, who have had little problems running the football in the last month. Nwoke pounded the AFA defense for a Hughes Stadium-record 269 yards, the third-highest total in CSU history, and two touchdowns. His 62-yard touchdown run in the third quarter chopped CSU’s deficit to 31-14 before two more Air Force touchdowns let there be no doubt about the outcome of this one.
“This senior class has been nothing short of remarkable,” Calhoun said. “I’ve never been around a group of kids who can get more out of their talents, more out of their abilities than the group of guys in there.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
