AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Senior place-kicker Will Conant made good use of his time when Colorado State tried to ice him with three seconds on the clock Friday.
The score was 24-24 at Falcon Stadium as Conant prepared for a field-goal attempt of 39 yards to turn the Front Range rivalry game Air Force’s way.
The Rams called a timeout to rattle Conant. But Conant went right to the water cooler on the Falcons’ sideline.
“I was thirsty and that gave me a chance to get a drink,” Conant said. He also noticed that a swirling wind he had observed during the game had died down and flags were hanging limp on the poles around Falcon Stadium.
Conant calmly re-entered the field and kicked the field goal as time ran out, and the Falcons capped their 9-3 regular season with a 27-24 victory over the team that pounded them 58-13 last year.
Conant’s winning kick went through a good 3 feet inside the left upright. It was Conant’s 17th straight success on field-goal attempts of 60 yards or shorter.
“I knew I hit it good,” Conant said of the winning kick. “I wasn’t thinking about a timeout. Any time I go out there, I’m ready to kick.”
AFA coach Troy Calhoun was confident Conant would connect.
“He’s pretty dependable,” Calhoun said. “He’s as reliable as any kicker I’ve ever been alongside.”
Air Force’s defense put Conant in position to win it by making two big plays late in the game.
The first was an interception by safety Weston Steelhammer that stopped a CSU drive with 5:46 left in the fourth quarter. The other was a fourth-down stop of running back Dee Hart for no gain on fourth-and-2 by Steelhammer and defensive lineman Troy Timmerman with 38 seconds remaining.
“That stop was absolutely gigantic,” Calhoun said. “We were facing a phenomenal back and a big, aggressive offensive line. You can completely understand why they went for it.”
Calhoun said he made the decision to go with Nate Romine at quarterback because of practice sessions during the week. Kale Pearson has an injured ankle.
The Falcons, who were 2-10 last season, have qualified to play in a bowl game and will find out their destination this weekend.
“This was fun because CSU is a good team,” said Air Force linebacker Connor Healy. “To prove you’re a good team, you have to beat good teams.”
Air Force’s impressive record includes victories over Boise State, Navy, Nevada and now CSU.
