SAN DIEGO — Air Force got the big bounces, but San Diego State made the big plays.
The Aztecs kicked a 46-yard field goal with 5:10 remaining, shut down the Falcons’ running game in the fourth quarter and ran out just enough clock late to win 27-24 in the Mountain West championship game at Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday night.
San Diego State (10-3) had to overcome two Air Force (8-5) touchdowns set up by funky bounces. A punt bounced off Aztecs return man Mikah Holder and into the arms of Falcons defender Jacob Onyechi, setting up a 10-yard scoring drive. Another scoring drive was aided when a Jacobi Owens fumble squirted forward 32 yards before being recovered by his teammate, Garrett Griffin.
Air Force also benefited from two first-quarter penalties, one on an illegal motion that thwarted a San Diego State drive after it appeared to have picked up a first down and another on a chop block that took a 28-yard touchdown pass off the scoreboard and led to a punt.
“We had a lot of things go wrong today, and we still found a way to win,” Aztecs coach Rocky Long said. “This is a special group of kids.”
The Aztecs were simply more steady, with backup quarterback Christian Chapman completing 9-of-14 passes for 203 yards in his first start. Star tailback Donnel Pumphrey ran for 90 yards and caught two passes for 64 yards and a touchdown.
The Falcons led 7-0, 10-7 and 17-10 — and the game was tied 24-24 until Donny Hageman’s 46-yard field goal with 5:10 remaining. The only time the Falcons trailed by a touchdown, they responded immediately. Timothy McVey returned the kickoff 35 yards and Karson Roberts ran for 51 yards on the first play, setting up the Falcons inside the 10. They scored on a fourth-and-goal play from the 2 on a McVey run.
McVey scored all three touchdowns for Air Force, rushing in from 8, 3 and 2 yards out.
“Everyone was fired up, but it just wasn’t our day,” McVey said.
Owens contributed 156 yards rushing for the bowl-bound Falcons, going over 1,000 for the season.
The Falcons ran for 305 yards, but only 16 of those yards came over the final 10 carries in the fourth quarter.
The winning field goal was set up by a 13-yard completion on a third-and-27 play from the Air Force 42. It was well short of the first down, but enough to give Hageman a shot.
