Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham couldn’t have cared less about style points as his team escaped from the Air Force Academy still undefeated. Not after a game like this, which was not decided until the last play, when linebacker Chaz Walker sacked Air Force quarterback Tim Jefferson on the Falcons’ 33-yard line as time expired, sealing a 28-23 victory.
“It was a little frustrating because we had a chance to put the opponent away,” he said. “But the bottom line is when you are playing Air Force, you take a win any way, shape or form it comes.”
The win now sets up a Mountain West Conference battle between two undefeated teams Nov. 6 in Salt Lake City against the TCU Horned Frogs (9-0, 5-0 MWC). Following his coach’s lead of always taking it a game at a time, quarterback Jordan Wynn was all business against the Falcons but afterward said the looming game with conference title and even Bowl Championship Series implications was on his mind.
“It’s going to be a showdown,” Wynn said. “They’re having a great year. Their defense is having another good year, so we are going to have to go out there and play a perfect game. I’ve been taking it one game at a time, but honestly, we all knew when the day was.”
ESPN also took notice of the date. Its weekly college football program “College GameDay,” which travels to the location of what it determines to be the best game of a given week, will be broadcasting live from Rice-Eccles Stadium the morning of the game that pits No. 4 TCU against No. 6 Utah—this is the second consecutive year that Gameday has traveled to cover this matchup.
However, if it weren’t for a punishing ground game and a ball-hawking defensive performance by the Utes, it’s likely that the road to perfection would’ve stopped in Colorado Springs.
On the opening drive of the game, Air Force got off to a quick start, gaining 12 yards and a first down off of a pitch to receiver Jon Warzeka. Two plays later, the junior quarterback Jefferson dropped back and completed a pass into Utah territory to Mikel Hunter for 34 yards, but the beaten defender, senior Brandon Burton, recovered on the play to punch the ball out of Hunter’s hands, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Ute Greg Bird.
Capitalizing on Burton’s mistake-erasing play, Utah’s offense took the field with an Air Force-esque attack, giving the ball to its bruising rusher Matt Asiata for its first seven plays, in which he picked up 35 yards, before switching to Eddie Wide, who finished off five straight runs with a 1-yard touchdown to give Utah a 7-0 lead.
Air Force wasted no time in responding, using its powerful running attack to pick up 80 yards on eight plays, culminating in an 11-yard Warzeka scamper into the end zone.
Looking to completely take control of momentum, the Falcons caught the Utes off guard on the ensuing kickoff, recovering their own onside kick.
On a 2nd and 22, Jefferson once again found the open man, hitting Joshua Freeman for 36 yards, but again the Utes’ defense refused to give up on the play—this time it was cornerback Lamar Chapman who punched the ball out of Freeman’s hands, forcing a fumble that was again recovered by the Utes.
Air Force persisted, heading into halftime down just 14-10, but appeared thoroughly outmatched in the third quarter. A 36-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Wynn to Luke Matthews with 4 minutes 25 seconds remaining in the third gave Utah a 21-10 lead, and freshman safety Brian Blechen picked off Jefferson and returned it to the Falcons’ 18-yard line for his second interception of the year and fourth Air Force turnover.
Joe Phillips kept the drive alive by faking a field goal, instead running seven yards for the first down, after which Wide put Utah up 28-10 with his second 1-yard score.
Taking an 18-point lead into the final quarter usually bodes well, but against a relentless Air Force team, it proved to be nothing more than a false sense of security.
Jefferson and the Falcons showed quick-strike ability by scoring twice in the first 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, the first on a 59-yard rush for Jefferson and the second on a 49-yard pass from Jefferson to Kyle Halderman.
“We got up 28-10 and kind of felt like we were in a flow,” Wynn said. “Hats off to (Air Force). They came back and played us tough and made it close.”
However, in the end, the Utes’ defense locked down, forcing two straight turnovers on downs for the Falcons and ending with the game-ending sack by Walker, who finished with six tackles.
Reflecting on the importance of the game heading into the TCU matchup, Wynn thought it showed Utah’s resiliency but was not sold on his team needing a close game to keep them in check.
“Honestly, you never need close (wins),” he said. “But, you’ve got to be able to win the close ones. That’s what makes a great team.”