It's the Armed Forces Bowl (again) and Houston (again) for Air Force
This is not a recording.
But it should sound familiar.
Air Force has accepted an invitation to face Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 31.
It will be the Falcons’ third trip to the bowl in three years and the second time in a row their opponent will be the Cougars of Conference-USA.
“Fort Worth has become a second home to us,” Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh said Sunday. “And we’re definitely excited to come back.”
Some fans might not share that excitement, considering the familiar venue and opponent (Air Force also played Houston in the 2008 regular season). But there clearly are plusses to heading to Fort Worth and facing the Cougars.
The location is beneficial because Texas is fertile recruiting ground for Air Force. Heading into the final game of the regular season, 14 of the Falcons' 44 offensive and defensive starters and backups were natives of the Lone Star State.
And in Houston, Air Force has an almost perfect foil in a “styles-make-fights” sense. The Cougars boast the nation’s top-ranked passing attack, averaging 450 yards per game – nearly 70 more per game than second-ranked Texas Tech. And the Falcons rank No. 1 in pass defense, allowing 148.7 yards.
“We love this opportunity to be able to go against such a powerful offense,” Air Force senior defensive tackle Ben Garland said. “They have great weapons, and it gives us the ability to show what our defense can do.”
The Falcons also can take care of some unfinished business. They have lost three straight bowl games and haven’t won a postseason contest since taking the 2000 Silicon Valley Bowl. And they’ve never won at Amon G. Carter Stadium (Air Force is 0-6 there, including two losses in the Armed Forces Bowl and four to TCU).
In addition, beating a Houston team that spent much of the season ranked in the Top 25 would give the Falcons the marquee victory that’s eluded them this season.
“It definitely gives us a chance at redemption to show what this team is really about,” Garland said.
“It’s been a really awesome journey for the seniors on our team,” senior guard Nick Charles said. “And if there’s anything we can do to go out with an exclamation point and really leave a mark, this would be it.”
TCU won’t play for title
For the second consecutive season, an unbeaten Mountain West Conference team earned a bid to a Bowl Championship Series bowl.
But not the national title game.
TCU finished 12-0, was No. 4 in the updated BCS standings released Sunday and earned an invitation to the Fiesta Bowl, where it will play Boise State of the Western Athletic Conference. The Horned Frogs might have had a shot at a berth in the national title game had Nebraska upset Texas in the Big 12 championship game Saturday, but the Longhorns pulled out a 13-12 victory.
The Fiesta Bowl will be the first BCS bowl game to pit two teams from non-automatic-qualifying BCS conferences.
The other bowls involving MWC teams are listed below:
Las Vegas Bowl
BYU vs. Oregon State
Poinsettia Bowl
Utah vs. Cal
New Mexico Bowl
Wyoming vs. Fresno State
