Wyoming defeats Air Force 25-17 in windy Falcon Stadium

By this point in Air Force’s season, the question was supposed to be which bowl would be lucky enough to have the Falcons, not if Air Force would be eligible for the postseason at all.

For anyone who understood the hopes and dreams of the 2011 Air Force football team, which were lofty based on the experience and talent coming back, the postgame scene Saturday was surreal.

Players moved between anger, frustration and disappointment as they discussed yet another mistake-filled defeat, this one a 25-17 loss to Wyoming at Falcon Stadium. Air Force is 5-5, has three home losses, is 1-4 in the Mountain West and has to win its final two games just to be bowl eligible.

“There was a lot of hype at the beginning of the season, and we certainly haven’t lived up to that expectation,” linebacker Brady Amack said. “I didn’t think it would be coming down to these last two games whether we’re playing in a bowl game or home for Christmas.”

A strong wind, which was 39 miles an hour at kickoff and gusted to about 60 mph, was a factor in the performance, but that didn’t explain three lost fumbles for a team that has been surprisingly loose with the ball all year. Weather wasn’t the only reason Air Force scored just two touchdowns and a field goal on six drives that reached at least Wyoming’s 24-yard line.

One of the most devastating mistakes came when Air Force was in field-goal range, trailing by one point with 1:47 to go, and fullback Mike DeWitt fumbled on a third-down run at Wyoming’s 24-yard line.

“A couple mistakes we made changed the outcome of the game,” DeWitt said. “I have to take responsibility for that as well, with my fumble in the fourth quarter. Feels awful. Feels terrible.”

The Falcons gave up an 80-yard touchdown drive to start the game, then it got worse when quarterback Tim Jefferson was knocked out of the game with a concussion after he was stopped on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Jefferson’s status for next week’s game is uncertain.

Backup Connor Dietz is a talented runner, but the Falcons’ offense became one-dimensional without Jefferson. Air Force attempted one pass in the first 58:39 of the game.

Air Force trailed 12-7 at halftime, but took the lead in the third quarter on a Parker Herrington field goal and DeWitt touchdown, his second of the game. A fumble by Dietz at Wyoming’s 11-yard line in the third quarter kept the game close.

In the fourth quarter, the Falcons’ defense couldn’t get a stop. Wyoming picked up a couple of third-down conversions to get into Air Force territory, then came the play that will haunt the Falcons. On fourth-and-10 at the Falcons’ 30, Wyoming quarterback Brett Smith hit Mazi Ogbonna for a 16-yard catch, highlighting a 16-play, 79-yard drive. Three plays later, Smith scored on a 2-yard touchdown run. Air Force never led again.

“That fourth down was huge,” safety Jon Davis said. “If we stop them there, the game is pretty much over.”

The Falcons squandered two trips into Wyoming territory after that. On the first, DeWitt lost a fumble. After that, a 20-yard Dietz run brought Air Force to Wyoming’s 34-yard line. The Falcons lost 12 yards on their next two plays, and a fourth-down hook and lateral play turned into a fumble recovery for Wyoming and another touchdown.

“I’d say my frustration is about as high as it could go,” outside linebacker Alex Means said. “Nothing is going right.”

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Follow a replay of Air Force beat reporter Frank Schwab's live chat during the game: