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Air Force Vs. Navy: Falcons Defeat Midshipmen In Overtime, 35-34

The Air Force Falcons appear well on the way to retaining the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy following their 35-34 overtime victory over the Navy Midshipmen.

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Air Force Vs. Navy: Falcons Hold Off Midshipmen Comeback To Win In Overtime, 35-34

The Navy Midshipmen scored 25 second half points to the Air Force Falcons seven points and ended up forcing overtime. The Navy offense came alive in the rushing game to chip away at the Air Force lead. The Air Force defense, which held the Navy rushing offense in check, did not continue their first half success. Navy was able to run at will with quarterback Kriss Proctor and running back

Navy scored first in the third quarter on a quick eight play 28-yard drive that ending with a Kriss Proctor touchdown run two yards out. Air Force did respond by scoring a touchdown to start the fourth quarterback by Asher Clark, but after that it was all Navy in the fourth quarter.

Navy used ball control offense to mount their fourth quarter comeback as they ran 37 plays to Air Force's five plays, but in reality it was four plays since the fifth play for Air Force was a kneel down. Navy scored 17 unanswered points to tie the Falcons and send it to over time. The first drive for Navy in the fourth quarter was a 14 plays that went 14 plays and lasted 5:21 that resulted in a Kriss Proctor seven yard touchdown run. The next drive was nearly identical by being 16 plays, last 5:18 but ended up in a field goal. 

The final drive lasted a brisk seven plays and lasted only 1:45 to tie the game on a five-yard pass to Gee Gee Greene which force overtime.

The Falcons won the toss and elected to play defense and Navy eventually scored. However, it took eight plays and a false start penalty on the first snap. Proctor scored the go ahead touchdown, but a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty pushed back the extra point, which then Air Force blocked.

The Falcons took advantage of that miss and ended up winning the game on a one-yard touchdown run to tie and then the extra point was good to give Air Force their second win in a row over Navy. This was only their second in nine years. With this win Air Force should retain the Commander-in-Chief Trophy because Army is not considered a challenger to beat either Air Force or Navy.

Overall, Air Force did not play their best game on offense and it was their quick 14-0 start that helped them win this game. Their rushing attack which coming into the game averaged 411 yards per game was held to 221 yards.

Next week Air Force goes on the road again to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

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Air Force Vs. Navy: Falcons Looking To Keep Commander-In-Chief Award

The Air Force Falcons travel to Annapolis, Md., to take on the Navy Midshipmen in the first leg of the Commander-in-Chief Trophy series. The Falcons currently own the trophy after they defeated both Army and Navy last season. Navy wants to avenge last season's 14-6 loss to Air Force. This game was originally to be aired on CBS Sports Network, but back on July 1 the game was upgraded to over-the-air CBS from CBS Sports Network, so this game is finally getting the respect it deserves. This particular matchup of the Commander-in-Chief trophy has been the most competitive between Army, Navy and Air Force throughout the past decade.

On the year Navy is 2-1 with wins over Western Kentucky and Delaware while their one loss came in a 24-21 decision to South Carolina two weeks ago. Navy is led by quarterback Kriss Proctor who orchestrates their triple-option attack and is the team's leading rusher with 266 yards on the year. He has four rushing touchdowns, too.

Within the triple-option offense, Navy uses multiple backs to run the ball, as does Air Force, and they have four players over 100 yards on the season. Their top back is fullback Alexander Teich who has 260 yards in three games. Look for Navy to only pass when necessary and run the ball at least 85 percent of the time, which is what they have been doing on the year.

Expect this game to be a close matchup as it has been over the past eight meetings. The difference has been seven points or less outside of the 2007 matchup which Air Force won, 31-20.

The game kicks off at 10 a.m. MT on CBS.

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