By Ryan Hope
Air Force junior quarterback Chance Harridge entered Saturday”s game against BYU as a relative unknown, but left as a possible Heisman candidate.
Harridge rushed for 104 yards on 22 carries and four touchdowns in the Falcons 52-9 thumping of BYU.
The victory gave the Falcons payback for the 63-33 defeat they received last season against the Cougars.
“We”ve been waiting 365 days for this game,” Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry said. “We got embarrassed last year and I felt we just didn”t play Falcon football.”
The Air Force offense, one of the few still running the wishbone, racked up 463 yards against a porous BYU defense.
“Air Force is playing with a lot of confidence right now,” BYU head coach Gary Crowton said. “And that”s something we didn”t have.”
The 43-point loss marked the largest losing margin for the Cougars since losing by 54 points against UCLA in 1993.
“I felt like we had the answers, but we just couldn”t stop them,” Crowton said. “We have to look at this game and just get better from here on.”
The Cougars fell to 3-3 on the season and 0-1 in Mountain West Conference action.
Air Force improved to 6-0 on the season and climbed to No. 15 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
“They are going to be tough for anyone to beat, especially if they stay healthy,” Crowton said.
BYU got on the board first after sophomore kicker Matt Payne connected on a 35-yard field goal early in the first quarter.
On its first possession of the game, Harridge led Air Force to five first downs before scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run.
Harridge scored on a 4-yard run four minutes later to increase the Falcons” lead to 14-3.
The Falcons recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, and nine plays later sophomore running back Darnell Stephens scored on a 7-yard run.
Following a BYU turnover, Harridge scored his third touchdown of the night on an 11-yard touchdown run three minutes later to give the Falcons a 28-3 halftime lead.
“The difference in the game was our ability to get turnovers, and then capitalize on those turnovers,” DeBerry said.
The Cougar offense struggled to move the ball, gaining a season-low 304 yards of total offense.
BYU”s ground attack finished with -16 yards rushing.
Four different quarterbacks saw action for the Cougars against Air Force.
Junior Bret Engemann struggled to amass 143 yards passing and was intercepted twice.
Sophomore Todd Mortensen and freshman Matt Berry alternated most of the second half at quarterback.
Mortensen passed for 70 yards with two interceptions while Berry passed for 95 yards and a touchdown.
Freshman Lance Pendleton appeared in one play connecting on a 17-yard pass to senior tight end Spencer Nead.
