Air Force Runs Past FB to Claim Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

Thursday, December 22

Fort Worth, Texas

6:30 PM

Baylor

6-7 , 4-5

Air Force

10-3 , 5-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Baylor

Air Force

Air Force Runs Past FB to Claim Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

12/22/2022 9:50:00 PM | Football

Box Score Game Book (PDF)Season Stats (PDF)Baylor Postgame Notes (PDF)Postgame Quotes (PDF)

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            FORT WORTH – Coming into Thursday's chilly Armed Forces Bowl, the Baylor Bears had to feel like they had a good chance if they could hold one of the nation's top running backs to a meager 3.1 yards per carry.
            Air Force fullback Brad Roberts had to work for every yard he got, finishing with 116 yards on 36 carries and getting stopped twice on fourth-and-short.
            But, quarterback Haaziq Daniels took up the slack for his more-heralded teammate, throwing for 103 yards and one touchdown and adding 81 yards and another TD on the ground in leading the Falcons (10-3) to a 30-15 win over the Bears (6-7) before a sparse crowd that braved the freezing conditions at Amon Carter Stadium.
            "He's a good player, he's athletic and can make all the throws and runs," said Baylor senior linebacker Dillon Doyle, who was named Baylor's game MVP after logging 10 tackles. "(Daniels) and Brad Roberts make their offense run. We saw that on tape, and that wasn't surprising. I'm disappointed in the way we played as defensive players, and that starts with me. Looking back, you always see things you could have done better."
            To his credit, Doyle made back-to-back stops on Roberts in the final minute, giving the offense the ball back for one more shot with 22 seconds left. But, Baylor quarterback Blake Shapen was sacked by the Falcons' Payton Zadroik on the final play of the game.
            "Disappointed with our outcome tonight," Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. "The relationships you built, the people that they are, it's hard to say goodbye, especially after an outcome like this. But, that's where we're at.
            "I am proud of the fight that we had. There's 20 seconds left, and it's way out of reach, and we're fighting for a yard and were able to hold it off and come off the field excited. I think that kind of speaks to these guys."
            This was a historically cold night. The kickoff temperature of 13 degrees with a wind-chill factor of negative-1 is believed to be the coldest in Baylor football history and one degree higher than the all-time record for any college football bowl game.
            That did nothing to cool off an Air Force running game that came in ranked No. 1 in the country, averaging 330.9 yards per game and 5.4 per attempt. The Falcons just spread the wealth more this time, with tailback John Eldridge III tallying 65 yards on 10 carries and breaking off a game-best 34-yarder.
            More surprising was that Air Force also had the game's longest pass play. And it was arguably the most pivotal play of the game.
            Leading by just two at the break, 9-7, and facing a third-and-12 from his own 15-yard line, Daniels picked up a first down with a 15-yard keeper and then hooked up with Amari Terry for a 68-yard catch and run down to Baylor's 2-yard line.
            Daniels finished off the opening drive of the third quarter with a two-yard touchdown run and then connected with tight end Caleb Rillos for a 15-yard touchdown pass and 23-7 lead through three quarters.
            "I thought (Daniels) threw some strikes," Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. "The throw and touch he had on the touchdown. It never hurts that you can go four (downs), that is something we are committed to doing. And defensively, we embraced some of our versatility in things we were doing."
            On their first three drives of the second half, the Bears went for it and failed on fourth down, giving it back to Air Force at the 42-yard line on the second one when Shapen was sacked.
            Held in check for most of the night by a Baylor defense that committed as many as eight players inside the box, Roberts ran it five-straight times for 37 yards and scored his second touchdown of the night to make it 30-7 early in the fourth quarter.
            Equally frustrating for the Bears was an offense that was held to 151 yards total until the final five minutes of the game. The usually potent rushing attack was limited to just 42 net yards on 26 attempts for a 1.6-yard average.
            "Disappointed on a whole, offensively," Aranda said. "Previous games, there was probably more juice and excitement. Way disappointed in the lack of that. I think it really starts with the run game, that's really the identity of our offense and – you could argue – our team.
            "A lot of credit goes to Air Force, always being where they need to be and the effort that they played with, all of it. But I don't think we held up our end of the bargain. Then I could see Blake pressing, and it just kind of fell apart from there."
            Baylor's offense finally got untracked late in the fourth quarter, when Shapen led a four-play, 85-yard drive. He connected with Jaylen Ellis on a 57-yard pass and freshman tight end Kelsey Johnson for 14 before hitting Gavin Holmes on a bubble screen for the 14-yard TD.
            Shapen also scored on the two-point conversion to make it a two-score game with 3:34 left. For the game, he was 11-of-23 for 188 yards and two touchdowns, but the Bears never got anything going in the run game and finished with just 230 yards total offense.
            After Air Force jumped out to a 9-0 lead with two first-quarter drives, the Bears got back in it when Jackie Marshall dumped Daniels for a five-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from the Bears' 48.
            Overcoming a holding penalty on the first play, Baylor picked up 57 yards in six plays and scored on Shapen's eight-yard TD pass to Hal Presley in the left corner of the end zone to make it 9-7 at the half.
            The second half, though, was all Air Force.
            Ending the season on a four-game losing streak, the Bears did make it to their 11^th bowl game in the last 13 years and second-straight under Aranda. Baylor is 14-13 all-time in bowl games and 6-5 over this last stretch.
            With BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF joining the Big 12 next season, Baylor's full 2023 schedule will be released at a later date, but the non-conference slate includes home games against Texas State and Pac-12 champion Utah.