Troy Calhoun and the Air Force Falcons were unable to make it three bowl game victories in a row. On Wednesday, the Falcons fell to the Toledo Rockets, 42-41, in the 2011 Military Bowl after a fake extra point attempt failed. But it was a fitting ending to a game filled with plenty of offense.
The Rockets led, 42-35, with five minutes left in the game after a Toledo touchdown pass. Tim Jefferson was able to keep the Falcons in the game and brought the game to within one on a 33-yard touchdown strike to Zack Kauth. Calhoun decided to go for the two-point conversion by doing a fake extra point. It failed when punter David Baska fumbled the ball on the rush attempt and saw it go out of bounds in the end zone.
The over/under for the game had been 70 points, which was reached in the third quarter when each team had 35 points. The offense was flying for the first three quarters. In the first quarter, the two teams combined to score three touchdowns in less than a minute. Air Force had two rushing touchdowns and saw Toledo's Eric Page squeeze in an 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
While Page did catch 13 passes for 59 yards, Bernard Reedy was the offensive star of the game, catching all three of Terrance Owens' touchdown passes. Adonis Thomas added 108 yards and a touchdown on the ground. As expected, though, the Falcons were able to keep a steady running game throughout the contest, picking up 248 yards on the ground.
While the Rockets receive the hardware from this game, the Falcons won the Commander-in-Chief Trophy for a second year in a row. It is certainly a reward the Falcons are proud of even with a loss to close out the season.
For more college football, stay tuned to SB Nation's college football news coverage. For more on the 2011 Military Bowl game, visit MAC blog Hustle Belt and Mountain West blog Mountain West Connection, plus SB Nation Denver.