Goff, Protected
For all of the football philosophers out there, the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl proved this. IF two teams are pretty much equal in defensive skills and physicality, the team that airs it out vs. the run-oriented team will dominate. It’s all about scoring efficiently. Many repeat the cliche, “Defense wins championships.” But, well, my friends … in most of the games I have seen, the team that scores the most points wins.
The Golden Bears of Cal scored the most points in Amon G. Carter Stadium in its final game of the year. Cal beat down the Air Forces Falcons 55-36, but it didn’t seem to be a game of physical dominance … it was sheer airpower and execution. The Bear Raid went 7 for 8 in the red zone.
Before the game, guys in the press box were debating whether or not Cal QB Jared Goff will go pro, and if so, would he be taken in the first round of the NFL draft. Funny. After the game, one Dallas/Fort Worth sportscast was already debating whether or not The Dallas Cowboys would take Goff. Here’s why.
Goff rewrote the California and PAC 12 record books this year, shattering those set by his FB (fellow Bear) Aaron Rogers at Cal and those of Oregon national champion, NFL upstart Marcus Mariota.
For the day in Fort Worth, Goff set a new record for touchdown passes in the Armed Forces Bowl with 6 – also a Bear bowl record. As if to prove my point, the Air Force signal caller, Karson Roberts also set — or actually tied — his school record for TD passes in a bowl game – 2.
Roberts Pitches
Goff threaded the needle in zone and double coverage all day, on the way to 55 points — also a Cal bowl game record for scoring. He completed 25 of 37 passes for 467 yards of air superiority. Yes, another Cal record. With the 6 in Fort Worth, Goff threw 43 TD passes for the year, surpassing Mariota’s mark. The 6-4, 215-pound junior from Novato, Calif., now has 12,200 yards of career passing, 96 TDS, and a year of eligibility remaining. If you Google for “NFL QB prototype,” you will see his wikipedia.
Both teams “brought the heat” and from the sidelines you could hear violent collisions throughout the game. One of the more violent, on the third defensive play for the Falcons, cost them their leading tackler Weston Steelhammer (what a great name for a hard-hitter) — ejected for targeting after a hard hit on a receiver after an incompletion. In the absence of Steelhammer, several Falcons recorded career highs for tackling. However, accumulating tackles is often the bi-product of a potent offense on the other side of the ball.
Cal Cheer
More Cal Cheer
For the Falcons, their “bread-and-butter” option play was flawless in execution, but against the modern warfare of a passing era, proved too little, too seldom. Air Force ran up 434 yards on offense, 285 coming on the ground with 53 carries. Lulling the Cal defense to sleep with run after run, it did surprise everyone with several big plays. Ironically, the longest pass play of the day was Robert’s 57-yard strike to Timothy McVey (ha … yes … Timothy McVey). The score was McVey’s 13th of the season. Roberts finished the day with 69 yards rushing and one TD on the ground.
Falcon Cheer
Williams’ First
Kenny Lawlers’ three TD receptions on the day tied the bowl record. The two teams set a new mark for Armed Forces Bowl scoring, with 91 collectively. Across the field, Tyler Williams of Air Force scored his first career TD, breaking loose for a 16-yard scamper.
Blue Fan Group?
Goff was named MVP of The Armed Forces Bowl, as you might have guessed. As for Air Force, the PingWi-Fi appointed play-uh of the game was a gentleman painted blue — head to toe, head shaved — in the south end zone bleachers who yelled support of his team, without rest, for the entire game. Never say die.
Know what I sayin?
