Griffin, Roberts Lift Air Force To 20-3 Win Over Army

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) — Karson Roberts threw two TD passes to tight end Garrett Griffin, Air Force's defense turned in a dominating performance and the Falcons won their school-record 11th straight home game by beating Army 20-3 on Saturday.

The victory makes Air Force (6-3) bowl eligible. Even more, the Falcons remain in the running for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, which is presented annually to the winning academy in the round-robin competition. Air Force lost to Navy earlier this season and needs the Black Knights (2-7) to beat the Midshipmen next month to retain the trophy.

These teams know each other so well that yards were hard to gain. Air Force's smothering defense limited Army to 169 total yards and just nine first downs.

Griffin missed five games to start the season with a knee injury. With Army concentrating on big-play threats Garrett Brown and Jalen Robinette, Griffin found room to get open. He caught a 3-yard TD pass just before halftime and a 23-yarder to wrap up the win in the fourth quarter.

Roberts finished 7 of 10 for 156 yards.

Army's Ahmad Bradshaw was held to 42 yard rushing. He also completed 2 of 8 for 45 yards, including one to Edgar Poe that went for 33.

While Army's offense struggled, the defense actually kept the team in the game against an Air Force squad that's scored 100 points the last two weeks. The Falcons finished with 196 yards rushing, well below their average of 353.4, the second-best total in the nation.

Air Force jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first half courtesy of a 22-yard field goal from Luke Strebel and Griffin's first TD catch of the season.

Strebel added a 42-yarder fourth quarter.

This was the 50th all-time meeting between the schools. Air Force leads the series 35-14-1.

By Pat Graham, AP Writer

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