DEE-FENSE, DEE-FENSE? From November 18, 1999, through the 2002 San Francisco
Bowl, Air Force has played thirty-seven games against division 1-A opponents. In
25 (69.4%) of those games Air Force has allowed 24 or more points to the
opposition. In those 25 games when allowing 24 or more points AFA has gone
11-14(.440). In the twelve games in which the defense has allowed fewer than
twenty-four points AFA has gone 10-2(.833). When AFA limits the opposition to
fewer than 24 points it wins. When AFA allows twenty-four points or more its
chances to win decrease rapidly and the figures support this assessment.
On October 19, 2002, Notre Dame became the first team to defeat AFA when scoring
fewer than 24 points since Utah beat the Falcons 21-15 in the Snow Bowl on
October 16, 1999. The only other game Air Force has lost since November 18,
1999, when allowing fewer than twenty-four points is the San Francisco Bowl to
Virginia Tech by a 20-13 score.
A CHANCE TO ADVANCE. Here is a look at the leading rushers in AFA history
through the San Francisco Bowl played December 31, 2002. Leotis Palmer finished
his superb career in seventeenth place on the list. Chance Harridge is
immediately behind Palmer. Harridge needs 590 yards rushing to become the sixth
player in AFA history to reach the 2,000 yard mark. Harridge could challenge
fullback John Kershner for third place on the career rushing list. He needs to
run for 1317 yards (88 yards more than he gained in 2002) to surpass Kershner--an
exceptional FB in his playing career-- as the third leading rusher in AFA
football history.
1. 3612 Dee Dowis
2. 3379 Beau Morgan
3. 2726 John Kershner
4. 2284 Pat Evans
4. 2284 Brian Bream
6. 1993 Greg Johnson
7. 1860 Marty Louthan
8. 1762 Jason Jones
9. 1760 Rodney Lewis
10. 1702 Rob Perez
11. 1677 Bart Weiss
12. 1633 Terry Issacson
13. 1630 Ken Wood
14. 1551 Shelby Ball
15. 1534 Mike Thiessen
16. 1478 Jake Campbell
17. 1470 Leotis Palmer
18. 1410 Chance Harridge
19. 1406 Qualario Brown
20. 1400 Scotty McKay
21. 1371 Mike Quinlan
22. 1354 Spanky Gilliam
23. 1347 Larry Thomson
24. 1296 Nakia Addison
25. 1233 Johnny Smith
26. 1129 Blane Morgan
27. 1091 Curtis Martin