In a horrific 9-turnover performance, Air Force was grounded by Navy this afternoon. The Midshipmen forced seven interceptions and recovered two Falcon fumbles to pull off a not-nearly-as-close-as-the-score-indicates 38-30 victory in Colorado Springs.

Navy, who entered the game at 4-1, made things ugly in a hurry. On their first possession, they came out in a 0-WR set, and an aggressive Air Force defense was burned on an 8-man blitz for an 86-yard bomb to HB #21. Carney then threw his first of seven interceptions on the day (video 1), and Navy responded with another scoring drive including a successful completion to a wide open receiver on 3rd and 18. Poor coverage and poor pressure in the backfield led that that completion, and many more throughout the night, as Navy had an answer for anything the Falcons tried to do defensively. Air Force did manage to hold Navy to a field goal on their second drive, but the following kickoff was fumbled and returned for another touchdown. The score was 17-0 at the beginning of the 2nd quarter, and the rout was on.

The recipe for the second quarter was more of the same. Carney threw interceptions, and Navy capitalized on the turnovers, taking a 31-0 lead and six turnovers into halftime.

The midshipment let off the accelerator a little bit in the second half, but it was way too late for Air Force. Still trailing by 31 going into the 4th, the Falcons tried to make a game of it, scoring three times and completing two 2-point conversions to bring them to within 8, but with no timeouts remaining and being unable to recover an onside kick with 47 seconds left, Navy would hang on to win.

Navy moves to 5-1 overall, and the Falcons fall to 2-2, and must try to regroup next week against Colorado State.

[video] - A Navy linebacker makes a miraculous play, skating backwards across the field with his back to the ball for Carney's first interception of the game.
[video] - Chris Sutton fumbles a Navy kickoff and it's returned for a Midshipmen touchdown to make it 17-0.