Air Force slips past Fresno State, 31-21

Friday, October 28

Fresno, Calif.

7:30 p.m. PT

Fresno State

1-8 , 0-5

Air Force

5-3 , 2-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Air Force

Fresno State

Photo by: Kiel Maddox

Air Force slips past Fresno State, 31-21

10/29/2016 1:44:00 AM | Football

Box Score Interim head coach Eric Kiesau DB Stratton Brown WR KeeSean Johnson Postgame Quotes (PDF)Photo Gallery (Keith Kountz)Photo Gallery (Kiel Maddox)

Career nights from Johnson, Jordan and Virgil not enough for Bulldogs in Eric Kiesau’s first game as a head coach.

By: Matt Burkholder / Director of Communications

FRESNO, Calif. – In a 31-21 Fresno State loss on Friday night at Bulldog Stadium to Air Force, the Bulldogs' air attack came up short against the Falcons' ground game. KeeSean Johnson and Jamire Jordan combined for 257 yards receiving, becoming the Bulldogs' first pair of 100-yard receivers since the 2013 Mountain West Championship game, while the Air Force rush attack amassed 327 yards on 73 carries.

Johnson, who had a career-high 142 yards, became the first Bulldog to catch three touchdowns in a game since Davante Adams on Nov. 29, 2013 and Jordan joined Johnson with a 100-yard receiving game (115), his second of the season.

The quarterback, Chason Virgil, notched his first 300-yard passing game and three touchdown game of his young career as he finished with 303 yards, but it also came with a career-high four interceptions.

Virgil and his receivers started clicking during their second drive as the redshirt freshman lofted a 21-yard pass to Jordan before finding Johnson streaking down the middle of the field for a 36-yard touchdown. At the end of the first quarter, Virgil began orchestrating a 10-play, 80-yard drive in which he was 4-of-4 and connected with Johnson for a two-yard score to put the Bulldogs up 14-0.

An interception by Air Force's Brodie Hicks late in the first half led to the Falcon's first score. The Falcons marched 51 yards, with 33 of them coming on a touchdown pass from Nate Romine to Ronald Cleveland with 41 seconds to go to pull within seven, 14-7.

The Falcons would tack on a field goal on its opening drive to start the second half. Three plays later, Air Force grabbed its first lead of the game as Patrick Healy returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown. Unaffected, Virgil found Johnson open deep on the ensuing Fresno State possession for a 52-yard score, his third of the game.

As the Falcons were driving heading into the fourth, four straight runs from Arion Worthman set them up inside the five-yard line. Two plays later, the quarterback provided the go-ahead score for the visitors, 24-21.

With under four minutes remaining, Air Force looked to put the game away, but the Bulldog defense held strong with a goal-line stand. The offense though could only manage three yards on its next possession and turned the ball over-on-downs at the seven-yard line. Worthman would make it a 31-21 advantage for the Falcons two plays later.

Key Stat
Air Force rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries while holding the ball for 10:21 in the final quarter.

Quotables
Interim head coach Eric Kiesau on the game…
"Tonight was a tough game. I thought our players played extremely hard and I give them a lot of credit. I'm really proud of their effort and how they played tonight. We just came up short."

"There is a huge buy-in factor right now and I know the points aren't there but that will come. I truly believe that it will come. We've been talking about relentless effort and tonight the kids were shouting it back at us. These kids will come back on Sunday and work hard at practice."

Interim head coach Eric Kiesau on QB Chason Virgil's play…
"Two of the interceptions weren't his fault and two of the interceptions were his fault. We have to go back to the film and study it. I know the easy route would have been to pull him. After he made his second interception I looked him in the eye and told him that I believed in him and that goes a long way with young men these days. He had a third down after where he made a huge play to score a touchdown."

"Sometimes I think we tend to give up on kids too quickly after they make mistakes, and that sends a bad message. We are going to look back at the film to study it and make sure that we have the best guys on the field as we move forward."

Notables
• KeeSean Johnson surpassed 100 yards for the first time in his career, totaling 142 yards; the yardage mark was the most by a Bulldog since Aaron Peck topped out at 194 on Oct. 8, 2016.
• Jamire Jordan (115) and KeeSean Johnson (142) are the first Fresno State WR duo to have 100-yard games since Davante Adams and Isaiah Burse (Dec. 7, 2013).
• KeeSean Johnson's career-high three touchdowns were the most in a single game by a Bulldog since Davante Adams on Nov. 29, 2013 vs. San Jose State.
• Chason Virgil threw for 300 yards (303) for the first time in his career; it was the first game Fresno State went over the 300-yard passing mark this season. It was the first time a Bulldog quarterback went over the 300-yard mark since Brian Burrell on Dec. 6, 2014 vs. Boise State.
• Fresno State had six chunk plays in the game (all passing); that number surpasses five collected in the two previous games combined.
• The four interceptions were the most in a game for Fresno State since Aug. 30, 2014; it was the most by an individual since Dec. 2, 2006 (Tom Brandstater).
• Stratton Brown's 15 tackles were a career-high, matching Jeff Camilli's team-high of 15 set vs. Tulsa on Sept. 24.
• Fresno State's two leading tacklers surpassed double-digit tackles; Stratton Brown has done so in five of the last seven games, and Jeff Camilli has done so in six of the last eight games he has played.
• Fresno State was held to 37 yards rushing, its second-lowest total this season. The Bulldogs have been held under 100 yards rushing five times in 2016.
• The last interception returned for a touchdown against Fresno State was on Nov. 15, 2015 at BYU.
• Robert Stanley set a career-high with 11 tackles.
• Trent Soechting set a career-high with 10 tackles.
• Fresno State was 7-of-14 on third downs.
• Air Force posted 23 first downs to the Bulldogs' 18.
• Fresno State was outscored 24-7 in the second half; Fresno State was outscored 21-6 in the second half last week at Utah State.

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