FINAL: Notre Dame Fighting Irish rout Air Force Falcons, 45-10
By Evan Reller
Oct 26, 2013; Colorado Springs, CO, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Tommy Rees (11) looks to throw the ball in the first quarter against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish notched another win this season after downing the Air Force Falcons. The Irish cruised to a 45-10 victory Saturday evening.
The win improved the Irish to 6-2 and kept alive the hope of a BCS Bowl berth. The win will likely vault Notre Dame back into the Top 25 rankings.
Tommy Rees was on fire Saturday. The senior QB picked apart the Falcons secondary with ease, forcing Air Force to change their defense and thus allowing the Irish to run the ball with ease.
Rees was 17-for-22 for 284 yards and a career high five touchdowns. After building a 38-10 lead late in the third quarter, Rees was given a rest and Andrew Hendrix took over at QB.
TJ Jones was Rees’ favorite target, hauling in seven of his passes. Jones had 104 yards and a touchdown.
Four other receivers had touchdown catches as well. Chris Brown, Ben Koyack, Corey Robinson, and Will Fuller all found the end zone courtesy of Rees’ arm.
On the ground, the Irish racked up 135 yards rushing. Cam McDaniel led the charge with 61 yards. Tarean Folston added 47 yards. Hendrix even had nine yards rushing on four carries and found the end zone.
While the Falcons rushed for 290 yards, they were held to just 49 yards passing. The defense also managed to force and recover two fumbles.
The Irish played a very clean game, and were flagged just once for a false start.
Notre Dame was forced to punt just three times all game. With the exception of the games opening drive, which resulted in a missed field goal, the Irish scored on every possession.
The Irish will face another armed forces school when Navy comes to South Bend next week. Navy is similar to Air Force in that they both run an option offense and will likely test the Irish defense.
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