Dec. 31, 2008

FORT WORTH, Texas - Freshman running back Bryce Beall rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown and added 92 receiving yards to help lead the University of Houston football team to a 34-28 win over Air Force on Wednesday during the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Beall, who accounted for 229 yards of all-purpose yards, finished the season with 1,247 rushing yards, becoming the first freshman in school history to reach that milestone.

With the win, the Cougars finished the season with an 8-5 record and won their first bowl game since a 35-0 decision over Navy during the 1980 Garden State Bowl in East Rutherford, N.J., on Dec. 22, 1980. The win snapped an eight-game losing skid in bowl games.

Leading his team to eight wins, head coach Kevin Sumlin became the first first-year head coach in school history to lead the Cougars to a bowl win and became only the third UH coach ever to win a bowl game.

Sophomore quarterback Case Keenum threw for 252 yards and a touchdown on 22-of-33 passing but saw his school-record streak of consecutive 300-yard passing games snapped at 13 straight games dating back to last season.

The game started on a positive note for the Cougars when Roisean Haynes forced a fumble on the opening kickoff and junior Brandon Brinkley jumped on the loose ball to set up the offense on the Air Force 25.

Four plays later, Beall plunged into the end zone from one yard out to hand the Cougars an early 7-0 lead.

Air Force wasted little time in knotting the game at 7-7. Taking over on their 23-yard line, the Falcons marched 77 yards in little less than two minutes with six straight rushing plays and tied the game on Jared Tew's 2-yard touchdown run.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Cougars embarked on an eight-play, 65-yard drive that was capped by sophomore quarterback Case Keenum's 1-yard sneak into the end zone.

Later in the period, freshman linebacker Marcus McGraw stripped Asher Clark of the ball at the Air Force 24 and senior defensive end Phillip Hunt pounced on the loose ball and returned it to the Air Force 14. However, the Falcon defense stiffened, limiting the Cougars to only three points on freshman kicker Jordan Mannisto's 22-yard field goal with four seconds remaining in the period.

On its ensuing possession, Air Force marched 76 yards in 12 plays and pulled to within a field goal at 17-14 on Tim Jefferson's 5-yard touchdown run at the 9:52 mark of the second quarter.

After a Cougar punt, a missed 28-yard field goal by Air Force and another UH punt, Air Force tied the game at 17-17 when Ryan Harrison booted a 44-yard field with 2:28 left in the first half.

Air Force looked ready to grab its first lead of the game when a Cougar fumble on the ensuing kickoff put the Falcons at the UH 29-yard line with 2:21 remaining. But the UH defense stiffened and pushed Air Force back nine yards before Harrison missed a 55-yard field goal attempt.

The two teams traded scoring possessions in the third quarter. The Cougars took the opening kickoff and marched 69 yards on a seven-play drive that was capped on Keenum's 4-yard touchdown run with 12:28 remaining in the period for a 24-17 lead.

Air Force took over on the next possession on an 18-play drive that consumed 51 yards and took more than eight-and-a-half minutes off the clock. However the Cougar defense limited the Falcons to Harrison's 37-yard field goal with 3:46 left in the period to maintain a 24-20 advantage.

Houston looked to take control of the game, extending their lead, 31-20 on 20-yard field goal attempt by Mannisto and a punt by the Falcons on their next possession.

Five plays later, Keenum's pass to senior tight end Mark Hafner was intercepted and returned 19 yards by Aaron Kirchoff. The Falcons would pull within three after the interception on a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Tim Jefferson.

The Cougars capped the game with a 37-yard field goal from Mannisto with 3:24 left on the clock.