AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — After playing so efficiently and mistake-free in the season-opening victory over Washington the week before, BYU's offense was mistake-prone, plagued by turnovers and false start penalties in Saturday's 35-14 loss at Air Force.
The Falcons dominated the time-of-possession battle, holding the ball for nearly 37 minutes, compared to only 23 minutes for BYU.
"Obviously, the turnovers were concerning, the ball security. It's hard to win against Air Force when (there's a large disparity in time of possession) and turning the ball over," said coach Bronco Mendenhall.
BYU coughed up the ball three times, on two fumbles and one interception, and converted only 6 of 15 third-down opportunities.
In the second half, BYU punter Riley Stephenson shanked a couple of punts, including one that traveled only one yard, giving Air Force excellent field position.
"Not being able to kick the ball or punt the ball effectively toward the end and giving them a few short field, it was really the antithesis of last week, when we had Washington pinned down in their own end zone so frequently," Mendenhall said.
REMEMBERING 9/11: Air Force honored the memory of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 Saturday.
NYPD detective Steve Hayden and FDNY firefighter Ken Haskell served as honorary captains for the game for the Falcons.
The coin used for the coin toss before the game featured the American flag on one side and an image of the Twin Towers on the other.
Air Force paid tribute with its helmets, too, with the famed lightning bolts on the side of the helmet featuring the American flag with white stars on blue and red and white stripes. The back of the helmet had four stickers — a 9-11-01 sticker with the 11 being replicas of the World Trade Center twin towers and the word "Remember" with a United States flag. Around it was a black outline in the shape of the Pentagon building. Underneath were the official logos of the New York City Police Department, the New York City Fire Department and the Port Authority Police of New York-New Jersey.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: BYU held its traditional fireside Friday night as the team shared inspirational messages at an LDS chapel in Colorado Springs.
Meanwhile, at the Air Force Cadet Chapel, Mendenhall, his wife Holly, and tight end Devin Mahina, spoke to cadets.
PENALTIES GALORE: While BYU was whistled for seven penalties for 45 yards, Air Force had 10 penalties for 125 yards, including four of the personal-foul variety.
FLAG-BEARERS: BYU offensive lineman Nick Alletto carried out the team flag Saturday, while former BYU linebacker Rob Morris carried out the alumni flag.
EXTRA POINTS: Air Force won its 11th straight conference opener and the Falcons are now 11-1 all-time in league openers ... Air Force beat BYU for the first time since the 2003 season, a 24-10 victory in Provo. Before Saturday, the last time the Falcons beat the Cougars here was a 52-9 victory in 2002 ... Air Force has shut out its opponents in the second half of both games this season, outscoring foes 55-0 in the second half ... The sellout crowd of 46,692 was the largest crowd to watch a game at Falcon Stadium since Notre Dame came to town in 2006.
e-mail: jeffc@desnews.com