Army’s defense forced six turnovers in its 23-3 win over Air Force.
The final turnover may have been the most inspirational.
Junior defensive end Andre Miller emerged out of a pile with the football and his first career fumble recovery. Miller was playing in his second straight game since leaving the field at Syracuse and heading to the hospital after a collision with a teammate on Sept. 23.
Army defensive coordinator Nate Woody was emotional when thinking back to the moment at Syracuse.
“When he went down, you don’t want to see something like that, ever in football or for anything else,” said Woody during his weekly media briefing. “When we got news that he was going to be OK, it’s like nothing you can describe.
“It’s a tremendous, tremendous feeling knowing one of your kids is going to be alright. To see him come all the way back and play this year and get into a ball game, have great production and finish a play like he did, it just takes your breath away.”
Junior safety Max DiDomenico played all 64 defensive snaps. Senior safety Quindrelin Hammonds came off the field for only one play.
Junior linebacker Brett Gerena forced his first career fumble. Linebacker Cam O’Gara played the game with cast on his hand and took 24 snaps.
Here’s a player breakdown of the 64 snaps (as charted off DVR, * – starter, # – freshman):
*S Max DiDomenico (64 snaps): 5 tackles6
*S Quindrelin Hammonds (63 snaps): 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack
*LB Leo Lowin (59 snaps): 12 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 fumble recovery, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup, 1 Helmet Sticker from ESPN’s College Football Final
*LB Jimmy Ciarlo (57 snaps): 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 fumble recovery
CB Bo Nicolas-Paul (53 snaps): 5 tackles, 2 interceptions
*CB Jabari Moore (52 snaps): 1 tackle
*NT Kyle Lewis (45 snaps): 3 tackles
*LB Jackson Powell (44 snaps): 3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble9
*LB Kalib Fortner (41 snaps): 5 tackles
*DE Austin Hill (36 snaps): 5 tackles
*DE Chris Frey (34 snaps): 2 tackles
DE Nate Smith (27 snaps): 2 tackles, 1 pass breakup
DE Jack Latore (26 snaps): 2 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
*CB Cam Jones (24 snaps): 2 tackles
LB Cam O’Gara (23 snaps): 2 tackles
NT Darius Richardson (19 snaps): 2 tackles
LB Trey Sofia (17 snaps)
LB Chance Keith (7 snaps)
LB Brett Gerena (5 snaps): 1 tackle, 1 forced fumble
DE Andre Miller (5 snaps): 1 fumble recovery
LB Elo Modozie (3 snaps)
S Aaron Bibbins (1 snap)
