2023 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
21st Armed Forces Bowl
James Madison Dukes Air Force Falcons
(11–1) (8–4)
Sun Belt MW
21 31
Head coach: 
Damian Wroblewski (interim)		 Head coach: 
Troy Calhoun
APCoachesCFP
2425NR
1234 Total
James Madison 7077 21
Air Force 71473 31
DateDecember 23, 2023
Season2023
StadiumAmon G. Carter Stadium
LocationFort Worth, Texas
MVPEmmanuel Michel (RB, Air Force)[1]
FavoriteJames Madison by 3.5[2]
RefereeNate Black (AAC)[3]
Attendance30,828
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersAnish Shroff (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst), and Paul Carcaterra (sideline)

The 2023 Armed Forces Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 23, 2023, at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. The 21st annual Armed Forces Bowl featured the Air Force Falcons of the Mountain West Conference and the James Madison Dukes of the Sun Belt Conference. The game begin at approximately 2:30 p.m. CST and was aired on ABC.[4][5] The Armed Forces Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin and was officially known as the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.

Teams

The game featured the James Madison Dukes from the Sun Belt Conference and the Air Force Falcons from the Mountain West Conference.

This was the first time that James Madison and Air Force played each other.

James Madison Dukes

The Dukes entered the game ranked 24th in the AP poll with an 11–1 record (7–1 in Sun Belt games), having finished atop their conference's East Division. Because this was the final year of a two-year transition from the Football Championship Subdivision, James Madison was not originally bowl-eligible,[6] with waiver requests denied by the NCAA in August[7] and November.[8] However, because of an insufficient number of bowl-eligible teams available to fill all bowl games, the Dukes were ultimately granted a berth.

This was the first bowl game in James Madison school history.

Air Force Falcons

The Falcons entered the game with an 8–4 record (5–3 in Mountain West games), tied for fourth place in their conference. They started their season with eight consecutive wins, culminating with a win over Colorado State, which was ranked 19th in the AP poll, but then lost their final four games of the regular season.

This was Air Force's seventh Armed Forces Bowl, extending their record for most appearances in the game. Entering the game, the Falcons had a 2–4 record in prior editions of the game, having most recently appeared in the 2022 edition, which they won.

Game summary

2023 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Period 1 2 34Total
James Madison 7 0 7721
Air Force 7 14 7331

at Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, Texas

  • Date: Saturday, December 23, 2023
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 66 °F (19 °C) • Wind: 12 mph (19 km/h) SE
  • Game attendance: 30,828
  • Referee: Nate Black
  • TV announcers (ABC): Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst), and Paul Carcaterra (sideline)
  • Box score
Game information
First Quarter
  • (8:11) AF – Emmanuel Michel 1 yard run, Matthew Dapore kick (Drive: 8 plays, 86 yards, 4:30; Air Force 7–0)
  • (5:00) JMU – Phoenix Sproles 18 yard pass from Jordan McCloud, Camden Wise kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:11; Tied 7–7)
Second Quarter
  • (7:51) AF – Emmanuel Michel 1 yard run, Matthew Dapore kick (Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards, 4:06; Air Force 14–7)
  • (0:27) AF – Jared Roznos 42 yard pass from Zac Larrier, Matthew Dapore kick (Drive: 2 plays, 46 yards, 0:11; Air Force 21–7)
Third Quarter
  • (9:11) JMU – Kaelon Black 5 yard pass from Jordan McCloud, Camden Wise kick (Drive: 5 plays, 51 yards, 1:56; Air Force 21–14)
  • (4:07) AF – Zac Larrier 1 yard run, Matthew Dapore kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 5:04; Air Force 28–14)
Fourth Quarter
  • (8:20) AF – Matthew Dapore 26 yard field goal (Drive: 17 plays, 49 yards, 9:45; Air Force 31–14)
  • (3:10) JMU – Phoenix Sproles 7 yard pass from Jordan McCloud, Camden Wise kick (Drive: 12 plays, 70 yards, 5:10; Air Force 31–21)

Statistics

Statistics JMU AFA
First downs1618
Plays–yards52–28368–396
Rushes–yards19–2663–351
Passing yards25745
Passing: comp–att–int20–33–13–5–0
Time of possession22:2737:33
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
James Madison PassingJordan McCloud20/33, 257 yards, 3 TD, INT
RushingKaelon Black11 carries, 43 yards
ReceivingElijah Sarratt8 receptions, 115 yards
Air Force PassingZac Larrier3/5, 45 yards, TD
RushingEmmanuel Michel35 carries, 203 yards, 2 TD
ReceivingJared Roznos1 reception, 42 yards, TD

References

  1. ↑ @ArmedForcesBowl (December 23, 2023). "The @ArmedForcesBowl MVP is Emmanuel Michel. 203 yards and @AF_Football bowl record" (Tweet). Retrieved December 23, 2023 – via Twitter.
  2. ↑ Parks, James (December 11, 2023). "College football bowl schedule, game odds, point spreads for 2023-24". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  3. ↑ Austro, Ben (December 3, 2023). "2023-24 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  4. ↑ Straka, Dean (May 31, 2023). "2023-24 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  5. ↑ Lewis, Barry. "2023-24 College Football Bowl Schedule, Dates, Times Announced". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  6. ↑ News-Record, NOAH FLEISCHMAN Daily (May 2, 2023). "How Likely Is a Bowl Game For JMU In 2023?". Daily News-Record. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  7. ↑ "NCAA denies James Madison's bid for waiver to gain bowl eligibility". The Virginian-Pilot. April 27, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  8. ↑ Salerno, Cameron (November 16, 2023). "NCAA denies postseason eligibility waiver for James Madison, Dukes must hope for dearth of bowl-eligible teams". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
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