Army Shocks #25 Air Force In Denver 23-3

In a result that surprised the overwhelming majority of the college football public, the Army Black Knights beat the #25 Air Force Falcons at Empower Field at

© Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

In a result that surprised the overwhelming majority of the college football public, the Army Black Knights beat the #25 Air Force Falcons at Empower Field at Mile High. 

ESPN's Football Power Index gave Air Force an 87.3% chance to win the game at kickoff. The Black Knights built a 23-3 lead at the half, then shutout the hosts in the second half. 

Here are three stats and performances that told the story of the second leg of the race for the Commander-In-Chief's trophy.

RELATED: Jacksonville State Falls Short At South Carolina

Defensive Master Class

LEO LOWIN AGAIN 💥💥 and Dre Miller falls on it! Army BALL!

📺 @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/iQlRVS0knx

— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) November 4, 2023

Air Force's time as the only team in FBS without an interception came to an end. Army defensive back Bo Nicolas-Paul picked off Zac Larrier late in the second quarter and then again in the fourth quarter. 

Larrier had not turned the ball over personally prior to this game all season. He also lost two fumbles.

The Air Force offense finished with six turnovers in the game. They had five total through their first eight games of the season. If you count times that the Air Force offense failed to convert on fourth down, Air Force gave the ball back to Army nine times.

Army linebacker and captain Leo Lowin was the best defensive player of the game, totaling 11 tackles, a sack, a TFL, a fumble recovery and a pass deflection

Bryson Daily's Bounce Back Game

BRYSON DAILY TO THE HOUSE@ArmyWP_Football grab the early lead pic.twitter.com/TFA1T0PbDL

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) November 4, 2023

West Point quarterback Bryson Daily had the largest individual rushing yardage total that Air Force has surrendered all year. He finished with 36 carries for 170 yards and two touchdown carries after shaky outings the last several weeks.

Daily led Army to their highest point total since October 7 against Boston College.

RELATED: Sam Houston No Longer Winless

Momentum and the CIC Driver's Seat For Army

Saturday marked Army's first win over a ranked team since they beat Navy, in the CFP Top 25 at the time, in 2016. It's their first win over an AP ranked team since 1972 (52 attempts).

Interestingly enough, this win against the Falcons places even more weight on December's Army-Navy game in Foxborough. If Army beat Navy, they'll win the CIC Trophy for the first time since 2020 and their tenth time overall.

Army improves to 3-6 with the win while Air Force drops to 8-1.