Air Force wore blue home jerseys, and Houston wore home red jerseys with contrasting colors. This was the first bowl game in the
2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season where teams wore contrasting color jerseys, allowed by a new rule this season. The Falcons ground out 402 yards of rushing offense on their way to their first bowl victory since 2000. Air Force was led by
tailbacks, Jared Tew who had 173 yards and two
touchdowns and Asher Clark who carried 17 times for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Clark was named the game's MVP. Air Force's defense was just as impressive as the top ranked pass defense in the country held 2009
NCAA leading passer, Case Keenum to 222 yards and only one touchdown while intercepting him six times. Keenum only had six interceptions in the first 12 games of the season. After Houston was held without a touchdown before halftime,
Tyron Carrier returned the opening
kickoff of the second half 79 yards for his fourth TD the season. He took the ball near the left sideline, then ran to the middle of the field before shooting through a gap and running untouched to get the Cougars within 24–13. Air Force immediately responded with its first kickoff return for a touchdown since 1985. Jonathan Warzeka fielded the ball and stepped back into the end zone before running 100 yards. Five Houston players got their hands on him, but couldn't get him down. According to STATS, it was only the sixth major college game since 1996 with
kickoff return touchdowns on consecutive plays. None of them had been in a bowl game. The loss for Houston was their ninth of its last 10 bowl games. The Falcons scored a school-record 47 points, the second-most by a service academy in a bowl game. Navy put up 51 in the 2005
Poinsettia Bowl.
Scoring summary ==References==