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The Air Force Falcons and Louisville Cardinals will face off in the 2021 First Responder Bowl, per Brett McMurphy. The game will take place at the Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Kickoff is currently scheduled for 3:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 28th. The game will air on ESPN and will be available via live stream at WatchESPN.
It’s only tiebreakers that kept the Falcons from the 2021 MWC Championship Game, and their triple-option based attack led the nation by a mile at 341.6 yards per game. Quarterback Haaziq Daniels accounted for 932 passing yards, giving Air Force just enough of a passing threat to continue to pound the ball on the ground. The Academy averages 5.3 yards per carry, which equates to long drives that make them second in the nation in time of possession.
The Cardinals were hammered by their in-state rival Kentucky Wildcats in the regular season finale, but Louisville clinched a spot in a bowl game the week before in a win over the Duke Blue Devils. The Cardinals were a very one-sided team during the regular season with an offense that ranked inside the top 10 in yards per play heading into conference championship weekend but just 82nd in that category defensively. If Malik Cunningham does not throw an interception in the bowl game, he will have cut his interception total from a year ago in half as he threw for 18 touchdowns and six interceptions in the regular season.