California vs. Air Force: Score and Reaction for 2015 Armed Forces Bowl

The California Golden Bears' prolific passing attack proved to be too much for the prodigious rushing attack of the Air Force Falcons as Cal won the 2015 Armed Forces Bowl, 55-36, on Tuesday at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. 

In what may have been Cal quarterback Jared Goff's final college game, the potential first-round pick went out on a high note with 467 yards and six touchdown passes. He also broke a school record for completions along the way, per Cal Football on Twitter:  

According to ESPN College Football on Twitter, Goff's 467 yards broke Cal's bowl-game record held by Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (394). 

Also for the history books, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group noted Goff didn't need much time to equal an Armed Forces Bowl record:

The good vibes didn't stop there for Goff, per Cal Football and Jeff Faraudo of the Bay Area News Group:

There were times early in the game when it appeared Goff was not going to have a stellar end to this season. He struggled with accuracy and ball placement despite leading Cal to 14 points in the first quarter. That prompted this critique from Kevin Lynch of SFGate.com:

Minutes after Lynch posted his tweet, Goff showed people why he could be the first quarterback taken in the 2016 NFL draft if he declares by throwing a beautiful touch pass to wide receiver Kenny Lawler for a 24-yard score that put the Bears up 28-14 in the second quarter. 

From the second half of the Arizona State game through the first half of the Armed Forces Bowl, Goff was putting up numbers worthy of a Heisman Trophy, per ESPN Stats & Info:

After three successful seasons at Cal, including a brilliant final performance against an Air Force defense that came into the contest ranked 30th in the nation with 21.6 points allowed per game, Goff doesn't have much left to prove at the collegiate level. 

ESPN.com's Todd McShay did note in his first mock draft he would like to see Goff (6'4", 215 lbs) return to school "to get bigger and stronger," but a professional coaching staff can help him bulk up while taking advantage of his unique gifts as a quarterback. 

Luke Easterling of DraftBreakdown.com did his best to keep a level head for fans who might overreact to a single-game performance:

It's hardly a knock on Goff to say he doesn't look like a superstar right now. Many top quarterbacks in the NFL didn't look the part in college, so development of the tools he displayed Tuesday will determine his future. 

Wide receiver Bryce Treggs was the biggest beneficiary of all those yards Goff was racking up, cracking the century mark for the fourth time in five games with 143 yards and one touchdown on just four catches. 

Goff's best throw of the day was to Treggs for a 30-yard score, seen in this highlight from Cal Football's official Twitter account:

Air Force did what it does best—run the ball for 285 yards—but three turnovers doomed the Falcons. 

All those rushing yards were largely spread around, with Jacobi Owens leading the way with 83. The Falcons cut the Bears' lead to 45-29 late in the third quarter, but that set the stage for Goff to deliver a knockout punch. 

He torched the Air Force secondary on Cal's subsequent possession, driving the offense 61 yards in three plays with Lawler catching his third touchdown pass of the game. 

It's up for debate whether college football has too many bowl games, but the Armed Forces Bowl was a feather in the cap of having 40 of them. Goff had a historic day against a quality Air Force team while showcasing his ability on national television and further establishing his NFL resume in the process. 

Sonny Dykes earned his first bowl victory in six seasons as a college football head coach while also completing the transformation of Cal he started when taking over a program that went 1-11 in his first season three years ago.    

California still has a long way to go before competing with the Pac-12 powers, but Dykes' ability to build an offense and recruit high-end talent has never been more apparent. The Golden Bears are going to be a dangerous threat next year, with or without Goff. 

Postgame Reaction

Not surprisingly, Goff was all anyone for either team could talk about after the game ended. 

Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun praised Goff's ability to do everything as a quarterback, per Ryan Gorcey of Scout.com:

Those are little things that don't show up in a box score but will be so critical for NFL teams when Goff goes through the evaluation process. 

However, speaking on ESPN after the game (per GoldenBlogs), Goff said he is going to talk with his parents before making a final decision about turning pro. 

Calhoun added that in terms of Goff's ceiling, "the sky might be low" based on his performance Tuesday, per Gorcey. 

Air Force quarterback Karson Roberts pointed out Goff's accuracy in his postgame discussion, per Gorcey:

It's hard to argue with Goff's accuracy when half of his incompletion total (12) adds up to the number of touchdown passes he had (six). 

Moving to the Cal side, Dykes took time to praise the job of his entire team during this slow rebuilding process, per Gorcey:

Taking a more narrow focus from the game, Dykes expressed heartfelt emotion for the leadership trio of Goff, Treggs and senior safety Stefan McClure:

The team aspect is always important to keep in mind, but Dykes was not above singling out what Goff accomplished, per Gorcey:

Cal has grown exponentially in Goff's three years as a starting quarterback. That ride may be at its conclusion, but the foundation that he has helped establish will help the program compete for conference titles and possibly national titles in the near future.