‘We Didn’t Know That Was a Rule”

LAS VEGAS -- What comes to mind when Air Force tight end Bruin Fleischmann hears the phrase "Leaping the shield?"

Too soon.

The senior from Pocatello, Idaho Wednesday could only laugh and shake his head when the question was posed.

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"Yeah, that was rough," he said, referring to a poorly-timed penalty that ended all hope for his Falcons in a 31-19 road loss last September inside War Memorial Stadium, a venue Air Force hasn't won in since 2012. "We had a good game there and then that happened. We didn't know that was a rule."

Cornerback Levi Brown was the culprit.

He was guilty of jumping over the upback, attempting to block a punt with roughly three minutes remaining in regulation. Flags flew. Confusion ensued.

"It is a foul if a defensive player who is inside the tackle box tries to block a punt by leaving his feet and leaping into the plane directly above the frame of the body of an opponent," the NCAA rule reads.

Instead of the Air Force offense trotting onto the field with a five-point deficit and 76 yards to go, the Cowboys kept possession and three snaps later, quarterback Evan Svoboda was pumping his fists wildly in the end zone after a 17-yard scamper.

“It’s an obvious call, and unacceptable,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun told the Colorado Spring Gazette postgame. “The rule is very clear. It was called accurately. You cannot leap the shield.

“That’s on us.”

That was news to Fleischmann. And to Luke Freer.

He's the Falcons punter.

"I was shocked," the newly crowned All-Mountain West performer said. "I thought it was free game. If you get someone over, I mean, theoretically, our punts are supposed to go right above the shields. I mean, it's not a bad idea, right?

"I didn't know that was a rule."

Fleischmann admitted he was also in the dark when it came to this mandate that was implemented by the NCAA in 2017.

"I think our coaches were aware, but they never really made it aware for us," he added. "It was just one of those things that, like, our player was trying his hardest. Nobody was upset about it, he was trying to make a play. That's exactly what you want him to do."

For the Falcons, it was their third loss in a row. The youngest team in the Mountain West, they tacked on four more, including lopsided losses to their two biggest rivals, Navy and Army.

Wyoming snapped a four-game skid. After the victory over its Front Range nemesis, three more losses followed, all by a combined 15 points.

That victory didn't spark the Cowboys. Could it have lit a fire under the Falcons?

"We were starting to figure things out," Freer said. "It would've been really cool to win there and change things around."

Fleischmann isn't in the business of playing "what if?"

"I think it would have been fun to see a drive at the end, giving us the ball and seeing if we could even have a shot," he said. "Normally, that's not how our offense goes."

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players