clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Air Force’s Jeremy Fejedelem is C.I.C. MVP after stellar performance vs. Wyoming

The senior defensive back had two picks and a team-high 10 tackles in a victory over the Cowboys.

By Mitchell Northam
NCAA Football: Colorado State at Air Force Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Typically, if a player scores five times in one game, this here blog awards them the C.I.C. MVP award for the week. So, at the top here, we should acknowledge Jamale Carothers’ performance against Houston. The sophomore Midshipman toted the ball 18 times for 189 yards and FIVE touchdowns in a dominant 56-41 win for Navy.

But if it wasn’t for the play of Jeremy Fejedelem, Air Force may have not beaten the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday.

The senior defensive back picked off a pair of passes and Air Force scored off of both of them. Fejedelem halted a Wyoming drive that had covered 44 yards in three plays with his first pick, and then picked off a second pass on a third-and-six situation early in the fourth quarter, when Wyoming desperately needed to score. Air Force drove to kick field goals after both of his takeaways.

For his opportunistic play-making abilities, Fejedelem is our C.I.C. MVP of the Week.

The 5-foot-10 senior from Lemont, Illinois also tallied 10 tackles against Wyoming, which was tied for the team lead. And one of his tackles was for a loss.

Fejedelem has put together a solid senior campaign, starting 11 of the 12 games he’s played in. He’s racked up 73 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and three pass break-ups. He’s a crucial part of the Falcons’ defense, which ranks 22nd in the country in points-allowed per-game (19.8), a mark that is third-best in the Mountain West and the best among all Service Academy teams.

D.J. Hammond III and the Falcons’ offense has been great this year too, but their defense is a large reason why they’ve won 10 games this season and are in a position to win 11, which would be the most by an Air Force team since 1998, when they were in the WAC.

After beating Wyoming, Air Force was ranked 25th in the Associated Press and Coaches polls, and Fejedelem was named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week.

“It’s always good when you can make a big play like that for the team,” Fejedelem told the Colorado Springs Gazette. “But I didn’t have to do much for that. My teammates kind of did everything for me, they kind of tipped it up and I didn’t have to do much... I was very hungry for those.”