FORT WORTH – California coach Jeff Tedford might have a quarterback controversy on his hands heading into the off-season.

Redshirt freshman Kevin Riley came off the bench and rallied Cal to a wild 42-36 victory over a gritty Air Force squad Monday in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl at TCU's Amon Carter Stadium.

The fifth-year bowl drew a record 40,905 fans, and they were treated to a shootout as the teams combined for 932 yards of offense and 50 first downs.

A pair of in-game quarterback changes determined the outcome. Neither team's starting quarterback finished the game, although for very different reasons.

Riley had thrown only two touchdown passes all season while playing sparingly behind junior starter Nate Longshore. But with Cal trailing, 21-0, in the second quarter Monday, Riley relieved Longshore and gave the Bears the spark they desperately needed.

Riley immediately directed back-to-back 70-yard touchdown drives. The first drive culminated in a 40-yard touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson, and the second ended with a 5-yard scoring strike to Lavelle Hawkins as Cal cut the Air Force lead to 21-14 by halftime.

"The coaches told me to be ready to go, so I knew coming in that I was going to get at least a couple series," said Riley, who was named MVP after completing 16 of 19 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for another TD. "When I got in there, everything just started clicking. The offensive line was playing great, and the receivers were making great catches all over the place, so the coaches kept running me back out there. It was fun."

Cal's offense looked more like the unit that helped the Bears start the season 5-0 than the one that contributed to a 1-6 finish to the regular season. Cal finished with 507 yards, including 202 on the ground, and didn't allow a sack.

"I'm just so proud of my team and happy for our seniors," said Tedford, whose team salvaged a winning season at 7-6. "We've been through a rough season, there's no question about it.

"To get down 21-0 after what we've been through the last half of our season, for us to come back, the leadership of our seniors definitely had a lot to do with it. Nobody panicked."

Air Force (9-4) used its trademark triple-option to confuse Cal's defense early in the game. Falcons quarterback Shaun Carney carved up the Bears, leading the Falcons on long touchdown drives on their first three possessions.

"They kind of had us on our heels a little bit early, but we made some great adjustments and started taking better angles to the football as the game wore on," Cal linebacker Justin Moye said.

Carney threw one touchdown pass and rushed for another, finishing with 108 yards in 15 carries before leaving the game in the third quarter after suffering a gruesome knee injury. With their leader out of the game, the Falcons offense began to sputter. Trading field goals for Cal touchdowns, Air Force fell behind late in the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Arlington Grace Prep product Justin Forsett.

Junior Shea Smith, an Odessa Permian product, replaced Carney and tried to lead his team back after Cal had taken a 42-30 lead with 6:13 to play. Smith, son of Rockwall coach Scott Smith, marched the Falcons down the field, and Chad Hall scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 2:23 remaining. But a two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, and Cal's Jackson recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt.

The Bears were able to run out the clock on their final possession.

"We fired every piece of ammunition we had," Air Force first-year coach Troy Calhoun said. "There wasn't anything left in the arsenal, that's for sure. These guys have done that all year long, and they played that way again today."

Bob Thompson is a freelance writer in Plano.