| Year Game Played: | 2008 |
| Title Sponsor: | Bell Helicopter |
| Game Name: | Armed Forces Bowl |
| Football Season: | 2008 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Houston |
| Visitor Nickname: | Cougars |
| Visitor School: | University of Houston |
| Home Name Short: | Air Force |
| Home Nickname: | Falcons |
| Home School: | United States Air Force Academy |
| Visitor Record: | 7–5 |
| Visitor Conference: | C-USA |
| Home Record: | 8–4 |
| Home Conference: | Mountain West |
| Visitor Coach: | Kevin Sumlin |
| Home Coach: | Troy Calhoun |
| Visitor 1Q: | 17 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 10 |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 10 |
| Home 3Q: | 3 |
| Home 4Q: | 8 |
| Date Game Played: | December 31 |
| Stadium: | Amon G. Carter Stadium |
| City: | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Mvp: | RB Bryce Beall, Houston FB Jared Tew, Air Force[1] |
| Odds: | Houston by 3.5[2] |
| Referee: | Matt Loeffler (Sun Belt) |
| Attendance: | 41,127 |
| Payout: | 750,000 per team[3] |
| Us Network: | ESPN |
| Us Announcers Link: | List of announcers of major college bowl games |
| Us Announcers: | Terry Gannon, David Norrie |
| Ratings: | 1.4 |
The 2008 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl was the sixth edition of the annual post-season college football bowl game, and was a bowl rematch of a regular season game between the Houston Cougars against the Air Force Falcons that was won by Air Force, 31–28. It was played on December 31, 2008, at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, and telecast on ESPN nationally. The Falcons made their second straight Armed Forces Bowl appearance, having lost the previous year to California, while the Cougars made their fourth straight bowl appearance, having most recently lost to TCU. The Cougars defeated the Falcons 34–28, for their first bowl win since the 1980 Garden State Bowl ending an eight-bowl game losing streak.[4]
| Scoring Play | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter | |||
| UH - Bryce Beall 1 yard TD run (Jordan Mannisto kick), 13:27 | UH 7–0 | ||
| AFA - Jared Tew 2 yard TD run (Ryan Harrison kick), 11:28 | Tie 7–7 | ||
| UH - Case Keenum 1 yard TD run (Mannisto kick), 8:10 | UH 14–7 | ||
| UH - Mannisto 22 yard FG, :04 | UH 17–7 | ||
| 2nd Quarter | |||
| AFA - Tim Jefferson 5 yard TD run (Harrison kick), 9:52 | UH 17–14 | ||
| AFA - Harrison 44 yard FG, 2:28 | Tie 17–17 | ||
| 3rd Quarter | |||
| UH - Keenum 4 yard TD run (Mannisto kick), 12:28 | UH 24–17 | ||
| AFA - Harrison 37 yard FG, 3:51 | UH 24–20 | ||
| 4th Quarter | |||
| UH - Andre Kohn 13 yard TD pass from Keenum (Mannisto kick), 10:58 | UH 31–20 | ||
| AFA - Jared Tew 2 yard TD run (Jefferson run), 6:06 | UH 31–28 | ||
| UH - Mannisto 37 yard FG, 3:24 | UH 34–28 | ||