TUCSON, Ariz. -- Air Force quarterback Arion Worthman said he encouraged his teammates on the sideline after falling behind by 18 points before the Falcons scored 42 unanswered to beat South Alabama 45-21 in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl on Friday.

"I told them there's a lot of football left to be played," Worthman said. "It was early in the second quarter. I didn't notice anybody that panicked. It was more of us being determined."

Air Force (10-3) finished its season with a six-game winning streak behind Worthman's 7-of-10 passing for 207 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Worthman, the Arizona Bowl Offensive Most Valuable Player, also rushed for 71 yards on 21 carries.

South Alabama (6-7) was led by receiver Josh Magee's career-high 154 yards on five receptions in a game played in front of an announced crowd of 33,868 at Arizona Stadium.

The momentum swung significantly in Air Force's favor in the last 3:32 of the first half. Trailing 21-6 at that time, the Falcons scored on consecutive possessions, aided by South Alabama quarterback Dallas Davis fumbling the ball that was recovered at the Jaguars' 1-yard line by nose tackle Santo Coppola.

"Last night, I told our guys that no matter if you're up by 14 points or down 10 points, you have to keep going," Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. "We happened to be down by a little more than 10 points but our guys kept their heads up."

Air Force running back Jacobi Owens scored on a 1-yard run two plays later and a trick two-point conversion pass from receiver Jalen Robinette to Worthman that tied the score at 21 with 25 seconds left in the half.

Before Davis' fumble, Air Force cut the lead to 21-13 with 1:49 left on a 14-yard scoring run by receiver Ronald Cleveland.

The Falcons continued their momentum into the third quarter, scoring on the first offensive play from scrimmage -- a 75-yard pass from Worthman to Robinette with 14:42 left in the quarter.

It was the first of four scores on consecutive possessions by Air Force to start the second half.

Ironically, the game's first play from scrimmage was also a 75-yard touchdown pass, from Davis to Magee that put South Alabama ahead.

"I didn't know that happened, but it's pretty interesting," South Alabama coach Joey Jones said. "I liked ours better than theirs. ... We just couldn't sustain our momentum and they took control of the game."

After the Robinette touchdown reception, Air Force scored on a 6-yard run by slot receiver Tyler Williams, a 37-yard field goal by Luke Strebel (his third of the game) and a 22-yard run by Owens.

Owens tied an Air Force bowl record with his two rushing touchdowns.

After the Davis-to-Magee scoring pass to start the game, the Jaguars took advantage of more big plays to take the 21-3 lead with 10:41 left in the second quarter.

It was the third one-play scoring drive for the Jaguars this season, the first on the opening drive.

Davis' 51-yard completion to receiver Chris Lewis set a 2-yard touchdown run by Dami Ayoola with 6:08 left in the first quarter. A 37-yard pass from Davis to Magee was followed by three runs by Ayoola for 27 yards, capped by a 4-yard scoring play to put South Alabama ahead 21-3.

South Alabama also came close to scoring with 14:02 left in the second quarter, but running back Xavier Johnson's 27-yard run ended on a fumble that was recovered on the Air Force 11-yard line by linebacker Grant Ross.

Air Force senior strong safety Weston Steelhammer forced a fumble and later achieved his 18th career interception, a Falcons record. Steelhammer, who finished with a team-high five tackles, was selected the Arizona Bowl Defensive MVP.

"We had a football left to play when we got down," Steelhammer said. "Arion talked to the guys on offense. I communicated to the guys on defense that we had a lot football left to come back and win it."

NOTES: Air Force played in its 26th bowl game. The Falcons have landed a bowl bid nine times in head coach Troy Calhoun's 10 seasons. Air Force has a 12-13-1 bowl record, including a 4-5 record under Calhoun. ... South Alabama coach Joey Jones has a bowl record of 0-2 in his nine seasons a coach, eight with the Jaguars. South Alabama lost its first postseason game in program history two years ago at the Camellia Bowl. ... Air Force has the third-longest active scoring streak in Division I at 298 games behind Florida (359) and TCU (306). The Falcons rank fifth all time in the mark. Michigan holds the record of 364 games from 1984 to 2014. ... The Jaguars have outgained the opposition in six consecutive games, the first time that has happened since a string of 13 straight games from 2009 to 2011.