AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Safety Aaron Kirchoff returned a fumble 96 yards for a game-changing touchdown and Air Force overcame three early turnovers to beat New Mexico 23-10 tonight.

The Falcons (6-2, 4-1 Mountain West) are bowl eligible for the second straight season under coach Troy Calhoun, who is 15-6 at the academy.

The Lobos (4-5, 2-3) forced three first-quarter turnovers and were about to jump out to a 17-0 lead when Kirchoff scooped up quarterback Brad Gruner's fumble at the Falcons 4. He sped down the Lobos' sideline for the second-longest fumble return in school history, cutting New Mexico's lead to 10-7.

The Lobos never recovered from the two-touchdown turnaround.

Ryan Harrison's 31-yard field goal just before halftime tied it at 10, and the Falcons took the lead for good early in the third quarter following Glover Quin's fumbled kickoff. Tim Jefferson faked a keeper, pulled up and tossed a 1-yard touchdown pass over the pile to tight end Travis Dekker.

Harrison added field goals of 43 and 32 yards, the former following the Lobos' fourth turnover, a muffed punt by Frankie Solomon.

Kirchoff wasn't through. He made the second-biggest play of the game when he tipped away a long pass to wide receiver Michael Scarlett in the waning minutes.

The Falcons, who twice stuffed the Lobos on fourth-and-1 inside the Air Force 10-yard line, started off poorly, turning the ball over on three straight possessions. The Lobos converted the first two into a touchdown and a field goal.

They were about to convert the third takeaway into a score when Air Force linebacker Brandon Reeves punched the ball out of Gruner's hands and Kirchoff scooped it up for the long return.

The crestfallen Lobos, coming off a 70-7 rout of San Diego State on Saturday, managed just 28 yards of offense in the first half.

In the first quarter, New Mexico running back Rodney Ferguson (19 carries for 107 yards) was stuffed on fourth-and-1 from the Falcons' 9, but he didn't have to wait long to redeem himself as Clint McPeek recovered Jefferson's fumble on the next play.

Facing fourth-and-1 from the 2 this time, Ferguson took the pitch from Gruner and slipped Hunter Altman's tackle at the 5, then trotted into the end zone to give New Mexico a 7-0 lead.

Following Blake Ligon's interception, the Lobos were set to go for it again on fourth-and-1 at the Air Force 24 on their next possession, but a false start forced them to settle for James Aho's 45-yard field goal.

The Lobos failed to convert on a fourth-and-1 from the Falcons' 10 in the third quarter while trailing by a touchdown.

Air Force running back Asher Clark ran 23 times for 86 yards.