Monday, December 29, 2014

Bring On The Mountain West

And so it begins for the Air Force Mens basketball Team....Conference play opens this week, with games Wednesday afternoon at San Diego State and Saturday at Nevada. Where do the Falcons fit in the MWC? At the head of the table its Colorado State. The Rams are undefeated as of 12/29/14 and I think they are the best team at the moment. San Diego State was ranked early and has received a lot of publicity, but they have 3 losses, and, to be fair, have played a tougher schedule than Colorado State. UNLV seems to have the most talent but can they make it all work together? Boise State has a lot of guys back but are battling through injuries. New Mexico is clearly not the same team they were a year ago, thanks to graduation. Wyoming has played well, but against a light schedule and they have played most of their games at home. Then, I see the Falcons. Its an intriguing team...a lot of freshman are playing, and playing well. The key as I see it is how well Max Yon plays. He is the leading scorer and can have big nights, or not score a point. EVERYBODY will look to slow him down. Can he work through that? Marek Olesinski is another important factor. The senior needs to be a consistent 14 point 7 rebound a game guy. Ole (his nickname) has shown flashes, but can he do it every night in the conference? For the Falcons to finish above 500 this year everybody has to have good seasons, not just one or two guys. The conference is down compared to the last year or two. Can the Falcons take advantage? Wednesday will be a good test. The Aztecs are 7th in the nation in defense, but can't throw it in the ocean. Air Force has a good shot to knock off San Diego State on the road, but they must play one of their best games of the year.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Final Call

Rewind back to 2013 after Air Force was pummeled by Colorado State 58-13. The Juniors, who would be seniors in 2014, got together and talked about next year. They came up with a goal...From 10 losses in 2013 to 10 wins in 2014. Some may call that crazy. But they knew 2 wins was unacceptable. They realized no Commander In Chiefs Trophy and no bowl bid was not the standard they wanted to be known by. So they set the bar high going into the 2014 campaign. And why not? There was nothing to lose. And so here we sit, in December, with a bowl game Saturday against Western Michigan. Some may say, (and have) that is its a minor bowl and it doesn't mean much to the Falcons. Tell that to Kale Pearson who missed his junior year because of a knee injury. Tell that to Jordan Pierce who had to climb out of Troy Calhouns doghouse to become a star. Tell that to Michael Husar Jr, who graduates in front of his teammates Friday at a hotel in Boise. Sure, its not Ohio State, and its not the Cactus Bowl. But there is unfinished business for this football team. 10 Wins. Goal Set. Goal Achieved? Perhaps. It won't be easy. Western Michigan, whom you did not follow during the season-who did, finished a respectable 8-4 and has one of the top freshman running backs in the country. But know this....the Goal is within the grasp of the Falcons. An 8 win turnaround in one year in College Football? Doesn't happen often. But its there for the taking. I wouldn't bet against them. Live Coverage of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl begins at 130 Saturday December 20th on 740 KVOR. The Kickoff is set for 345.