Rebuilding Year?

   Coaches hate the term rebuilding year because it sounds like their teams are not good enough and have to suffer through a lousy season. Fans hate it because they want instant gratification and if you're on the field, then by God you should be good enough to win. Through 5 football games Air Force is 2-3. Whats frustrating is they are a few plays here and there from being 5-0. But perhaps that's what separates great teams from rebuilding teams. The Falcons will long remember Saturdays loss to Navy because of 3 fumbles, which led to 7 Midshipmen points, and 2 missed field goals by the pre season pick at his position in the Mountain West Parker Herrington. You can also pick out key plays in their losses to UNLV and Michigan and justify an argument the Falcons could be undefeated. But they're not. Instead the Falcons are the team that fumbled 3 times Saturday and has lost 5 fumbles in 2 games. They're the team who's all conference place kicker is 1-6 so far. They are the squad having a tough time defensively. There was plenty of blame to go around after losing in ot to navy Saturday. But maybe that's because they are a young team in a re-building year.
    If that's the case the Falcons have to grow up quick. Saturday they are at Wyoming. The Cowboys are having their owns troubles at 1-4. Air Force is going to have to win 3 road games and take care of business at home to get to a bowl. Can the Falcons go 5-2 the rest of the way and get to a bowl? I'll have more on the matchup with the Cowboys later this week.

 

Gametime

  Air Force and Navy Saturday in College Football. The rivalry doesn't get the notoriety it deserves because not only is a bitter series, its very very tight. 2 of the last 3 games have gone to overtime. The last 9 games have been decided by an average of 5 points. Navy hates Army, but despises Air Force. The Falcons don't like the Black Knights, but hates Navy. So what happens Saturday Morning at Falcon Stadium? Navy has had trouble all season with its center exchange with Quarterback Trey Miller. The Midshipman have used 3 different starting centers in 4 games. Miller has been part of 10 of 12 Navy turnovers this year, with 5 coming inside the opponents 30 yard line. Clearly they have to do a better job holding onto the football. The Mids rushing game, unlike most years, is average. They gain just 216 yards a contest on the ground. I don't see them running up and down the field on Air Force. Navy's Defense, to me, is still a mystery. Notre Dame and Penn State combined for 84 points against them. They they shutdown FCS opponent VMI and last week held San Jose State without a TD but still lost 12-0. I believe Air Force will still move the ball on them, even though the Mids will try everything to keep the football out of the hands of Cody Getz. The Falcons will have enough offense to deal with that. I see the good guys winning 24-14. Bring your radios to Saturdays game, and if you stay at home and watch on TV, turn the volume down and get your hometown coverage on Colorado's 740 KVOR.

Navy Week

    Colorado State is in the rear view mirror for the Air Force Football team. The Falcons 41-21 victory put Air Force back on track. The Rams are not very good and looked uninspired, tired and worn out Saturday in the 1st QUARTER. So the Falcons did what they were supposed to do-score on its first 3 possessions and remove any doubt.
      Now, here comes Navy. The Midshipmen are as desperate as CSU was, having dropped 3 in a row, including being shut out at home Saturday by San Jose State 12-0. Summing up the Midshipmen is easy-Great Defense, Horrible Offense. Look, San Jose State isn't Alabama or Notre Dame. Yet the Mids had a grand total of 144 yards of offense. That's it. Maybe the Air Force game comes at a good time, because its gotta be hard to get up for San Jose State. It won't be for the Falcons. I'll have more on the game and how bitter the rivalry is later this week.

Air Force-CSU...Why Does This Game Worry Me?

   With good reason. Like last week with UNLV I think the Rams are better than 1-3. They have been inconsistent, and have been missing their top rusher Chris Nwoke (Wo-kay). But he is healthy and will start Saturday. If I'm Coach Jim Mclewain watching tape of Air Force losing to UNLV I will try and run the ball all day. Nwoke had 249 yards rushing against the Falcons last year. The smallest guy on CSU's offensive line is 297 pounds. Quarterback Garret Grayson could give Air Force problems as well. He has 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions and he spreads the ball all over the field. The Falcons have had trouble all year defending the pass, and getting to the QB. To be fair, the Rams offensive numbers are bad-98 yards rushing a game, 17 points a game, which is 113th in the NCAA. But the Falcons have to play better defense than last week.
    Colorado State is giving up 27 points a game, and I think Air Force will be okay running the football. But in my opinion the Falcons need to throw a bit more, and use more formations to spread out the Rams defense. The Falcons have hurt themselves with penalties on the offensive side of the ball. They can't do that Saturday. Drives need to be efficient and wind up in the end zone and not with 3 points.
    Look for a high scoring game, with Air Force winning 40-27. But this game still worries me.

What Happened?

      Some have called it the worse loss of the Troy Calhoun era at Air Force. I won't go that far, but Saturdays 38-35 setback to UNLV was a stinker on a few fronts. I was one of the few who expected a close game, because the Rebels were better than their 0-3 record. They have good talent, especially on offense and showed it off Saturday. After the Falcons scored late in the first half to lead by 11,  I thought Air Force was in good shape. They then start driving in the 3rd quarter and get into field goal position when Tight End Marcus Hendricks fumbles the football. UNLV recovers and is in the end zone 5 plays later. That was a HUGE momentum swing. Air Force did little after that.

    Concerns.....on defense, several. The Falcons had no pass rush on Nic Sherry the other night, and if you take into account all 3 games they have played, Air Force has been easy to pass on. And I was surprised how the Rebels offensive line dominated in the second half. Troy Calhoun also mentioned they didn't tackle well. Add all that up and its going to be tough to win.

   On offense I thought the Falcons looked very average in the second half. After the Hendricks fumble it seemed they could do nothing to sustain drives Air Force needs to be a bit more creative. They need to get their play makers, Cody Getz, Ty Macarthur and Jon Lee, in the open field and let them make plays.

  Football is a game of a few key plays. The Falcons could be sitting at 3-0 today. But they have come up short on those key plays and instead are 1-2.

I'll talk about Colorado State later this week.

Thur 9-20-12

UNLV


     Saturday's Air Force football game at UNLV will be the 7th Mountain West Road opener for the Falcons. They have won the previous 6. They meet a Rebels team that is desperate and under pressure to get a win. They lost their first 3 games (all at home) by a combined 14 points. Clearly UNLV is better than a year ago, but so far they have nothing to show for it. Not only are fans calling for Bobby Hauck (one of the real good guys in college football) to be fired, many are suggesting the school drop football entirely. Even though UNLV is only giving up 127 yards a game rushing, I don't think the Falcons will have trouble moving the ball on the ground or through the air. On defense Air Force must slow running back Tim Cornette, a very talented, experienced, bruising running back. He's good enough that UNLV could play keep away and force the Falcon offense to watch from the sidelines. The Rebels start a freshman at Quarterback, Nick Sherry. I imagine Air Force will blitz a lot and give him a lot of fake looks to take advantage of his inexperience.

     You can catch the game on TV  and turn down the volume to get your hometown coverage Saturday night at 8 on Colorado's 740 KVOR.

Mon 9-17-12 UNLV

   I hate byes 2 weeks into the College Football season. Its like starting all over again. But Air Force had to deal with it and now they're on the other side, getting ready to go to UNLV Saturday. This will not be an easy game. The Rebels are 0-3 with all 3 losses coming at home. I watched most of their game Friday night against Washington  State. There's no question the Rebels are better. They just need that 1 win to break through. For the Falcons, is there any kind of positive carryover after playing Michigan so tough but losing two weeks ago? I think there is, but it has to play out on the field for it to become apparent.

  More on this game Thursday.