Hello again. Before I get to post number two in the Air Force sports blog, I wanted to say thanks to everyone who took the time to read the first post and thanks to all those who left comments. I think blogs work best when they’re somewhat interactive, so please feel free to send along questions/comments/concerns, and I’ll try to address some from time to time in the blog. You can leave them in the "comments" section of the blog, or send them directly to my e-mail - jake.schaller@gazette.com.
I spent some time earlier this week in Las Vegas – actually, Henderson, just outside Vegas – for the Mountain West Conference football media gatherings. My notebook is filled to capacity with all sorts of stuff about the Falcons and other teams in the conference, so until practice starts, I’ll throw out some things that I thought were interesting.
-TCU is pretty much everyone’s team to beat. The Horned Frogs have nine of 11 starters back on defense, including preseason MWC Defensive Player of the Year Tommy Blake (DL), and an offense that features preseason MWC Offensive Player of the Year Aaron Brown (RB). They enter the season on an eight-game winning streak.
Said Air Force Coach Troy Calhoun: “Just an outstanding squad. … If you’re looking for weaknesses, you’re not going to find any.”
There probably never is a “good” time to play a team like this, but Air Force has the closest thing to it. The Falcons play host to TCU on Sept. 13 – a Thursday night game that comes less than a week after TCU plays at national powerhouse Texas. If the Frogs ever are going to be vulnerable, it will be that night.
-The sleeper pick in the conference this year seems to be Colorado State. Why? It’s in part because the Rams have most of their starters back from last season, but mostly because of the return of RB Kyle Bell. He rushed for 1,288 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2005 but missed all of last year with a knee injury. Without him, Colorado State rushed for just 918 yards COMBINED in 2006. The Rams’ leader? Gartrell Johnson with 305 yards. Yikes.
I’ll check back later today with some additional thoughts on the Falcons.
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1 comment:
Jake,
If anyone can find a weak link in the O or D of TCU, it will be Coach Calhoun. The Falcons will have to be up to the task of exploiting the opportunities he helps to create for them and play like they did against the Vols last year to win.
Besides the key point you made on the timing of this game, I think an AF win or even a close loss to UT is a critical factor in increasing their chances to beat the Frogs. The beenfits of a win are obvious, the close loss situation only pushes the Falcons to prove they can reclaim their reputation as giant killers.
Thanks for your work covering AF Football.
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