Air Force defensive end Gilberto Perez recognized the side benefit to his team’s lopsided victory Friday night over Army at Michie Stadium.
A 43-0 halftime lead was the perfect scenario for the Falcons, who were playing their seventh game in seven weeks and had national power Notre Dame looming: Coach Fisher DeBerry was able to give starters some rest.
“Everybody can heal up a little bit and get ready for Saturday’s game,” Perez said. “It’s a little more rest for everybody.”
Reserve quarterback Jim Ollis and reserve fullback Scott Peeples were in the game for the last series of the third period. Starting quarterback Shaun Carney and fullbacks Jacobe Kendrick and Ryan Williams watched the remainder of the game along with most of Air Force’s regulars.
The Falcons (4-4) need all the help they can get. Notre Dame (8-1) enters Saturday’s game at Falcon Stadium ranked ninth in the BCS standings. The Irish are led by quarterback Brady Quinn, a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Quinn has passed for 2,579 yards and 25 touchdowns this season.
Notre Dame is playing all three service academies this year, with a 38-14 victory over Navy already in the books. The Irish play Army next week before finishing the season against USC.
“The Army game is over,” Perez said of his team’s 43-7 victory. “Now we’re talking about Notre Dame. There’s no surprise that we’re talking about Notre Dame. That’s how we go about our business.”
Air Force has had better success against the Irish than Army and Navy have, winning four years in a row from 1982-85 and again in 1996.
“That’s all in the past,” Perez said. “Although there is a history, we can’t go off statistics. It’s all about this team right now.”
DeBerry doesn’t think the novelty of the triple-option offense gives his team much of an advantage. The Irish faced a similar offense two weeks ago against Navy.
“There’s not a lot of difference between what Navy does and what we do,” DeBerry said. “But teams such as Notre Dame and Tennessee have great athletes. They don’t have to worry so much about playing the option. With the athletes they have on defense, they just have to play good technique football.”
EYE ON … The Irish
NOTRE DAME AT AIR FORCE, 2 p.m. Saturday
For the record: Notre Dame is 8-1, ranked ninth in BCS standings.
Streaking: QB Brady Quinn hasn’t thrown an interception in 204 consecutive passes, the longest streak in Notre Dame history and longest active streak in the NCAA.
Who’s hot: Quinn has thrown 19 TD passes in the past six games.
Who’s not: Notre Dame’s rushing offense ranks 94th out of 119 Division I-A teams at 107.1 yards a game.
Key stat: Notre Dame is 7-0 when playing in opponent’s home stadium under Charlie Weis.
FYI: Notre Dame has had only nine turnovers in nine games.
Injury update: None.
Coachspeak: “Have you watched their quarterback? There will be some restless nights around here because this quarterback is pretty good.” – Weis, appraising Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney on running the option offense
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
