Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh said Sunday he considers the AFA football team’s losses to San Diego State and Nevada-Las Vegas this season “bizarre” but doesn’t plan to discuss the future of the Falcons’ program with longtime coach Fisher DeBerry until after Saturday’s season finale at Texas Christian.
While pinpointing the 19-12 loss Oct. 21 at San Diego State and Friday’s 42-39 loss at UNLV as the most disturbing defeats in a 4-7 season, Mueh also said that he thought the Falcons could have beaten bowl-bound Navy and Utah. They lost 24-17 to the Midshipmen and 17-14 to the Utes.
“I shake my head and wonder what in the world,” Mueh said. “It doesn’t make sense. I thought in those games that this couldn’t be the same team that played Tennessee in the first game of the season.”
National power Tennessee had to stop Air Force’s try for a two-point conversion to win 31-30 in the Falcons’ opener.
“It’s frustrating, and I know that no one is more frustrated than Fisher DeBerry,” Mueh said. “I don’t think he has gotten tired. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I’ve seen the fire in him the past season that I haven’t seen the two years before. He’s angry, but he’s still very competitive.”
Mueh added that he has seen nothing or heard anything from DeBerry that would indicate the 68-year-old coach didn’t want to return for his 24th season next year. Mueh said he puts DeBerry in the same class as legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno.
“Fisher DeBerry has been a wonderful coach for the Air Force Academy,” Mueh said.
However, the Falcons have struggled in recent years. They finished 7-5 in 2003 after a 5-0 start. Air Force is only 15-25 in its past 40 games, including seasons of 5-6 in 2004 and 4-7 in 2005.
Mueh still believes Air Force is competitive in the MWC, even though the Falcons have lost to San Diego State (2-9) and UNLV (2-10) this season.
“I think BYU and TCU clearly are the best teams in the league this year,” Mueh said. “But we’re competitive with the rest of the league. It may be a case where some of the teams in our conference are catching up to us and we’re not adjusting as fast as we should. We have pretty good athletes, maybe not the caliber of Notre Dame and USC, but our strength is using our athletes within their ability.”
Mueh said he wouldn’t discuss the Falcons’ assistant coaches with DeBerry until after the season.
“I feel more for the players than the coaches,” Mueh said. “They have practiced hard all year, and they love to play the game. Our quarterback, (junior) Shaun Carney, has another year and I still believe we can turn this around.”
EYE ON … The Horned Frogs
AIR FORCE AT TCU
1:30 p.m., Saturday, Amon G. Carter Stadium; Fort Worth, Texas
For the record: Texas Christian is 9-2 overall and 5-2 in the Mountain West Conference.
Streaking: Senior quarterback Jeff Ballard the past two games: 37-for-48, 526 yards, six touchdowns, no interceptions.
Who’s hot: Defensive tackle James Vess has all four of his sacks in the past five games.
Who’s not: Punter Brian Cortney wasn’t called into action against Colorado State and has just one punt in the past two games.
Key stat: In their six-game win streak, the Horned Frogs have outscored opponents 152-13 during the first half.
FYI: Ballard is TCU’s career leader in winning percentage at quarterback with a 17-2 record (.895). A victory Saturday will give TCU 10 victories for the fourth time in five years.
Coachspeak: “I would think with us being where we are in the (MWC) standings, it would give us a chance to be the second pick.” – Coach Gary Patterson, on the Frogs likely going to San Diego for the Poinsettia Bowl. The Las Vegas Bowl has the first pick of MWC teams and already has selected BYU, the champion.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
