Dave Ziebart and Shaun Carney have been heralded as the only Air Force players to have had started at quarterback as freshmen.
But there’s another similarity in their career paths, one Ziebart faced in 1978, but that continues Saturday when the Falcons play at Navy in the first game of the Commander-in- Chief’s Trophy chase.
After they won their first three games of the season, the Falcons lost 31-6 to BYU on Saturday in Provo, Utah. What happens next will determine if the 2007 Falcons take a different path than the 1978 Falcons.
“There definitely was a new attitude and a new energy,” Ziebart said about the ’78 season. “Anytime a new staff comes in and brings new ideas, it helps you to forget about all the past negatives.”
Ziebart was a sophomore when Bill Parcells came to Air Force to follow Ben Martin, who had coached the Falcons for 20 years. Martin’s last four teams won a combined 10 games, but he left with a 96-103-9 record.
With the new energy, the ’78 Falcons won their first two games – beating Texas-El Paso 34-25 and Boston College 18-7 – then lost five in a row and finished 3-8.
A little more than a month ago, Ziebart’s comments about new energy and new attitude were being expressed throughout the Air Force team. Troy Calhoun was hired to follow Fisher DeBerry’s 23-year tenure. DeBerry’s last three teams won a combined 13 games, a drain on his 169-109-1 record.
“After we lost our first game, there was uncertainty,” Ziebart said. “It’s kind of a reality setting in.”
Ken Hatfield, an assistant on Parcells’ staff and Air Force’s head coach in 1979, also remembered the first loss, a 35-18 setback to Holy Cross.
“It was wild,” Hatfield said. “We won our first two games, but losing to Holy Cross really quieted things down.”
BYU isn’t Holy Cross, but the Falcons played poorly after beating South Carolina State, Utah and TCU. Questions began about whether the new energy and new attitude had taken them just so far.
They’re facing a Navy team that has won the past four games against Air Force by scores of 28-25, 24-21, 27-24 and 24-17.
“We know we have to work hard,” Carney said. “We beat teams like Utah and TCU. We definitely have the talent. We have some confidence. We didn’t play well last Saturday, but we have to fix it this Saturday.”
Asked if he sees his players reverting to the past, Calhoun said he did not.
“I want us playing our best football as the season progresses, and it starts this week,” he said. “Time will tell.”
Footnote
Saturday’s game is being moved to KBJD 1650 AM. The switch is for this weekend’s game only, the school announced Thursday.
Staff writer Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
