Wyoming’s defense is the best in the Mountain West Conference in total yardage allowed. In fact, it’s one of the nation’s best. But Saturday, it has to take on the Chad Hall challenge when the Cowboys meet Air Force at noon at Falcon Stadium.
Hall, Air Force’s senior hybrid receiver and running back, has been dominant the past two weeks, with a combined 425 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns in games against UNLV and Colorado State.
Wyoming coach Joe Glenn promises his defensive players will have Hall on their minds.
“All 11 players on defense, including the nose guard, better find him and know where he is on the field,” Glenn said of Hall. “He can line up as a receiver and end up in the backfield at tailback. They’re running every formation known to man, and they are doing it well.”
Wyoming is allowing 280.5 yards per game. That leads the MWC and ranks 10th nationally.
In a series that is the closest on the Air Force schedule – the Falcons lead 22-20-3 – the Cowboys have faced the triple- option offense for more than two decades.
Saturday, they will be seeing a new offense that first-year coach Troy Calhoun brought in.
“Their offense does look different, but we’re looking for the same brand of football,” said senior linebacker Sean Claffey, who played at Fruita Monument High School. “Before we had to retool our defense and put in a special package every time we played Air Force.”
Claffey says it’s somewhat of a chess game predicting what the Falcons might emphasize this week, but he believes Hall will be a big part of it.
“They try to get the ball to him any way they can,” Claffey said. “I don’t see why they’d get away from him. When a player is on fire like that, you just keep giving him the ball.”
Calhoun has his own worries with Wyoming’s running back duo of juniors Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon.
Moore ranks third in the conference averaging 100 yards rushing per game and Seldon is eighth at 63 yards per game.
“Those two Wyoming running backs will be licking their chops when they look at how our defense played,” Calhoun said in reference to his defense allowing 224 yards rushing to CSU last Saturday.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
