Although his team’s defensive performance could have caused it, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun didn’t come out of Saturday’s 41-7 victory over Southern Utah with tunnel vision.
His defensive unit, with ends Jake Paulson and Ryan Kemp leading the way, dominated the Thunderbirds with four quarterback sacks and allowing 130 yards.
“We have to be able to win in a variety of ways,” Calhoun said. “It can’t be a single player. It can’t be because of one side of the ball. Week in and week out, we did that very well last year. We won games 20-12, and that’s a team effort. The strengths of our team have to be our offensive line and our defense. We need to be stout on the defensive side of the ball.”
Calhoun talked specifics.
“The thing I liked about our defense is that we got some pressure while using just four players,” he said. “That’s something that has to be a prevailing theme throughout the season. I like bringing five or six in spots, but we can’t get dependent on it. We had too many defensive penalties, but we were able to jar the ball loose.”
Air Force’s defense caused two fumbles, which were converted into 10 points.
With preseason jitters gone, Air Force travels this Saturday to Laramie to play Wyoming in a Mountain West Conference game.
“It’s going to be a bear,” Calhoun said. “Anytime you go to Laramie, you know it’s going to be a tough place to play. There’s a reason why Wyoming was picked to finish in the top half of the conference. We have to play better next week across the board.”
Kemp issued a message of support for his unit.
“Hopefully the defensive line can perform even better next week,” he said. “It’s going to be a tougher opponent. We had a good day today and it could set the tone for the season. But we can’t be complacent.”
Newcomers.
The Falcons had seven first-time starters in the lineup against Southern Utah. The rookies were quarterback Shea Smith, receiver Kyle Halderman, center Andrew Pipes, tailback Kyle Lumpkin, linebackers Brandon Reeves and Ken Lamendola and cornerback Brenton Byrd-Fullbright.
Irv Moss, The Denver Post
