AIR FORCE ACADEMY — As if having his team score 70 points isn’t enough, New Mexico coach Rocky Long is predicting more excitement tonight when his Lobos play at Air Force.
New Mexico was already the buzz of the Mountain West Conference after its 70-7 victory last weekend over San Diego State.
“It could be a real exciting game with some fireworks and a lot of big plays,” Long said on the MWC coaches’ teleconference this week. “Air Force runs a unique offense that is difficult to prepare for in three days. They changed their offense dramatically about two weeks ago.”
Long pointed to the emergence of freshman quarterback Tim Jefferson as the primary reason he thinks Air Force coach Troy Calhoun has a different offensive team than in the first five weeks of the season.
“The last two weeks, they have been more like the Air Force offense we faced in the past,” Long said. “They’re doing a lot more triple option and speed option.”
As the new starting quarterback, Jefferson has guided the Falcons to victories over San Diego State (35-10) and UNLV (29-28). The Falcons amassed a combined 977 yards of total offense in the two games.
Calhoun didn’t need 70 points to remind him of the challenges the Lobos present.
“They’re one of those groups that over the last couple of weeks has really started to balloon,” Calhoun said. “We’ve watched the tape and it points out how explosive they are.”
Long said the game got out of hand and his team just kept adding on points.
“The score makes everybody stand up and think and look at it,” he said. “It was one of those cases where we started off hot against a team that is struggling and the momentum just got going. I’ve been on the other end, too. We played our young players in the second half. After about 30 minutes of something like that the players might have fun, but it’s not fun for the coaches to watch that happen.”
New Mexico led 49-0 at halftime.
Air Force defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter said, “New Mexico has a very athletic quarterback (Brad Gruner) who can throw and run, their running backs are high quality and they play behind a huge offensive line. If you don’t show up, there are teams in our league that can put 70 on the board.”
Irv Moss: 303 954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
The Lowdown
Today: 6 p.m., CBSCS
NEW MEXICO (4-4, 2-2)
Player to watch: TB Rodney Ferguson.
The Lobos senior is listed as not 100 percent, but he already has 10 rushing touchdowns and is an effective counter to quarterback Brad Gruner. Senior Paul Baker provides a strong 1-2 punch with Ferguson.
Key for the Lobos: Full participation.
If the Lobos get all their offensive weapons involved, they could be too much to handle. If the defense can keep Air Force’s rushing game to about the 104.4 yards it has allowed, New Mexico could be a major bump in the road for the Falcons.
AIR FORCE (5-2, 3-1)
Player to watch: CB Reggie Rembert (left).
Return yardage could be a factor for the Falcons in the battle for field position. The sophomore leads the team in all-purpose yardage (485), including 362 yards on kickoff returns and 93 on punt returns. Rembert has playing time on both the offense and defense.
Key for the Falcons: Push for turnovers.
When playing a team that scored 70 points the week before, the last thing the Falcons want is a scoring race. Gaining turnovers could be critical for the Falcons. They are a plus-7 in turnover margin, but they didn’t get one in last week at UNLV.
