AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Troy Calhoun has underlined the surprise of Air Force’s 8-2 record by tagging his 2008 Falcons with special recognition.
However, his plaudits are open-ended, because the Falcons face a difficult Mountain West Conference test Saturday against No. 16 BYU.
“In all the years I’ve been around football, this team has made more improvement than any squad I’ve ever been a part of,” Calhoun said. “In August we were concerned if we could get to one (win). We’ve made strides, but we have to make a lot more strides in the next 72 hours.”
Calhoun’s urgency is well-founded. BYU has dominated Air Force as much as any team, winning 22 of the 28 games, including the past four.
While Calhoun’s compliment includes the whole team, it especially is meaningful to the 18 seniors who will play their last home game. Their leadership qualities also might have been underestimated.
“I think it’s a point of pride for us because we are a small senior class,” said Andrew Pipes, the starting center. “We’ve always been a small class, ever since I got here. We’re not a very vocal group. We’re not thinking about this being our last home game.
“Maybe when we get out there, the gravity of it will hit a little harder.”
Said starting outside linebacker Hunter Altman: “There has been a lot of players from the senior class who stepped up after not getting much playing time last year. Andrew Pipes is a good example. He filled the center position and has played really well all season. That’s huge.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
