FORT WORTH, Texas — No matter how much they would like to be strangers, the Houston Cougars and Air Force Falcons are familiar foes.
The question in today’s Armed Forces Bowl is what impact, if any, Air Force’s 31-28 regular-season victory Sept. 13 over the Cougars will have on today’s game.
Since arriving in Texas, coaches Kevin Sumlin of the Cougars (7-5) and Troy Calhoun of the Falcons (8-4) have said their teams are much different from when they first met in Dallas.
A crowd approaching 40,000 and a national television audience will find out just how much. The weather forecast for today’s 10 a.m. game is for temperatures in the 50s and sunny skies.
Hurricane weather hit Houston the week of the team’s last meeting, forcing the game to be moved north to Southern Methodist’s stadium early in the day before an announced crowd of 2,546.
When asked if his team had been focused during that game, Sumlin said no.
“It’s no excuse, but it would be inhumane of me not to be sensitive of players who had real concerns for their family,” Sumlin said. “Players would say to me they just wanted their stuff. We lived in hotel rooms for a week. That’s so far away, it’s like it was last year for me.
“I don’t know what effect it will have this time, but we’re a different team and so are they,” he added.
Sumlin has the Cougars in a bowl game in his first year as head coach.
As for Air Force, three games after the victory over Houston, Calhoun switched starting quarterbacks, from senior Shea Smith to freshman Tim Jefferson.
Smith was 0-for-7 passing against Houston. After losing to Utah and Navy, Calhoun brought on Jefferson and the Falcons won five of seven games.
Jefferson and Houston quarterback Case Keenum could provide significant impact: Jefferson is an unknown to the Cougars, and Keenum is too well-known by the Falcons.
With 4,993 total yards, the Houston sophomore led college football in total offense. He passed for 43 touchdowns en route to winning six of nine games after the loss to Air Force.
“We have to match Air Force’s intensity from the start,” Keenum said. “They go 110 percent on every play, and it’s going to be like that from the start of the game to the very end of it.”
In the first game, Keenum scrambled for 75 yards rushing and led the Cougars to 14 points in the fourth quarter in a rally that almost caught the Falcons.
“It’s hard to say who has the advantage when you play a team twice,” Keenum said. “We have talented players outside, but if I have to, I can pull the down and run.”
Calhoun calls Keenum “the real deal.” He has vivid memories of what he calls “a superb” Houston team. He is worried about an adverse reaction to the layoff — Air Force last played Nov. 22 against TCU, also at Amon G. Carter Stadium, site of today’s game.
“You don’t want the first eight to 10 minutes to be an absolute shock in terms of their quickness and speed,” Calhoun said. “It can be more of a surprise when you haven’t played (at game speed) for a while.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
