AIR FORCE ACADEMY — In six games against major-college opponents, Air Force has scored 116 points, the school’s lowest total in 16 years over a similar stretch to start the season. The Falcons completed one pass and had a player with 27 carries in their victory last week against Wyoming.
Suddenly, coach Troy Calhoun’s not-a-triple-option offense is looking very much as if it’s a triple-option offense.
Is there need for concern as the Falcons head into their last five games, starting Saturday at Utah, the defending Mountain West Conference champion? If so, it’s not showing in the Air Force camp, with the Falcons (4-3) still needing two victories to be eligible for a bowl game.
“We won a game last year and didn’t complete a pass,” wide receivers coach Mike Thiessen said of the 31-28 victory over Houston.
Calhoun gave a slight nod to urgency last week when he called for better balance in the offense. Even when throwing into the mix the 72 points and 576 total yards from the season’s opener against second-level team Nicholls State, the Falcons lean heavily to the rushing side: 2,076 yards rushing to 468 passing; 104 first downs rushing to 19 passing; and 12 rushing touchdowns to four passing.
Calhoun doesn’t fear that his offense might capsize.
“We’re a running football team,” Calhoun said of the 431 running plays to the 75 pass attempts this season. “We may not throw often, but when we do, we have to throw it well. One of our greatest strengths is willingness to play to our strengths, whatever they may be.”
The high for the year in pass completions is Tim Jefferson’s 10 for 125 yards in the 20-13 loss at Minnesota.
Senior Josh Cousins, who led the team in receiving last season, said he doesn’t think defenses are packing in against the Falcons’ run because of an anemic passing game.
“Last week against Wyoming, their cornerbacks played as if they didn’t want to get beat downfield,” Cousins said.
The lack of scoring punch, with seven offensive touchdowns against major-college teams, is emphasized by comparisons. The team’s 116 points is the lowest since 1993, when Air Force had 101 points after six games against Division I-A opponents. Air Force’s 12-1 team in 1998 had 263 points after six games.
Thiessen could draw on experience from 1999 and 2000, when he was the Falcons’ quarterback on teams that scored 132 and 169 points, respectively, in six games.
“We have plenty of pass plays in the game plan,” Thiessen said. “Things change if you get ahead or get behind. There are going to be games when the best (plan) for us is grinding away on the ground. Our receivers understand that. They take pride in their blocking.
“We’re not a bad offensive football team, but people tend to focus on the offensive part of the game.”
Quarterback Connor Dietz, who has shared playing time with Jefferson, contends the Falcons need to have a better passing threat.
“We have the ability to put points up,” Dietz said. “Eventually it’s going to happen.”
Junior Kevin Fogler, a big target at 6-feet-5 and 205 pounds, is tied for the team lead in receptions with 11 and has caught all four of the passing TDs. Cousins led the Falcons last year with 13 catches for 176 yards but has just one this season for 5 yards.
“I’ve had a couple of drops, and that’s on me,” Cousins said. “I do my part to help the team, catching, blocking, whatever it might be.”
Said Fogler: “The game plan is going to be what it is based on what the coaches think is best. I’m content with that.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
Three questions for Air Force
1. Can Air Force stay out of the cellar in passing yardage among the 120 Division I-A teams? The Falcons are in a race with Army for the bottom spot in the national passing ranks. Army ranks last with 463 total passing yards, 5 yards behind Air Force. Utah has one of the best passing defenses in the Mountain West.
2. Will Utah’s scoring average or Air Force’s defensive average be the most important statistic in the game? Utah is 5-1 while averaging 29.8 points a game, and Air Force is 4-3 with a defense that has allowed 11.9 points a game, which ranks seventh in the nation for scoring defense. The Falcons rank 10th nationally in total defense, giving up just 266.7 yards a game.
3. Will Asher Clark or Savier Stephens become the first tailback to have a 100-yard rushing game for the Falcons? Air Force usually piles up rushing yards, but neither of Air Force’s most-used tailbacks — Clark and Stephens — has had a 100-yard game. Clark’s best of 90 yards came against Minnesota, and Stephens had an 80-yard game against Navy. Utah is giving up 130 yards a game on the ground.
Irv Moss, The Denver Post
