FORT WORTH, Texas — Senior linebacker Justin Moore had just arrived here with his teammates, and first thing on his mind was a change he wanted to make in the team’s weight room at the Air Force Academy.
“We have a couple of bowl-game banners up in the weight room,” Moore said. “They’re up there with a grain of salt because they didn’t come with a win. It’s been a while since we’ve had a bowl victory. For all of us seniors, the past three seasons have ended with a loss. We don’t want to end our careers like that.”
The Falcons (7-5) practiced for the first time Saturday since Dec. 16 in preparation for Thursday’s Armed Forces Bowl against the University of Houston (10-3).
Coach Troy Calhoun reported his team picked up where it left off.
“I was pleased with our practice, game-plan wise,” Calhoun said. “The part that really helped us was that we installed our game plan back home and worked through it for three days before the break. But (today) will be good for us when we get in full gear and go at it.”
Added quarterback Tim Jefferson: “I was impressed by how crisp we looked. We didn’t have much of a drop-off at all from our last practice. It kind of surprised me because we were home, and away from football. But we’re academy guys and we’re expected to be at our best.”
Jefferson and Moore said the team as a whole had recovered from assorted bumps and bruises from the regular season that ended Nov. 21.
“I think we’re as close as we’re going to get to being fully healed,” Jefferson said.
Footnotes.
Sophomore quarterback Connor Dietz (hand) and junior receiver Kyle Halderman (knee) practiced, but Calhoun said only that they “could” play. He wanted to see how they held up in today’s practice session. . . . Bowl officials said they expect a near sellout approaching 46,000 for the second meeting of the Falcons and Cougars in as many years. . . . Air Force officials said they sold about 5,000 of the school’s 10,000-ticket allotment. Each school pays for the allotment out of its take from the bowl game. The unsold tickets were turned back to the bowl committee to disperse among military personnel in the area.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
