AIR FORCE ACADEMY — It might have surprised followers of the Mountain West Conference that Air Force didn’t gain any player of the week awards after beating BYU 35-14 on Saturday.
But there’s a reason there weren’t any Air Force players among the three award winners for offense, defense and special teams. Coach Troy Calhoun is a fanatic about emphasizing that football is a team game. He didn’t nominate any of his players for a possible award.
“I thought we had a bunch of candidates both offensively and defensively,” Calhoun said. “We have a bunch of players who love to be part of a team and we had a bunch of players who stood out.”
Calhoun said he believes awards go to players who compile enormous statistics. But he doesn’t believe that big statistics always mean that player played the best.
“Our players do an enormous amount of stuff on the field that maybe isn’t so obvious,” Calhoun said.
Against BYU, halfback Asher Clark rushed for 121 yards. Receiver Mikel Hunter scored twice — once on a 37-yard pass from quarterback Tim Jefferson and again on a 33-yard run.
Linebacker Patrick Hennessey recovered a BYU fumble in the end zone, halting a scoring threat, and linebacker Jordan Waiwaiole led in tackles with seven.
The Falcons’ game this week could lead to thoughts of individual player recognition. They face No. 7 Oklahoma on the road.
In his description of the Falcons, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops sounded as if AFA has a lot of candidates for game-of-the-week honors.
“They’re really a disciplined, excellent executing team,” Stoops said. “Everyone talks about their offense, but defensively a year ago they led the country in turnover margin. It’s going to be a challenge, not only physically but mentally, to be able to execute against them in all parts of the game.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@
