AIR FORCE ACADEMY — It’s safe to say Ron Burton’s charges have taken it on the chin in Air Force’s past two football games.
The Falcons’ defensive line coach may not put it in those terms, but the stats against San Diego State and TCU indicate that somebody on Air Force’s defense has to play tougher against the run.
San Diego State rushed for 205 yards, of which 191 yards were by freshman tailback Ronnie Hillman, who also had two touchdowns. Last week, TCU amassed 377 yards on the ground, and running back Ed Wesley sprinted for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Hillman (121.3 yards per game) and Wesley (109.2) rank first and second, respectively, in rushing in the Mountain West Conference.
“It might look as if we’re being overwhelmed up front,” Burton said, “but I don’t know if that’s true based on the size and girth of our players.”
San Diego State and TCU had big, aggressive offensive lines, which may have been reflected on the tackle charts. Against the Aztecs, only senior defensive end Rick Ricketts showed up on the chart among AFA defensive linemen, with one tackle.
The Falcons played a 3-4 front against TCU, and the three starters showed up more. Junior Zach Payne and Ricketts had five tackles each, and senior Bradley Connor had two, but none of them were near the top.
Linebacker Patrick Hennessey led the Falcons in tackles with nine against San Diego State, and safety Jon Davis was the leader against TCU with 10.
Now, the Falcons face a similar defensive challenge Saturday night when eighth-ranked Utah comes to Falcon Stadium.
Utes senior Eddie Wide ranks seventh in the conference at 58.4 yards a game, and senior Matt Asiata is ninth at 56.1 yards. Asiata had a season-best 109 yards rushing against Wyoming.
A year ago in Utah’s 23-16 overtime victory over the Falcons, Wide ran for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
But Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn noted his offensive line is effective in more ways than just clearing a path for the running game. Wynn has been sacked only three times this season.
Ricketts and Burton agreed that Air Force’s only advantage has to be better technique.
“If we come out and stand up as we did against TCU, you can expect us to be blown back,” Ricketts said. “If we stay down and keep our pads low, we’ll be fine.”
Added Burton: “We always play teams that are bigger than we are. We have to continue utilizing technique and fundamentals.”
Injuries have hurt. Juniors Ryan Gardner (groin), a starter, and Ben Kopacka (knee) are sidelined. Juniors Caleb Konemann and Ross Fleming and sophomore Travis Miller have moved onto the depth chart.
“We’d love to have our injured players back,” Burton said. “But we have to trust whoever we put out on the field. Some of our younger players are getting game experience.”
Burton continues to search for defensive linemen, perhaps looking to duplicate the ultimate find. Chad Hennings, the standard for Air Force defensive linemen, came to Air Force as a tight end. He won the Outland Trophy as the best defensive lineman in college football in 1987.
“We’ve found some from other positions,” Burton said. “We’re always trying to find a player we can develop into a defensive lineman. We continue to look and we continue to find them.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
Three questions for Air Force
1. Will Air Force’s defense regroup and halt a trend of allowing running backs to put up massive numbers? In the past two weeks, San Diego State’s Ronnie Hillman and TCU’s Ed Wesley have run all over the Falcons. Hillman rushed for 191 yards and two touchdowns, and Wesley gained 209 yards and scored twice. Utah’s rushing offense isn’t as intimidating.
2. Will Air Force’s rushing offense, which leads the nation at 326.5 yards a game, become a factor after taking a week off against TCU? The Falcons rushed for only 184 yards against the Horned Frogs. Could be tough as Utah is ranked sixth nationally in rushing defense, allowing just 87.4 yards per game.
3. After a 27-25 loss to San Diego State and a 38-7 trouncing by TCU, will coach Troy Calhoun’s record at Air Force suffer a third consecutive regular-season loss for the first time? In Calhoun’s previous three seasons, the Falcons have lost two regular-season games in a row each year. Calhoun’s 2008 team lost three games in a row, but the third loss was a 34-28 setback to Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl. The Falcons lost 38-24 to BYU and 44-10 to TCU in the last two games of the regular season.
Irv Moss, The Denver Post
