Air Force begins practice today for the Falcons’ home finale Saturday against Nevada-Las Vegas with the status of senior quarterback Tim Jefferson unclear.
Jefferson, a four-year starter, suffered a possible concussion in the first quarter of the Falcons’ 25-17 loss to Wyoming at Falcon Stadium and didn’t return to the game.
Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said he may not know until Wednesday whether Jefferson can play against UNLV.
Calhoun also said the availability of starting cornerback Anthony Wright is unclear. Wright suffered a back injury against Wyoming.
Connor Dietz replaced Jefferson against the Cowboys and rushed for a game-high 85 yards on 18 carries. Dietz has rushed for 252 yards in six games this year, averaging 6.6 yards per carry.
“We’ve already started our game planning (for UNLV),” Calhoun said. “There are some variations involved between the two quarterbacks. We’ll have to see where Jefferson is later in the week.”
Calhoun said the Falcons, who are 5-5 overall and 1-4 in the Mountain West, have reached “crunch time.” They need to win their last two games to be eligible for a bowl game. After hosting the Rebels (2-7, 1-3) this week, the Falcons play Colorado State (3-6, 1-3) in Fort Collins on Nov. 26.
“We’re in the playoff part of the schedule,” Calhoun said.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
Eye on: UNLV Rebels
Nevada-Las Vegas at Air Force, Saturday, 4 p.m., MTN
For the record: UNLV is 2-7 overall and 1-3 in the Mountain West after losing 21-14 at previously winless New Mexico.
Streaking: New Mexico handed the Rebels their 14th con- secutive loss on the road.
Who’s hot: Freshman running back Dionza Bradford has been a big part of the offense, running for at least 100 yards in three of the last four games. He has 569 yards for the season.
Who’s not: Third down has almost been like running through a wall. The Rebels rank 119th out of 120 FBS division teams in third-down conversion. They’ve been successful 25.2 percent of the time, 31-of-123.
Key stat: In Bobby Hauck’s 22-game term as coach, the opponent have scored first 19 times. New Mexico scored on an 80-yard pass play on the first play of the game.
FYI: The Rebels have used three quarterbacks during the season, with Caleb Herring playing in eight games before being injured. Taylor Barnhill and Sean Reilly each have played in six games. Barnhill started against New Mexico.
