AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Air Force players look at Saturday night’s game as a tipping point to the season.
And if any opponent is going to knock their season dangerously off course, they’d rather it not be Wyoming.
“It’s a scary game for us because I feel like this game will dictate the rest of our season,” senior outside linebacker Dexter Walker said.
Yes, a quick glance at recent history shows that the Falcons responded from a loss last year at Wyoming with a stretch in which they won seven of eight games and set the trajectory for a 10-win season.
And history also shows why, in this vulnerable time of the year as Air Force (2-2, 1-0 Mountain West) still needs four wins to gain bowl eligibility, a loss to a winless Cowboys team would be particularly difficult to swallow.
It was three years ago at Wyoming when then-Cowboys coach Dave Christensen launched into a profanity-laced verbal tirade against his Air Force counterpart, Troy Calhoun, after the game. The following year, at Air Force, many of the Falcons faithful were unhappy that the Wyoming band played during the postgame playing of the Air Force alma mater.
In late July, Wyoming defensive end Eddie Yarbrough explained the Cowboys’ take on this growing rivalry.
“Off the field, I have a lot of respect. On the field, I don’t got no time for them,” the all-Mountain West player said. “I don’t like them one bit.”
Walker, who was a freshman when the coaches’ spat occurred, said Air Force players view Wyoming (0-5, 0-1) in a different light than other teams on the schedule.
“They’re really disrespectful,” Walker said. “We’ve just got to shut them up this time.”
But that hasn’t been so easy. Air Force has dropped three of the past four in this series and has been outscored 125-81 in that span.
Forget respecting them off the field. Air Force would be crazy not to respect this team on the field.
“We just want to get in the win column. That’s it,” tailback Jacobi Owens said.
Saturday’s area games:
5 p.m. Boise State at Colorado State, TV: CBSSN
8 p.m. Colorado at Arizona State, TV:Pac-12
8:15 p.m. Wyoming at Air Force, TV: ESPN2
