Air Force Falcons Season Preview

Fisher DeBerry was a legend but has now been gone for five years and this program is all about the rise of Troy Calhoun. Calhoun has a solid record through four seasons at 34-18. Four straight bowls (Three Armed Forces Bowl before last year) with wins at nine, eight, nine and eight certainly helps the fans in Colorado Springs.

The last time Air Force was in a bowl before Calhoun took over was back in 2002 when they played in the San Francisco Bowl against Virginia Tech.

That was long ago when quarterback Chance Harridge ran the option offense and then Shaun Carney came in and became the career leader in total offense (7,952), passing (5,391) and completion percentage (61.9).  

Tim Jefferson has since taken over and has been that next great Falcon QB as he totaled for 25 TDs a season ago and has 42 career TDs.  Jefferson admitted he was slowed by injuries two seasons ago and he certainly slowed down towards the missing three games, though he has been a gamer for quite some time.

He and his best backfield buddy Asher Clark return for their senior season as well and boy, did Clark put on a clinic a season ago. He became just the third Falcon ever to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season (Chad Hall 2006) and now that he is back for his senior season, this backfield will be locked and loaded in 2011.

They do lose fullback Jared Tew who was one of the best in the country and they also lose Nathan Walker and Kyle Halderman. The three combined for 12 TDs a season ago and filling in are expected to be Jonathan Warzeka (41 carries for 328 yards) and fullback Wesley Cobb. 

The offensive line returns three starters and they will be led by First Team All-MWC right guard AJ Wallerstein. He was one of the better guards in conference a season ago since he was named to the best of the bunch and most expect him to once again be named in 2011.

A few unheralded studs up front are center Michael Hester and left tackle Jason Kons who are both under 260 pounds. They are extremely quick and just fly off linemen and get to the second level to open truck sized wholes for Jefferson and Clark.

With six starters back and a much improved performer in RB/WR/KR Jonathan Warzeka, this second ranked rushing offense (306 YPG) could be simply unstoppable. The 118th passing offense did not improve much as they only had 168 attempts (119 YPG), but they should continue to hit the big play when the opposition loads up the box with eight/nine men fronts.

The defense has eight returning and they are all experienced enough to take that next step towards becoming one of the best in conference behind TCU and Boise State. They were 103rd in run defense allowing 201 yards per game which was the worst since 2004 where they ranked 101st allowing 200 yards per game.

They return their three top tacklers and two of them are linebackers. Jordan Waiwaiole had 96 a season ago while getting to the QB twice and totaling 5.5 tackles for loss. Brady Amack took down 82 ball carries a season ago while also getting one sack and three tackles for loss.

Patrick Hennessey only had 60 tackles but he had a team-high eight tackles for loss. He is a solid 6’2", 225 pounds and is the fastest, most explosive player in the front seven. In the 3-4 D, the Falcons are stout with defensive end Zach Payne (6’3", 255 pounds) and nose tackle Ryan Gardner (6’3", 260 pounds).

The secondary loses its All-American Reggie Rembert and while most expect the pass D to drop below its ranking (147 YPG—second in nation), think again. Corner Anthony Wright (two INT’s, six pass breakups, 5’10", 190 pounds) and free safety Jon Davis (No. 2 tackler, three INTs, 6’1", 198 pounds) have the talent to both make First Team All-MWC. 

The schedule is not anywhere close to being a top 75 schedule in difficulty, but they do face arguably three Top 10 teams in Boise State, Notre Dame and TCU.

The only team they get at home is TCU and though that is the second game of the season, the Horned Frogs are not an easy matchup since they have two world beaters on defense.

Still, they should get past the nine win plateau this season and become a top 25 team if they find a way to win their bowl game.

Predicted Finish: 10-3, 6-2

Predicted Bowl: Poinsettia Bowl

Predicted order of finish in MWC: Third