AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) - The Air Force Falcons were such
a young and inexperienced bunch back in August, coach Troy Calhoun
was wondering if they'd win a game.
Now, they're vying for a slice of the Mountain West Conference
crown. Calhoun didn't exactly see this coming - not that he's
complaining.
"This team has changed and developed more than any squad I've
been around," Calhoun said.
The Falcons (8-2, 5-1 MWC) need plenty of help to earn a share
of the title. They have to beat No. 16 BYU (9-1, 5-1) on Saturday,
then count on the Cougars to upset No. 8 Utah the following week,
along with taking care of more of their own business and knocking
off TCU.
Yet even talking about such a scenario is more than Calhoun
could've imagined just a few months ago.
"This has been a neat group and a really, really fun group,"
he said.
Calhoun has taken a team gutted by graduation and transformed
them into a conference contender.
Start up the rumor mill as his name floats around on Internet
chat boards as a candidate for jobs at bigger schools.
However, he refuses to partake in presumptions.
"Speculation and innuendo - I'm a noncombatant," said Calhoun,
who's 17-6 in two years at Air Force, including 11-3 in division
play. "I just don't get involved. I think if you just even take an
ounce (of) focus in another way, it's not fair to your guys, and
you miss out on the enjoyment of being around coaching."
Calhoun is definitely enjoying being in charge of this crew.
He has a youthful team that includes a freshman at quarterback
in Tim Jefferson - 5-0 since taking over the starting job - and
another at tailback in Asher Clark, who recently became the first
Falcons freshman to have two 100-yard rushing games in his
inaugural season.
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall can't believe a pair of freshmen has
picked up Air Force's complicated system so rapidly.
"Certainly, they are not doing everything they would like to
do, but what they are doing they are doing very well in terms of
execution," Mendenhall said. "The good news for Air Force is that
they will be able to grow and expand, and be able to add on."
Mendenhall has grown quite accustomed to the efficiency and
effectiveness of his quarterback, Max Hall, one of the elite arms
in the nation.
Hall can scan a defense's weakness in an instant, and then make
the proper adjustment. It's something Mendenhall marvels at each week.
"I think it looks easier each time he does it," he said. "I
don't think he's uncertain, I don't think he's hesitant, I think he
is confident. I think he is poised and it shows up in the
execution. It is comforting as a coach to know that this is what
you have at that position."
Hall is completing 71.1 percent of his passes, with 32 touchdown
passes and seven interceptions.
"He's superb," Calhoun said. "He's got the kind of moxie you
want leading your football team. He's got a pretty special presence
about him."
The Cougar quarterback also has some pretty powerful weapons in
receiver Austin Collie, tight end Dennis Pitta and bruising
halfback Harvey Unga.
Collie has eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark in eight
straight games. He needs just 165 more yards to pass Eric Drage for
the top spot on the school's all-time receiving list.
The Falcons can't afford to place too much attention on Collie,
not with Pitta roaming the middle and Unga battering through the
line.
But it all starts with Hall.
"This guy is one of the six or seven best in the country, not
just the quarterback position but in terms of being a legitimate
Heisman Trophy candidate," Calhoun said. "Hall is uncanny."
That's something he attributes to watching film, spending as
much time as he can analyzing a defense's habits.
In Hall's studies of the Air Force defense, he sees a team
applying plenty of pressure. The Falcons have the top pass defense
in the conference.
"They play hard," Hall said. "I always thought Air Force had
the type of kids that we have here. It's always a battle."
