2008 Air Force Football
After a second-place finish with a 6-2 record in MWC play last year, the Air Force Falcons will have to deal with the loss of several starters in 2008. Just three starters on offense and only five on defense are back for the Falcons. Head coach Troy Calhoun has his work cut out for him in his second year as the head man at Air Force. The Falcons were 9-3 in regular season play last year before losing a heartbreaker 36-42 to California in the Armed Forces Bowl last year. Think they have what it takes to match last year’s 9-4 campaign? Find out as the Info Plays team gives their 2008 Air Force Falcons football predictions and team preview below.
Offense:
The triple option game used to be a staple at Air Force before MWC opponents picked up on it. Enter Troy Calhoun, a former offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans. Calhoun’s scheme allowed MWC Offensive Player of the Year Chad Hall to take over the offense, migrating from a receiver position into the backfield. The new look resulted in the nation’s third-best turnaround, a gain of five victories and Mountain West Coach of the Year honors for Calhoun. The difference was nearly 300 yards rushing a game, second in the nation and their best total since 2002. Hall set the school’s all-purpose yardage record with 2,683 yards from scrimmage. It’s unlikely the Falcons can find just one player to replace those numbers.
Senior Ty Paffett is penciled in as the “Z” receiver slot where Hall started a year ago. Paffett had more rushing touchdowns last year than any other returning Falcon. He might actually have more open-field speed than Hall, which clearly showed with a 73-yard run against San Diego State last season. Rebulding this offense also includes the quarterback position. The battle between senior Shea Smith and junior Eric Herbort will carry into the fall. Calhoun gives Herbort the early edge, but suggests the Falcons may play two quarterbacks to start the season. Calhoun came in during a rare cycle when he inherited a senior dominated group. Now he has to deal with only three returning starters on offense. The service academy can’t rely on their junior college transfers to win right away, and Calhoun knows it will take time to get his own players in place.
Defense:
The defense simply has to improve after Air Force ranked next-to-last in the conference against the pass and gave up nearly 30 points per game. Senior end Ryan Kemp anchors the defensive line with six of seven starters back. This rare depth will allow Calhoun to us some four-man fronts as an alternate to the base 3-4. Kemp had 54 tackles, 8.5 of them coming for a loss, and earned honorable mention all-conference honors.
There’s solid competition at linebacker. Only sophomore Andre Morris, at 6-3 230 pounds is expected to be the Falcons’ next great defender. It’s a big rebuilding year for the secondary after losing three starters from last year’s group. Sophomore corner Reggie Rembert played in every game last season and had a good spring to secure a spot on the top of the depth chart at his position.
Air Force Football Predictions at Info Plays: 6th in the Mountain West
The Falcons likely surprised themselves last year with a second-place finish in the Mountain West. But senior talent carried that squad, and there’s no question the program will take a step back with only 8 combined starters back on offense and defense. If someone can take control at quarterback, the Falcons should grab one of the MWC’s four bowl berths by season’s end.
Check out more Air Force football predictions with the official site of the Falcons here.
Mountain West Wins Expected in ‘08: at San Diego State, at UNLV, COLORADO STATE
Potential Scares/Losses: at
Wyoming,
UTAH,
NEW MEXICO,
BYU, at TCU
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