The high-flying Falcons of the Air Force Academy (2-0) are in rare form heading into their third week of the season. After a 23-3 victory over Mountain West Conference rival Wyoming, the Falcons are turning their attention to the Houston Cougars (1-1) for the first time in their program’s history.
Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun wants to stretch the Falcons’ early win streak to three, but said his team will need to adjust to the Cougars’ high-powered style of offense to pull off another victory.
"(Houston) is an extremely talented group," Calhoun said at a press conference. "This week we’re going to have to play a lot better."
Air Force seems to have little to improve on. The Falcons’ defense gave up just three points Saturday while allowing 216 total yards and collecting four sacks and an interception. The offense scored on rushing touchdowns by seniors quarterback Shea Smith and fullback Todd Newell as well as three field goals from senior kicker Ryan Harrison.
Despite their victory on Saturday, Calhoun is not completely satisfied with the way his team played.
"Statistically you might say, ‘What?’ But I just think, clearly when you look at it, we have got to do a much better job… across the board," Calhoun said. "It may not be reflected in the numbers. I think we have got to play better on offense this Saturday than we did last Saturday (and) I think we need to play better with our punting game."
Their opposing quarterback, Houston sophomore Case Keenum, is one of the Falcons’ top concerns.
"I think their quarterback is an excellent player," Calhoun said. "He’s extremely accurate; there’s great coordination from a timing standpoint with him and his receivers, (and) I think he’s got excellent mobility."
Calhoun is equally impressed with the depth of the Cougars’ offensive weapons. Houston has four possible receivers on the line of scrimmage, a type of offense Air Force has not faced this season in either Southern Utah or Wyoming.
"This week there’s going to be a little bit more space, and because of it, we’ve got to find out how to stay in space when we have the ball, (and) then defensively we have got to find a way to close on open ground," Calhoun said.
The Falcons hope to utilize the skills of junior strong safety Chris Thomas to prevent the Cougars’ air assault. Thomas recorded a total of 13 tackles in Saturday’s game against the Cowboys, including a sack.
His success against Wyoming was crucial to his team’s success, and Calhoun said he needs to put in another performance like that against the Cougars.
"This week is going to be a completely different type of game for him," he said. "Now it’s going to be an open-field game.
"Where he needs to really assert himself is in a game where it is more one back, more shotgun, the ball distributed all over the field and become a force in a contest like that, and he can, too," he said.
Calhoun said each improvement the team makes is crucial to its success.
"There’s no one way you win a game at the Air Force Academy," Calhoun said. "There’s no single formula. That’s game by game."
