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AIR FORCE FALCONS +3.5 @ COLORADO STATE RAMS
Air Force (2-2) at Colorado State (1-2) @ 7:30 PM EST.
The Sports Network
FACTS & STATS: Site: Hughes Stadium (34,400) -- Fort Collins, Colorado. Television: ESPN. Home Record: Air Force 1-1, CSU 1-0. Away Record: Air Force 0-1, CSU 0-2. Neutral Record: Air Force 1-0, CSU 0-0. Conference Record: Air Force 1-2, CSU 0-0. Series Record: Air Force leads, 24-18-1.
GAME NOTES: Already with three Mountain West Conference games under their belt this season, the Air Force Falcons welcome the Colorado State Rams into league play this week with a special Thursday night edition of college football at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins. Following a season-opening loss to Washington on a neutral field, Air Force has matched up against San Diego State, Wyoming and Utah in conference play but has just one win to show for its MWC efforts. Last week the Falcons appeared to have the Utes in their sights at Rice-Eccles Stadium but allowed a close game to get away from them in a 38-35 setback, giving them two straight losses. As for the Rams, they were slow to get out of the box in losing decisions to both Colorado and Minnesota on the road, before returning home last Saturday night for a 42-21 triumph over Nevada. Heading into this contest the Falcons hold a 24-18-1 edge over Colorado State, with Air Force having taken 10 of 17 meetings in Fort Collins over the years. Last season the Falcons posted a resounding 47-17 victory to snap a three-game slide in the series.
Air Force came out pounding the ball into the line of scrimmage as it does almost every game, gaining 251 yards on 50 attempts against the Utes, but the Falcons also brought an aerial attack with them to Salt Lake City as well. Shaun Carney, who was held to only 16 yards rushing on 10 attempts, hit 9- of-16 passes for 145 yards, while backup Adam Fitch converted 4-of-9 for another 89 yards to give one of the worst passing teams in the nation 234 yards through the air in the three-point loss. Jacobe Kendrick continues to lead the unit with 288 yards rushing and four touchdowns, grinding out one punishing yard after another, while Carney sneaks into second with 244 yards and three scores on the ground. With 257 ypg rushing, the Falcons are rated 11th in the nation, typical for a Fisher DeBerry-led program that is used to being among the country's best in that department year after year.
Like Air Force, the Utes possess a player at the quarterback position who can seemingly turn nothing into something just by breaking out of the pocket and scrambling for his life. Against the Falcons last week that's exactly what Brian Johnson managed to do with three rushing touchdowns and two more passing against a porous defense. Air Force did give up only 152 yards rushing on 43 plays, but it was the 305 yards on 21 completed passes that did the most damage. Bobby Giannini, who led the Falcons with 14 tackles, also recorded the only interception for the squad. Giannini, who has the only two interceptions of the season thus far for the squad, leads the way in total tackles with 36 to rank third among MWC defenders. Gilberto Perez , who has just 15 stops to his credit, leads the group with 5.5 tackles for loss. Undersized compared to most college defenses, the Falcons have recorded only four sacks and have just one forced fumble thus far.
Justin Holland had everything working in his favor against the Wolf Pack over the weekend, completing 15-of-27 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. But it wasn't only the quarterback who was on target for the Rams, as Kyle Bell had a career day with 183 yards and one touchdown on 33 carries. The team as a whole recorded 257 yards on the ground, keeping the Nevada defense on the field a little longer than it would have liked. Even with the huge outburst against the 'Pack, CSU is still averaging only 137 ypg rushing after three games, probably because the squad had to resort to throwing the ball as much as possible in the first two games in order to try and come back from huge deficits. Holland, who has shared time with Caleb Hanie, is converting 59.1 percent of his attempts for 241.7 ypg and seven scores, but he's also been picked off five times, one of the reasons why it might not be that unusual to see Hanie make an appearance in this one.
While Holland was hitting all the right spots down field for the CSU offense, the defense was having trouble controlling Nevada signal-caller Jeff Rowe who converted 23-of-34 for 324 yards and three scores. But there were times when the secondary stepped up and made a couple of plays, namely a pair of interceptions. Add to that a run defense that limited the 'Pack to only 95 yards on 31 attempts, and that spells an easy victory for Colorado State at home. Even though Nevada came up small in the run department, the Rams are still permitting an average of 187.7 ypg on the ground through three games, leading to a total of eight touchdowns. The top three tacklers for Colorado State each have an interception thus far, the team coming up with four in all. Robert Herbert checks in with 22 total stops, with his 19 solo tackles matching the total number by four teammates. Jesse Nading is far from being one of the top tacklers for the unit with just eight stops, but he does lead the group with a pair of sacks, with the team having generated a total of six so far.
Because the Rams have shown a propensity for letting opponents make their way down the field on the ground a little too often, Air Force knows that it can exploit that part of the CSU defense. If need be, Carney can also go over the top, but that shouldn't be necessary as the Falcons pick up the road win.
Flyboys 35
Rams 28
:usausausa
Air Force (2-2) at Colorado State (1-2) @ 7:30 PM EST.
The Sports Network
FACTS & STATS: Site: Hughes Stadium (34,400) -- Fort Collins, Colorado. Television: ESPN. Home Record: Air Force 1-1, CSU 1-0. Away Record: Air Force 0-1, CSU 0-2. Neutral Record: Air Force 1-0, CSU 0-0. Conference Record: Air Force 1-2, CSU 0-0. Series Record: Air Force leads, 24-18-1.
GAME NOTES: Already with three Mountain West Conference games under their belt this season, the Air Force Falcons welcome the Colorado State Rams into league play this week with a special Thursday night edition of college football at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins. Following a season-opening loss to Washington on a neutral field, Air Force has matched up against San Diego State, Wyoming and Utah in conference play but has just one win to show for its MWC efforts. Last week the Falcons appeared to have the Utes in their sights at Rice-Eccles Stadium but allowed a close game to get away from them in a 38-35 setback, giving them two straight losses. As for the Rams, they were slow to get out of the box in losing decisions to both Colorado and Minnesota on the road, before returning home last Saturday night for a 42-21 triumph over Nevada. Heading into this contest the Falcons hold a 24-18-1 edge over Colorado State, with Air Force having taken 10 of 17 meetings in Fort Collins over the years. Last season the Falcons posted a resounding 47-17 victory to snap a three-game slide in the series.
Air Force came out pounding the ball into the line of scrimmage as it does almost every game, gaining 251 yards on 50 attempts against the Utes, but the Falcons also brought an aerial attack with them to Salt Lake City as well. Shaun Carney, who was held to only 16 yards rushing on 10 attempts, hit 9- of-16 passes for 145 yards, while backup Adam Fitch converted 4-of-9 for another 89 yards to give one of the worst passing teams in the nation 234 yards through the air in the three-point loss. Jacobe Kendrick continues to lead the unit with 288 yards rushing and four touchdowns, grinding out one punishing yard after another, while Carney sneaks into second with 244 yards and three scores on the ground. With 257 ypg rushing, the Falcons are rated 11th in the nation, typical for a Fisher DeBerry-led program that is used to being among the country's best in that department year after year.
Like Air Force, the Utes possess a player at the quarterback position who can seemingly turn nothing into something just by breaking out of the pocket and scrambling for his life. Against the Falcons last week that's exactly what Brian Johnson managed to do with three rushing touchdowns and two more passing against a porous defense. Air Force did give up only 152 yards rushing on 43 plays, but it was the 305 yards on 21 completed passes that did the most damage. Bobby Giannini, who led the Falcons with 14 tackles, also recorded the only interception for the squad. Giannini, who has the only two interceptions of the season thus far for the squad, leads the way in total tackles with 36 to rank third among MWC defenders. Gilberto Perez , who has just 15 stops to his credit, leads the group with 5.5 tackles for loss. Undersized compared to most college defenses, the Falcons have recorded only four sacks and have just one forced fumble thus far.
Justin Holland had everything working in his favor against the Wolf Pack over the weekend, completing 15-of-27 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. But it wasn't only the quarterback who was on target for the Rams, as Kyle Bell had a career day with 183 yards and one touchdown on 33 carries. The team as a whole recorded 257 yards on the ground, keeping the Nevada defense on the field a little longer than it would have liked. Even with the huge outburst against the 'Pack, CSU is still averaging only 137 ypg rushing after three games, probably because the squad had to resort to throwing the ball as much as possible in the first two games in order to try and come back from huge deficits. Holland, who has shared time with Caleb Hanie, is converting 59.1 percent of his attempts for 241.7 ypg and seven scores, but he's also been picked off five times, one of the reasons why it might not be that unusual to see Hanie make an appearance in this one.
While Holland was hitting all the right spots down field for the CSU offense, the defense was having trouble controlling Nevada signal-caller Jeff Rowe who converted 23-of-34 for 324 yards and three scores. But there were times when the secondary stepped up and made a couple of plays, namely a pair of interceptions. Add to that a run defense that limited the 'Pack to only 95 yards on 31 attempts, and that spells an easy victory for Colorado State at home. Even though Nevada came up small in the run department, the Rams are still permitting an average of 187.7 ypg on the ground through three games, leading to a total of eight touchdowns. The top three tacklers for Colorado State each have an interception thus far, the team coming up with four in all. Robert Herbert checks in with 22 total stops, with his 19 solo tackles matching the total number by four teammates. Jesse Nading is far from being one of the top tacklers for the unit with just eight stops, but he does lead the group with a pair of sacks, with the team having generated a total of six so far.
Because the Rams have shown a propensity for letting opponents make their way down the field on the ground a little too often, Air Force knows that it can exploit that part of the CSU defense. If need be, Carney can also go over the top, but that shouldn't be necessary as the Falcons pick up the road win.
Flyboys 35
Rams 28
:usausausa