Hello from an Air Force Falcon Fan

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ltcpilot

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Hi all, first post and wanted to say 'looking forward' to the game...Here's some thoughts I posted on another forum about the game. Curious to know what thoughts many here might have on the game. Can't wait....

GO FALCONS

My wife and I, both decked out in AF Blue, will visit your city and stadium for the game. Should be a good one.

I don't know if you watched much of AF in the last two years under our new coach and staff. Throwing the ball, while not the mainstay of our offense, has become more and more effective along with a tradtional option (but a option that is now run not only under center, but via the shotgun!). So you will see an offense that is adept at not only running the ball but passing as well. So what do you plan for? An option only offense that you 'think' AF will run (and one that is not played by many of your normal opponents?) Or do you take time away from that and practice versus the pass thus neglecting a very well run option 'O'? Good luck as you look to the game.

AF will face many of the same challenges as we prepare for you. We MUST stop your pass but cannot rely only on stopping that....we must challenge the run as well. Can't wait to see how our defense does. Maybe special teams will be 'key' in the game!

Good luck in your first game in a unique challenge 'away' vs Syracuse. That should be interesting in itself. I think the 'away' game for you in week one and a home game opener for us the same week, just might balance out the next week's homefield advantage you have when we come to your house.

Anyways.....good luck to both teams in their first game then see you in the 2nd week!!
 

Thanks for posting ltcpilot. Hope you enjoy the new digs when you get into town, and hopefully it's a good game for both teams (moreso for us :)). It's been stated before that this may be one of if not the trap game of the season. Hopefully your experience at TCF is a good one, and your team finds success in the MWC this season.
 

welcome ltcpilot

I hope you and your wife have a good time in MN. I think this will be a tough test for the Gophers. Bottom line I respect the Academies greatly and young men and women who make the commitment. It takes a special individual to handle the rigors of an academy stint and then add the demands of football to that. Good luck to your team - It will be tough to root against them.
 

I'm curious how much of a following Air Force Academy sports has within rank and file in the Air Force. I was in the Air Force in from the mid 80's to the early 90's and I didn't hear much about Air Force sports unless I picked up a copy of the Air Force times.

Of course, there wasn't nearly as much sports options back then, you got whatever the networks decided to put on. Has much changed since then?
 

I'm a little worried about the option, it can be one of the most frustrating offenses to play against. It can also be one of the most satisfying to shut down...It will be a good test of the speed of our linebackers to contain the outside. Should be a good game....
 


Honestly, I am not concerned at all. with simoni and keenan we have enough olb speed to contain the edges, as long as the DEs dont get too carried away and lose contain we should be fine. If they try to pass it then we have sherels and simmons just waiting for the pick six.
 

Diehard Gopher...

Here is hoping that you are right!!!

I am excited to see our defense perform this year and hopefully they can step it up and
get the job done. It should be a great game, but I think I will worry about that one
after the Syracuse game is over with!!
 

Honestly, I don't think Air Force matches up very well with the Gophers. If you look at their lines, they are very small. Unless they are incredibly quick, they are going to be in huge trouble.
 

PlayHosea said:
Honestly, I don't think Air Force matches up very well with the Gophers. If you look at their lines, they are very small. Unless they are incredibly quick, they are going to be in huge trouble.
Click to expand...

If your team thinks this way, they are going to be in for a very long afternoon. Air Force guys play against larger, faster, more highly recruited players almost every game, yet through the history of Air Force Academy football, they seem to find a way to win. Those of us who have watched AFA football for decades hear this comment from fans of new opponents consistently. For those of you who think that there's nothing to worry about in this game, good luck.

We have a fairly young team, and our quarterback is a sophomore who made several starts last year and won MWC freshman of the year honors. He is the first player Air Force has ever had who won that honor. However, he was having a tough time academically, and he missed most of spring training to concentrate on studies. He gave up his entire summer to take classes and perform his military training, and he has had to fight to win back the starting job at qb. I think he will be ready to go despite missing the spring. His running backs are also young but pretty good.

Our defensive coordinator is, in my opinion, one of the best in the nation. Tim DeRuyter has crafted a hard-nosed, smart unit that gives ground grudgingly despite the size difference mentioned in this thread. I think the Air Force defense will win your respect on September 12.

I've had the pleasure of spending many days and nights in Minneapolis, but I've never been there to attend a football game. I look forward to seeing your beautiful new stadium and watching a hard-fought football game! Good luck against Syracuse!
 



PlayHosea said:
Honestly, I don't think Air Force matches up very well with the Gophers. If you look at their lines, they are very small. Unless they are incredibly quick, they are going to be in huge trouble.
Click to expand...

As the Falcon fan said, the Academy faces that every game and they seem to do very well. I sure hope the team doesn't think that.
 

PlayHosea said:
Honestly, I don't think Air Force matches up very well with the Gophers. If you look at their lines, they are very small. Unless they are incredibly quick, they are going to be in huge trouble.
Click to expand...

This has been knocked down before. You already answered your own question by noting that quickness is the prized attribute of their O Lineman. You don't have to have road graders to be effective. Do you know why Eslinger was a 6th rounder and is now bouncing between practice squads despite being an All-American and Outland/Rimington Trophy winner? It's b/c he is considered too small for the NFL. Great lineman don't have to be huge.
 

PlayHosea said:
Honestly, I don't think Air Force matches up very well with the Gophers. If you look at their lines, they are very small. Unless they are incredibly quick, they are going to be in huge trouble.
Click to expand...

Um, you don't want giant linemen to run the option. You want guys who can pull and have the fleetness of foot to get up to the second level. I'd be less concerned if they had mammoth linemen who our speedy LBs could beat to the point of attack.

At the end of the day, defending the option is all about discipline. DEs need to contain to the greatest possible extent, LBs need to resist the temptation to commit too early, and DBs need to fight through the WR blocks to assist. If we do those things consistently, we should be fine. If not, well, at least the lots stay open for awhile after the game so I can drown the team's troubles in swill.
 

Air force game!

Does anybody know if the Gophers have ever played Air Force before?
I cannot remember if they have, but it should be a very good football game.

Go Gopers!!
 



This is the first EVER meeting.
 

Oh, and I was going to say it is so refreshing to see the AFA postings on the various Gopher boards. Great sportsmanship but no less of a desire to see their team win. I wish it was that way with our neighbors to the east and south.
 

My concern

is that the team may get caught up too much in he pageantry of the new stadium etc. and forget there is a talented team on the other end of the stadium. I been thru it too often when things like Senior day take away from the focus of the game and the home team lays an egg.
 

As my defacto 2nd favorite college football team, I've seen a lot of Air Force football. Not as much as I did during the DeBerry years, but I still catch each week whether they won or lost. I'm upset that we aren't returning the visit to Colorado Springs.

Defensively, DISCIPLINE will be the key. I compare Air Force's offensive style somewhat similar to Minnesota's during the 2003-2005 Mason/Browning run in that you can attempt to simulate it as much as possible during practice, but it's run at a complete different level when you get to the games. Think about how many times the Gophers run game started out of the gate with Barber/Maroney were here...it's the same way with Air Force.

Regarding the option, it's the same story: have to stop the fullback first before you do anything. If the Gophers don't remain disciplined on defense and take that away first, Air Force will have their fun on offense. We have the athletes on defense to stop Air Force....the key will be staying disciplined.

Offensively for the Gophers, it's a matter of execution. Air Force won't make mistakes, but at the same time, Weber & Decker will play a bigger part in whether Weber & Decker are successful more so than Air Force.

I think it's an absolute honor for the Univeristy of Minnesota to be able to host a team like Air Force for the first game. I couldn't ask for a better first opponent in TCF Bank Stadium than Air Force, or had it been Navy or Army (minus perhaps Wisconsin...I think they would have respected the honor of opening the stadium. Iowa, I feel, would not have). Some hoped for Notre Dame. A service academy is so much better in my eyes.

I know that AFA is flying back every cadet from Minnesota for the game, which I think is great. Hopefully the bugle corps will be making the trip as well. I know that Air Force will be gaining a lot of fans that wear maroon & gold as soon as the game concludeds.

With that, I plan to be wearing my gold Minnesota polo, my blue AFA hat, and am going to do nothing but stand & cheer every single play the entire game. My #1 & #2 programs opening up a new stadium....as good as it gets for me!
 

FireDave....thaNKs for the kind words about our Falcons. They will bring the best to the field. I live here in Colorado Springs, but had not heard about all the Minnesota cadets making the game....cool! I am as much an AF basketball fan as football...we just had 'now commissioned' 2Lt Andrew Henke from Minnetonka, graduate this past springs. He lead our basketball team with 13.9ppg and will be missed.

Reference football....we will field a small but quick team as we always do....but you will be surprised at some of the size we do have. They intigrate into the offense and defense to surprise many 'big's' we play to include the top of the MWC of Utah, BYU and TCU. Speed is something our new coach has been trying to improve. When we play a team such as TCU we see the difference in speed....this has been a focal point of our staff and we are becoming quicker each year.

It will be an interesting matchup as I see not only the continuing use of our (triple) option, but more use of what I call the fourth option being the play action pass. As our offense evolves to use this more effectively I think it will cause headaces from many.

We have not talked about defense....you will NOT see 350# linemen or 280# LB's....but you will see size and speed combined. I'm excited.

See you there....many will be at the Armory pre-game....

GO FALCONS
football.gif
 

I also live in Colorado Springs and it is obvious how much people love the AFA here and for good reason. I will be cheering for the Air Force Academy for every game this year except one.

Even though we haven't played the AFA in football we have played them in hockey and they put up quite a fight, I expect nothing less from their football team.
 

35-3. Yea I said it


















Really though I expect a good game as a team like AF probably won't be shook at all by the pageantry and will test our discipline. At the end of the day though I think we pull away at the end of the 3rd
 

now I don't want to be "that guy" because I very much respect the air force and their football program. however I will be very disappointed if we don't beat them by at least 2 td's! I know afa has had success but I don't feel as if they have near the talent top to bottom as minny! the option is always tough but brown and small should eat the air force o-line up! I'm not trying to take any shots I just feel our size and speed and just all around talent level should allow us to beat up on afa pretty easily!
 

Their offense scares me because of the discipline it requires from the defense. However, on the other side of the ball this is the game that having 300 lb OL should have the biggest impact. If we are serious about running the football we should be able to wear down their DL and pick up yards in big chunks in the second half. This should force them to put 8 in the box and expose their DB's to one-on-one coverage on Decker and the play-action pass.
 

The sooner we get out ahead of Air Force the better. There is no doubt in my mind AF can and will be extremely well disciplined and can pull out the game late. We cannot get behind and have to rely on stopping the option attack. We are a much better defense than the one that lost to Ohio a few years back, but that is what an option attack can do. I still have nightmares of a few play action passes for tds to wide open receivers. Air Force is consistently a strong team (much more so than Navy or Army) and plays in a really good conference. Heck, they deserved to beat us in the NCAA hockey playoffs just a few years back. I'm not worried the coaches or the players will overlook them. I worry that the pageantry of opening the stadium could lead to a rocky start. That would be a problem...
 

If we can run the ball and keep air force off the field we'll be straight.......

My biggest fear is AFA's heavy Option Offense will keep our Offense off the field for long spurts resulting in not being able to establish a rhythm and many quick 3 & Outs.......

Should be a very good game.......

Minny 34, AFA 31
 

Just a bump so I can 'find' it next week. Good luck with Syracuse...we'll be watching it closely. Can't get all the links right, but click here to go to all these Air Force and Minnesota news links....enjoy.

31Aug AF and UM news at the AF Forum

Here's the list that's over there! (Title followed by source)

31Aug09 New: AF Final prep, Jefferson, future opponents Recent: AF player update, First opponent, looking to UM and MWC
Jefferson ready to resume work as starting QB
Denver Post
The season is here; so are answers to AFA questions
Colorado Springs Gazette
AFA football coaches Q and A … With Blane Morgan
Colorado Springs Gazette
Quarterback is where it's at for Air Force
Colorado Springs Gazette
Monday Morning Links Jake's Blog
Colorado Springs Gazette
Calhoun says younger players need to step up
Denver Pos
Air Force Falcons 2009 College Football Predictions, Picks & Odds
Sports-Odds.com
College football preview: Mountain West Conference at a glance
Salt Lake Tribune
College football preview: MWC looking to build on momentum of 2008
Salt Lake Tribune
2009 MMM Air Force Falcons Preview
Mid-Major Madness
QB or not QB: With Adam Weber starting for Gophers, where will ...
Pioneer Press
Checking in with Minnesota's Tim Brewster
ESPN
Gophers' Goal Line Club Plays Important Role for Football Program
GopherHole.com
Gopher football players, fans test out new stadium
KARE
Army Season Preview: Part III
RamsInsider.com (subscription)
College football preview: Utes at a glance
Salt Lake Tribune
NCAA Football Preview - New Mexico Lobos
College football preview: Cougars at a glance
28Aug09 New: AF player update, First opponent, looking to UM and MWC Recent: AF's Kicking, New Supt, Thomas, Ollis, El-Amin, Look at Nicholls St, UM and more
Ramsey: Free safety's decision to forsake basketball a boon to ...
Colorado Springs Gazette
Davis trusts DBs to shine
Denver Post
AIR FORCE FOOTBALL COACHES Q AND A … With Jemal Singleton
Colorado Springs Gazette
Jefferson starts to take most of afa's QB snaps
ESPN
Ricketts fueling AFA D-line with nonstop motor
Denver Post
State's QBs wait for a signal
Denver Post
AFA football: Cohesive defense ready for big hits
Colorado Springs Gazette
AFA senior Hyder settling in at safety
Colorado Springs Gazette
Air Force opens against Nichols State
GAVSV.com
Nicholls primed for surge
Opelousas Daily World
Special teams expected to be strength for Colonels
Daily Comet
College Football Preview '09: Nicholls State Colonels
New Orleans.com
Top Gophers receiver catches with fire
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Bennett stepping up for Gophers
St. Cloud Times
Gophers Hold First Game at New Stadium
KSTP.com
Utah Utes Football: Bold Season Prediction
Examiner.com
Mountain West's TV strategy: Remote control hide-and-seek
Las Vegas Sun
Buckeyes urging fans to cheer Navy's arrival to Ohio Stadium on ...
The Plain Dealer
For some Navy Midshipmen, major-college football is the tie that ...
The Plain Dealer

GO FALCONS
 

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