Calhoun’s Ballot
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
7. Georgia Tech
8. Pittsburgh
9. Oregon
10. Ohio State
11. Penn State
12. Oklahoma State
13. Clemson
14. Virginia Tech
15. Iowa
16. Oregon State
17. BYU
18. LSU
19. Miami
20. Utah
21. UNC
22. California
23. Houston
24. Nebraska
25. Stanford

Jake’s Ballot
1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
7. Georgia Tech
8. Pittsburgh
9. Ohio State
10. Oregon
11. Oklahoma State
12. Clemson
13. Virginia Tech
14. Iowa
15. Penn State
16. Oregon State
17. LSU
18. North Carolina
19. Miami
20. BYU
21. Utah
22. California
23. Mississippi
24. USC
25. Navy

Post from: Air Force

From The Gazette: My game story on the Falcons’ 38-21 loss to BYU; David Ramsey’s column on how Air Force will aim to do better than fourth place next season; my sidebar on backup quarterback Ben Cochran, who was rushed into duty after an injury to Tim Jefferson (my notebook is tacked onto the end of that story); and Ramsey’s sidebar on BYU quarterback Max Hall. Also, here’s my 3 Headlines video.

For the Provo Daily Herald’s comprehensive coverage of the game, click here.

Finally, in other sports, the Air Force men’s basketball team was blown out in the final of the Reggie Minton Classic, 70-46, by Northern Colorado. The Falcons didn’t make a 3-pointer all night. The hockey team won in Connecticut.

Post from: Air Force

And for the second season in a row, the final game of the regular season showed how far the Falcons still have to go.

In 2008, it was a humbling 44-10 drubbing at TCU.

This season, it was Saturday’s 38-21 drubbing at BYU.

Don’t let the final score fool you. The Cougars were up 24-0 in the first half and 31-7 early in the third quarter. This one wasn’t close.

And that was surprising. Yes, BYU has owned Air Force historically (The Cougars have a 24-6 all-time record against Air Force) and especially lately (Saturday’s loss was the Falcons’ sixth in a row to BYU – and all have come by at least two touchdowns).

But Air Force seemed to match up better with the Cougars because of its standout defense and secondary (the Falcons led the nation in pass defense heading into the game). Not only that, players seemed to be ready to beat the Cougars. And it didn’t seem like bluster. I could be wrong, but I usually can tell when players are just saying they can compete with a heavily favored team and when they actually believe they can compete with a heavily favored team. I really think the Falcons believed.

That’s what made it surprising – again, not that Air Force lost, but the manner in which they were dominated.

“I was very surprised,” junior fullback Jared Tew said. “I thought we were going to come out strong and right off the bat it seemed like they had our number and we pretty much weren’t playing our game.”

“We’re a lot better than we played today,” junior cornerback Reggie Rembert said. “So, yeah, I’m definitely kind of shocked.”

The one upside of a loss like this is the Falcons still are a relatively young team. Players can learn from mistakes, and they should remember the sting of this blowout. And maybe in the future they can find a way to compete with the Cougars.

“It’s not going to be easy, it’s going to be hard,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said of catching up to the top teams in the conference. “But it’s doable, and it should be doable. That is to be a program that gets up and (will) go play in a game like this and be able to take a game like this right down to the wire and find a way to win it.”

Other thoughts:
-It looks to me like either the Armed Forces or New Mexico Bowls for the Falcons.

Barring a shocking upset loss by TCU in its regular season finale next weekend (at home against woeful New Mexico), the Horned Frogs are heading to a Bowl Championship Series bowl game. Utah and BYU, which will finish second and third in the conference in some order, likely will go to the Las Vegas and Poinsettia Bowls.

So the Armed Forces and New Mexico Bowls, which share the third pick, will fight over Air Force. I know the New Mexico Bowl badly wants the Falcons (it has for the last couple years). But Armed Forces Bowl reps aren’t opposed to taking them for the third straight year.

For Air Force? Well, I’m not sure heading to the same bowl site for the third straight season is the best situation for fans. But the Falcons played at New Mexico this year, so if they go to the New Mexico Bowl, it will be their second trip to Albuquerque in four months.

Recruiting-wise, it’s a no-brainer. Of the 44 players listed as offensive and defensive starters and backups heading into Saturday’s game, 14 are from Texas. Zero are from New Mexico.

-Ben Cochran’s numbers weren’t too pretty (14 carries, 47 yards; 5-for-18 passing for 88 yards, one touchdown and one interception), but I thought he did really well considering how difficult a situation he faced.

The guy had played only garbage snaps this season – and remember, he was playing safety in the preseason. But he came into the game in a tough environment with his team trailing the 19th-ranked team in the country 17-0 and handled himself well.

“I think he played very well,” Tew said. “Coming up in a big situation like that against a Top 25 team, with not that much experience and right when he came in making that big play to (Josh) Cousins, that was huge and definitely gave us a spark. He definitely stepped up and we know we can count on him.”

-Max Hall was tremendous today. I thought there were times when Air Force had good coverage on receivers, but he put the ball in about the only two foot by two foot space that it could be caught. He completed 19 of his first 22 passes, and one of the incompletions was a drop and another was one he threw away intentionally. That’s astounding.

I also like the passion with which he plays. He’s fired up, and he loves to play the game and he loves to win – clearly, he’s won more than any BYU quarterback ever. And that’s something.

So with all that said, he needs to cut out some of the taunting and celebrating and the complaining to the refs that he did after the first touchdown was called back. Plain and simple, he’s too good a player to have to act like that.

-After writing my article about how Air Force was on pace to set the record for fewest turnovers in a season and that it hadn’t turned the ball over more than twice in a game all season, I wrote in the blog about how nobody believes in jinxes more than me. So, to Air Force fans, I’m sorry.

Post from: Air Force

And, as has been the case for most of the games in the stretch, it wasn’t even close.

BYU’s passing offense carved up the Air Force defense, and the Falcons’ offense committed four turnovers – one more than Air Force had committed in the previous six games combined.

Air Force finished the regular season 7-5 and 5-3 in the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons still will play in a bowl game – likely either the Armed Forces Bowl (for the third straight season) or the New Mexico Bowl.

BYU improved to 9-2 and 6-1 heading into next weekend’s game with rival Utah.

Post from: Air Force

The Cougars, who have won five straight in the teams’ series, scored on four straight possessions to build a 24-0 advantage, and they lead Air Force, 24-7, at the half at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

The Falcons’ defense has given up more points than it did in any of its first 11 games. And the offense turned the ball over three times – more than in any of the first 11 games.

BYU has gained 265 yards on 35 plays, four fewer than it took Air Force to gain 147. Senior quarterback Max Hall has been brilliant, completing 19-of-24 passes for 199 yards and three scores, including two to tight end Dennis Pitta. Junior Harvey Unga has rushed for 61 yards on eight carries.

Air Force lost quarterback Tim Jefferson to an undisclosed injury, and backup Ben Cochran took over early in the second quarter. Cochran hit senior Josh Cousins for a 27-yard touchdown that was the Falcons’ lone score.

Post from: Air Force

Big one for the Falcons this afternoon. If they win, they clinch no worse than a third-place finish in the league and some more bowl possibilities open up. Although I’ve heard San Diego is unlikely. Apparently the Poinsettia Bowl is hot on BYU (it’s the 25th anniversary of the Cougars’ trip to the Holiday Bowl) and is going to take them if they’re available no matter what happens the last two weeks.

Still, I think any of the top four bowls (Las Vegas, Poinsettia, Armed Forces and New Mexico) are in the cards if Air Force wins today. If the Falcons lose, I think it’ll be either Armed Forces or New Mexico.

Post from: Air Force

In today’s edition of The Gazette is my preview story on today’s game, and I look at what’s at stake for Air Force (lots). Also, here are my 3 Things to Watch and More.

And from Utah papers: The Provo Daily Herald’s preview; Deseret Morning News columnist Dick Harmon writes about the challenge Air Force’s defense presents the Cougars, and he picks the winner of the game; The Salt Lake Tribune writes about BYU trying to continue its November success.

Post from: Air Force

You’re nice to The BlogDog, and he’s got your back ‘til the clock stops.

Which is why this week he is rushing to the defense of Gazette columnist David Ramsey.

Ramsey has hung with The BlogDog on a few occasions and even enjoyed a walk around Denver’s Washington Park neighborhood with him. So it hurt Norm to see all the nasty e-mails and blog comments Ramsey has gotten from enraged BYU fans (is there any other kind?) and even some nasty letters from Air Force fans.

The BlogDog disagrees with Ramsey on a whole lot of subjects – specifically Ramsey’s historic underrating of NBA legend Larry Bird. And he disagrees with Ramsey’s assessment that Division II Abilene Christian (Ramsey’s alma mater) would “Kick the (expletive) out of Notre Dame in football.” (Although given recent events, BlogDog doesn’t argue that point too much).

But here’s the point: BlogDog respects Ramsey’s opinion, even when he disagrees with it. He understands that Ramsey – as a columnist – sometimes will write opinions he thinks are insane. And he knows that even though Ramsey covers Air Force, he’s not supposed to be a cheerleader for the Falcons.

And neither is the BlogDog. Which is why after riding Air Force the last three weeks, he’s jumping off the Falcon train. In his weekly picks, Norm went to the Air Force helmet first and then the BYU helmet three times in a row. (The third time, which you can see in this video, came after a brief pause at the Air Force helmet).

Norm thinks the Falcons have had a heck of a year, but he knows it’s about as tough to win in Provo as it is to find a decently poured Maker’s Mark and ginger ale there.

Norm’s Pick: BYU 27, Air Force 17
Norm’s 2009 Season Record: 7-4
Norm’s Overall Record: 24-13

Post from: Air Force

From the Utah papers: The Provo Daily Herald has a feature on Air Force junior fullback Jared Tew. The Deseret Morning News has an article about the Falcons’ defense. And the Salt Lake Tribune also writes about the Falcons’ defense and how it might serve as an example for BYU’s.

Shifting to hoops, Air Force’s men’s team kicks off The Reggie Minton Classic tonight at Clune Arena against Dickinson State of the NAIA’s Dakota Athletic Conference. If the Falcons win they’ll play the winner of tonight’s game between Northern Colorado and Texas Southern in the championship game on Saturday. My 3 Things to Watch in the tournament are located at the bottom of my preview story on senior forward Grant Parker.

Finally, college hockey writer Joe Paisely looks at Air Force ice hockey’s senior assistant captain, Matt Fairchild, in advance of the Falcons’ weekend series at Connecticut.

Post from: Air Force

But did you know how good?

The Falcons are on pace to have their best season in history when it comes to protecting the football. And while this season has been by far Air Force’s best in this department recent years, the Falcons consistently have done a good job of not turning the ball over under Troy Calhoun. Just twice have they turned it over more than two times in a game and only once have they turned it over more than three times (at New Mexico in 2007 when they lost five fumbles).

“I think if you look over probably the last two-and-a-half years, the only time really was that night in Albuquerque,” Calhoun said. “Otherwise it hasn’t been significant in terms of troubles. Now I don’t want to hex us either.”

I can appreciate that (because nobody believes in jinxes more than me), so we’ll move on.

The Deseret Morning News writes about BYU’s Max Hall, who needs one more victory to become the Cougars all-time winningest quarterback. The Salt Lake Tribune writes about BYU needing to be disciplined on defense and has a notebook that touches on various subjects.

And The Provo Daily Herald delves into the cut block/chop block discussion and looks at whether Air Force is a “dirty” team.

Finally, here are college hockey writer Joe Paisley’s 3 Things to Watch in the Falcons’ weekend series at Connecticut.

Post from: Air Force