Credit Brian Kelly for this: He knows just how dangerous this Air Force football team is. The Irish hadn’t hit the showers after beating Purdue before Kelly and his coaching staff mentally had the team thinking about Troy Calhoun‘s squad, a testament to just how important this football game is.
If Notre Dame handles its business, it walks into the bye week 4-2. Sure, it’s not the lofty number of wins that it had hoped to have, but rattling off four-straight victories after a catastrophic start to the season is the best case scenario for an Irish season that absolutely hinges on the post bye-week match-up with Southern Cal.
But before the Irish can regroup, they’ll face one of their most difficult opponents on the season in Air Force. With an offense that’ll tax the Irish schematically more than any other, Calhoun and the Falcons are well on their way to their fifth straight season of eight wins or more. Coming off a season-defining victory over Navy in Annapolis, the Irish head to Notre Dame Stadium looking to pull a stunning upset and turn a promising Irish run into another potential doomsday scenario.
Covering the Falcons’ beat for the Colorado Springs Gazette, Frank Schwab was kind enough to answer a few questions for me as Irish fans turn their attention to visiting Air Force.
I asked, he answered, you guys read. Fun times.
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Inside the Irish: This Air Force team came into the season with elevated expectations. Four games in, have the Falcons played up to them?
Frank Schwab: Tough to say because the month of September was so odd, with a bye and two FCS opponents. They really only played one meaningful game, and got blown out by TCU. Then the Navy game is another oddity – for about 50 minutes the Falcons dominated that game. And they haven’t won in Annapolis since 1997, so that was a big surprise. But then they give away an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter and have to pull it out in overtime. So even within that game you’re left wondering how good Air Force really is – although I lean on the side of the Falcons being pretty good, because any win for them at Navy is impressive and TCU is simply an awful matchup for them. We’ll find out, though, as October plays out, where their season is headed. It’s a tough month for them (at Navy, at Notre Dame, vs. San Diego State, at Boise State, at New Mexico).
ITI: That game with Navy was pretty incredible, and the ending had Navy crying foul. Irish fans took great pleasure in seeing Navy — always though of as getting a free pass from the refs — get flagged for something pretty blatant, and then having the nerve to complain about it. Is the Navy game the one Air Force circles on the schedule? Where does the match-up with the Irish fit in on the Falcons’ schedule?
FS: Navy has absolutely become the top game on Air Force’s schedule, because before 2010, Navy beat the Falcons seven straight times. That didn’t sit well with Air Force fans. And that rivalry has been heated with close games. So absolutely that game is the top one on the schedule for Air Force. The Notre Dame game is also big, but for totally different reasons. This is the Falcons’ shot at knocking off a big-name nationally-ranked team on network television, and they like that opportunity. Notre Dame doesn’t have the blood feud type of feelings that Navy does, but it’s still a huge game for Air Force.
ITI: You had an interesting exchange with Brian Kelly when discussing Air Force’s offense. Do you see it as an “option” offense? What do you think the biggest challenge Air Force’s offense presents to the Irish defense?
FS: It really isn’t an option offense anymore, at least in the same way Army and Navy run an option offense. A lot of what the Falcons do is with the zone-blocking scheme, stretch plays where the tailback or fullback takes one cut and goes. Tailback Asher Clark has a chance to become Air Force’s all-time leading rusher by the end of this season – something that was unheard of in the Fisher DeBerry Wishbone days. Troy Calhoun is a pretty creative coach, and loved the zone scheme from his days as an assistant with the Denver Broncos under Mike Shanahan. This is a very multiple offense that has to be very tough to prepare for. They’ll run a ton of plays out of a bunch of formations. Very tough to predict.
ITI: It seems like Air Force has been decimated by injuries. How much will that hurt them this Saturday, especially along a defensive front that’s already struggled against the run?
FS: The defensive line will really be on the spot. The Falcons are down their two best defensive linemen – Zach Payne and Ryan Gardner. The line did hold up well against Navy, I thought they played very well. But Navy doesn’t bring the size Notre Dame has on the offensive line. It’s going to be very difficult for Air Force to break even in that matchup. I’d assume the Irish will run the ball plenty on Saturday.
ITI: We know about Tim Jefferson and Brady Amack had a ridiculous day last week. Give us one player on offense and one player on defense that we’ll likely know after Saturday.
FS: Offensively, it’s Clark. He has played very well this season but hasn’t had a game yet where he gets 18-20 carries and is asked to move the chains. That game is coming; it might be this week. He’s a pretty tough runner who knows how to find the hole and hit it. And he needs to have a good game to help keep Notre Dame’s offense off the field for as long as possible. On defense, watch cornerback Anthony Wright. Wright was an all-conference preseason pick, and I’d be surprised if the Falcons don’t use him to shadow Michael Floyd. Wright is the typical Air Force find – he’s a very good athlete and a heck of a cornerback, but was overlooked by every BCS school, probably because he was a little short and played quarterback in high school. I do think he will hold his own against Floyd, and folks watching the game will be pretty impressed with his skill set.
ITI: Troy Calhoun has done some pretty impressive things since coming to Colorado Springs. What has he meant to the Air Force football program?
FS: When Calhoun took over the program, it was slipping. DeBerry is a hall of fame coach but the Falcons were pretty average by the end of his time at Air Force. The Falcons were very happy Calhoun came to succeed DeBerry – he was an offensive coordinator with the Houston Texans and the Falcons wondered if he was too far along on that career path to come back to college. Calhoun has been the kind of coach who, if he decides to stick around for the majority of his career, will probably have a statue outside Falcon Stadium someday. He is a good football coach and represents the Air Force well – he really believes in its mission and knows there’s more to coming to AFA than being a football player. Air Force AD Hans Mueh said there isn’t a better fit between school and coach in college football than Air Force and Troy Calhoun. He might be right.
ITI: Notre Dame is a heavy favorite in Las Vegas. What does Air Force need to do to win this football game?
FS: I think Air Force needs to definitively win in two areas: special teams and turnover margin. The Falcons’ special teams have been pretty good, although they haven’t had a big day returning kicks yet, but that should be coming because kickoff returner Jonathan Warzeka is really good. Then we all know Notre Dame’s issues with turnovers earlier in the year. Air Force has always thrived off takeaways, and they’ll need a few on Saturday.
***
Special thanks to Frank for taking the time from his daily beat to answer a few questions. For more coverage leading up to the game from an opposing viewpoint, check out Frank’s work at the Colorado Springs Gazette and follow him on twitter at @GazetteAirForce.
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- whisk3yjack - Oct 5, 2011 at 1:03 PM
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I doubt Anthony Wright will be able to cover Floyd any better than Ricardo Allen did.
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- 808raiderinparadise - Oct 5, 2011 at 2:10 PM
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Agreed. If their is any match-up that overlooms the Air Force Defense, its Floyd and Eifert. Those are big, talented ,physical bodies that will be early picks in the NFL. Like any other time playing Nav for instance,, we NEED to protect the ball very well, when an option attack gets a turnover, they take 5-6 minutes off the clock. That keeps the game close and makes evry play more vital and allows a chance of an upset. I know that Air Force will surprise our squad early on, and fight hard ot the last tick.
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- bernhtp - Oct 5, 2011 at 3:38 PM
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” I do think he [Anthony Wright] will hold his own against Floyd”
Maybe MMF will tape this onto his locker – over the similar statement made by the home press for Purdue.
Allen not only got completely torched by Floyd, but Floyd also used his far superior size and strength to physically beat the crap out of him off the line and during pass blocking. The humiliation of the Cierre leap obviously didn’t help the poor kid. I think that it was coaching malfeasance for Hope to put Allen on Floyd in single coverage.
I somehow doubt that AF will repeat this mistake. While Wright will certainly be involved in covering Floyd, I bet he is not alone. They’ll be looking far more at the Pitt game videos than Purdue’s for clues how to handle Floyd.
Floyd will have a big day. If not, everyone else will.
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- jerseyshorendfan1 - Oct 5, 2011 at 1:03 PM
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Wow, in order to succeed they need to prevail in the areas of special teams and turnovers, ND’s bilateral achilles’ heels. Now I’m really worried about this game.
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- danno27 - Oct 5, 2011 at 1:13 PM
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Whisk3y: My thoughts pretty much exactly. Here’s hoping the AF coaches think that giving one (short) guy the Floyd assignment is good strategy, though I doubt they are that dumb after the Purdue game.
Much like Mr. Vandelay, my fear as an ND fan, especially this year, is a team that can guzzle clock time after turnovers, beat us in special teams and play assignment football the entire game. Gives me the hives. I’m betting that if we win the coin toss BK opts to receive instead of deferring like last week.
If we do get an early lead, it will be really interesting to see how Air Force tries to contain our running game. From the sound of it, we should be able to keep up the high yards per carry average.
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- vairish84 - Oct 5, 2011 at 4:58 PM
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Why is it that every reporter seems to think an undersized CB can cover Floyd one on one. Allen did such a good job. The only way to do it is to double him. That then leaves 9 to defend Eifert, Riddick, Jones and Wood/Gray. Covering them man to man leaves 6 in the box. Given the ends are out hurt, I can see Wood/Gray making those outside lanes against Purdue look small.
I agree they will watch Pitt film not Purdue, but if they blitz a lot, they really don’t have the talent that Pitt has to make that work. Plus, between Pitt, UM and MSU, I am thinking Rees has gotten better at blitz read.
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- barneysbullet - Oct 5, 2011 at 1:17 PM
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Three words should cover it…Ground and Pound. (sounds like a restaurant!)
Air Force had hands on hips entirely after halftime against Navy, so a strong run game should take care of business.
We Are ND!
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- irishfan2791 - Oct 5, 2011 at 1:36 PM
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The Spread out attack of the Irish should put this game away easily, you have quick slot types, which in space can hurt you, in Jones and Reddick, you have the Big, Fast, Physical receivers in Floyd and Efiert and two running backs that can both run inside and outside with a lot of success against better defenses. Jonas Gray has a career day, well over 100 yards rushing, and half way through the second quarter the game should be in hand. Last time i checked Ricky Dobbs wasn’t behind center, and the way we handled Army last year makes me feel really good about this game. As for turnovers and special teams, turnovers have decreased in every game this season so I think we’re good on that one and as long as the offense can move the ball like they do, all John Goodman has to do is fair catch the dang thing and we’ll be just fine.
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- NotreDan - Oct 5, 2011 at 3:47 PM
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@KA…
I absolutely love these opposing team media pieces you are able to put together, great content unmatched elsewhere I think.
Air Force is scary indeed. I think the key is to get up early, and then pound the ball. I think BOTH Wood and Gray can run for 150 yards in this one.
GO IRISH!!
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- jimbasil - Oct 5, 2011 at 7:59 PM
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I’m surprised FS saw Turnovers and Special Teams as the place where AFA would win the game at ND. He must feel the teams are fairly even on O and D. I don’t know why when ND’s run D has been so successful through the first five. Also, Navy ran some 50 plays more than AFA during their match up, the difference being Navy couldn’t finish off their drives telling me AFA won last week not because they were so good and played well on D rather Navy just couldn’t finish the job on O or D. I assume with ND showing a similar problem this year, FS feels this game will be similar. I just think it’s puzzling that TO’s and ST’s are to be the difference makers for Air Force if they’re going to win at ND; possible but not probable.
I do see AFA being able to get to Goodman on Punts (with their speed and quickness) and that might be what he’s thinking – Goodman will turn the ball over deep inside ND territory for AFA to take over; other than that, well, I just don’t see it. Maybe blocked punts on Turk, or blocked PAT’s and FG’s?
I have to agree with barneysbullet – a strong ND Run Game will gas AFA and put them out of commission by the end of the third Q – not to mention Floyd and Eiffert doing their business in the open seams. I imagine the ND Dline will whittle down AFA’s front four and the ND D will pound their O line too.
Now, Navy is flat out scary.
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- jimbasil - Oct 5, 2011 at 8:02 PM
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- That should be ND’s OLine against AFA’s front four.
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- herringbonesports - Oct 6, 2011 at 12:28 AM
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I’d like to thank some of you who’ve hopped on my new Notre Dame blog through this site before. My Air Force Preview posts tomorrow but here’s something I think a lot of Domers might find interesting. The first article I ever posted was a question, based solely on stats, as to why Notre Dame golden boy Brady Quinn hadn’t been the subject of trades by QB-needy teams in August.
This week I took a look at Brady’s career 353 NFL Pass Attempts compared to USC alum and NFL poster-boy Mark Sanchez’s last 356 NFL Pass Attempts (10 full games). Common conjecture would be that Sanchez, in his 3rd season as a starter on a team with Pro Bowl WRs, TE and a top 3 NFL defense would have better numbers than Quinn in his first season as starter with a terrible Browns offense and bottom tier defense in 2009. That would be incorrect. The numbers might surprise you. Full Story:
http://herringbonesports.com/2011/10/05/brady-quinn-vs-mark-sanchez/
Enjoy and Go Irish!
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- NotreDan - Oct 6, 2011 at 4:46 AM
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I think advertising your own blog on someone else’s is kinda cheesy. Just sayin’
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- herringbonesports - Oct 6, 2011 at 1:00 PM
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You’re welcome to your own opinion. As long as other sites allow links to be posted I don’t see how it’s not a valuable tool for someone trying to get their name and information out there.
We all exist in a land of Free Will and you’re more than welcome to skim over links in the same way one might cruise by posts of commenters you have found to be beyond ridiculous. I’ve also contributed to this blog sans links and recieved quality feedback by it’s readers.
I’m unaware if you blog on your own, but at this point typing “Notre Dame Football Blog” into Google isn’t going to help anyone new out very much. With your 3 “Likes” there obviously a few others share your opinion so it is what it is. I’m not spamming this board and posting my link after every 3 posts so next time you see one please just cruise on by.
Maybe I can win some of you over with a different take on Irish football than is provided in other corners of the ND blogosphere, maybe not. Maybe one day this site links up to me in the same way it does with other prominent Irish blogs.
I doubt it, but until then it’s a quality way to share information and I’ll continue to do it in a respectful manner. I feel I set this preview up in a way that allowed anyone who read it to decide whether or not it’s something they might be interested in.
Thanks again to anyone who read.
Go Irish!
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- alsatiannd - Oct 6, 2011 at 6:41 AM
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I like the weekly views from the opponent’s beat reporter and all, but this guy made me chuckle. New Mexico is part of their tough stretch? NM is the worst team in football and they have a new interim head coach. Or was that reporter really Lou Holtz?
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- fitz79 - Oct 6, 2011 at 11:09 AM
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Sure, Floyd might have a big week. But how many times will he even need to touch the ball? Wood and Gray, much like last week, should be able to run all over this defense like they were a high school defense playing on Friday nights. The only decent opponent AF has played has been TCU who romped them and TCU is ranked barely higher than us this year. Irish win big!
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- herringbonesports - Oct 6, 2011 at 1:19 PM
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Does anyone else fear that when quality offenses like Notre Dame face an academy that coordinators often lose sight of their typical attack because they want to take advantage of all the mismatches independently instead of running their normal package?
One guy in here posts that Floyd/Eifert are key and another posts that Wood/Gray combine for 300 rushing yards. What happens when an offense gets out of a normal gameplan for a BCS caliber defense because they overthink the opponent.
In 2010 Air Force went on the road and held Oklahoma to 10 first half points. That half included a turnover and 3 drives of 3 plays (2 three and outs and 1 TO). That Oklahoma attack was probably ahead then of where ND is at now, so it’s something to keep in mind. T hey also shut down a Georgia Tech team in the bowl that is currently ranked #13 in the country.
I think the Irish win, but I don’t see them covering the 15 point spread.
