And away we go, like we never left. A lot of people are excited about this upcoming Air Force Football season, opening Saturday against Duquesne at 11am on 740 KVOR. And there are a lot of reasons to be fired up. The second biggest-I’ll start there first-is the experience returning from 1 year ago. Last year was not fun. The Falcons were young and needed game experience. And just like life, a lot of learning comes from losses or setbacks. Now, it is still in some cases a young team, but all those Freshman that played last year are Sophomores and got a taste of what it’s like. Also, there are sophomores who saw the field for the first time and are now juniors, ready to prove they belong. That leads me to the biggest reason for fans to be fired up: Liam Szarka. He took this team and the Mountain West by storm. His first start, he sets a school record for total yards. He has 3 straight games of more than 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing. Szarka is legit. The Falcons offensive line has experience and some depth with injured players coming back. At fullback Owen Allen is primed for a big year. They are younger at Wide Receiver and Slot Back but feel they have a lot of talent at those spots.
Defensively Steve Russ is back as Defensive Coordinator. I expect the defense to take a significant step forward. They are very young on the line. But at Linebacker there is a lot of experience with edge rushers Issac Hubert and Jaylin Reese. In the middle All Conference Selection Blake Fletcher, who is on the Bronco Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik watch lists, returns along with Dallas Dailey. The secondary features a lot of guys with experience trying to get on the field. Safety Matt Mustell had a good year as did Boundary Safety Roger Jones who is on the Jim Thorpe Watch list.
There is a lot to like coming into the year. First test Saturday against a Duquesne team with a very good transfer quarterback, and a running back, Ness Davis, who is up on the Walter Payton Watch list for top runner. It’s a good game 1 test, especially for a more experienced team than a year ago to get their feet wet.
Our live coverage begins at 9am Saturday. Kickoff at 11 on 740 KVOR.
