Posts Tagged ‘air force’

Two games dot the FBS schedule tonight, and we'll break down what each game means to the participants and what match-up figure to decide the doubleheader. 

Florida International at Florida Atlantic (8 p.m. ET, ESPNU)

The 11th Annual Shula Bowl takes place tonight Sun Belt's South Florida programs square off in Boca Raton. Don Shula helped both programs get off the ground financially and has a connection to a former head coach at each school, former FAU head coach Howard Schnellenberger worked for Shula with the Miami Dolphins and former FIU head coach Don Strock played quarterback for Shula in Miami. The Owls have a commanding 8-1 lead in the series, but FIU earned its first official win last season, 41-7. (FIU's 2005 win was vacated.)

The first half of the season was unkind to first-year head coach Carl Pelini, but the Owls enter tonight on a two-game Sun Belt winning streak, including a 38-27 upset of Western Kentucky last week. A strong finish can put FAU in position to contend for the Sun Belt crown in 2013, as the Owls will lose a Sun Belt-fewest nine seniors after the year. One of those seniors, however, is quarterback Graham Wilbert, the Sun Belt's third-leading passer. Wilbert has thrown for 518 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions in FAU's last two wins. 

After playing in bowl games in back-to-back seasons, this season has been a disappointing one for Mario Cristobal and FIU. The Panthers' best moment came on Nov. 3 when they bested South Alabama 28-20 to stay out of the Sun Belt basement. 

Hawaii at Air Force (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

This match-up slants heavily in favor of an Air Force team looking to sneak its way into a tie for the Mountain West title. At 5-5 overall and 4-2 in league play, Troy Calhoun's team will need to win out and receive some help to claim a share of the conference crown. But that won't matter if they can't beat a 1-8 Hawaii team looking for its first conference and road wins under first-year head coach Norm Chow. 

The telling match-up figures to be when Air Force runs the ball. The Falcons' triple option has been its usual self in 2012, ranking second nationally with 335.3 yards per game and 5.41 yards per carry. Attempting to slow down the Falcons will be a Warriors run defense that checks in at No. 106 in the country with an average of nearly 210 yards per game and 4.77 yards per carry allowed. 

In a telling sign of the struggling season, a marriage between passing guru Norm Chow and a Hawaii program with a history of prolific passers has not materialized in year one. The Warriors rank ninth in the Mountain West in passing efficiency, seventh in passing yards and 10th in scoring. 

Cincinnati at Louisville (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Though these teams have played only three league games between them, Cincinnati and Louisville will battle for a share of first place in the Big East tonight. Cincinnati (5-1, 1-0 Big East) comes in smarting after a 29-23 loss at Toledo while Louisville (7-0, 2-0 Big East) is one of 10 undefeated teams left in FBS and ranked No. 16 in the BCS Standings.

Charlie Strong's team has masterfully executed a season-long tightrope walk to remain unscathed with four of their last five wins still in doubt until the final horn sounded. The Cardinals have struggled to play above their competition all season, allowing North Carolina to fight back from a 39-14 fourth quarter deficit before a 39-34 decision, holding off 1-7 Florida International in a 28-21 win, needing a 15 unanswered points to defeat winless Southern Miss 21-17 and requiring late touchdown pass and a red zone interception to last-place South Florida, 27-25. Louisville should give its best effort tonight but it's only a matter of time before a coinflip game doesn't bounce their way. 

Cincinnati has won with defense this season, ranking in the top 20 nationally in scoring defense at 16.8 points allowed per game. Butch Jones' team has played its best defense in the red zone, where they rank 12th in the country and have allowed only six touchdowns in 17 trips. On the year the Bearcats, led by co-coordinators Steve Stripling and John Jancek, have played effective bend-but-don't-break defense by holding opponents to as many field goals (10) as touchdowns. Compare that to Louisville, which has given up 21 touchdowns and two field goals this season. 

The success, or lack thereof, of Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and Cincinnati signal caller Munchie Legaux will likely decide the game. Bridgewater leads the Big East in passing efficiency (165.21) while averaging 9.01 yards per attempt to go with 11 touchdowns against three picks. Legaux matched his season high with two interceptions in last week's loss. The first was returned 75 yards for a touchdown, and the second ended any hopes Cincinnati had of a last-gasp comeback. 

Nevada at Air Force (8 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network)

With the way these teams run the ball, this game may be over in time for those in attendance to catch a late dinner and movie. Going strictly by each team's season averages, the Falcons and Wolf Pack will combine for 112 rushes for just under 625 total yards. Neither team is particularly adept at stopping the run; Nevada (4.37 yards per rush allowed) is slightly better at stopping the run than Air Force's 5.36 yards per rush allowed. 

Nevada's biggest advantage comes from its offensive balance. Chris Ault's team throws the ball for nearly 270 yards per game with 16 touchdowns against just four picks while picking up 8.25 yards per attempt. Troy Calhoun's team makes almost no effort to throw the ball, but often find success when they do. With just 74 passes this season (only two more than Army for the fewest in FBS), the Falcons are one of three teams averaging a first down with every pass, trailing just NCAA-leading Baylor and fellow triple option devotee Georgia Tech at 10.49 yards per pass. Air Force has also thrown for six scores, five of which have come from 35 yards or further. 

One key mistake could decide this game as both teams will struggle to get the opposing offense off the field. Air Force leads the country by converting nearly 57 percent of its third downs, while Nevada ranks ninth at nearly 53 percent. Conversely, both squads rank in the bottom 20 nationally in third down defense. 

Like its counterpart, this game also has implications on the conference title chase. Each squad stands at 3-1 in Mountain West in a group of four teams chasing first-place Boise State. 

You've got your choice between a Big East and Mountain West match up tonight.

Eastern time listed.

NFL:

No games

College: 

Cincinnati at Louisville - 8 - ESPN

Nevada at Air Force - 8 - CBSSN

High School:

Lake Catholic (OH) at Walsh Jesuit (OH) - 12 - Sportstime Ohio

Greensburg Central Catholic (PA) at Jeannette (PA) - 3:30 - Root Sports Pittsburgh

Plantation (FL) at St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) - 7 - FSN North

Milton (GA) at Walton (GA) - 9 -  ESPNU

Hart (CA) at Valencia (CA) - 10:30 - Fox College Sports Atlantic

There was a bit of controversy in Air Force's 28-27 win over Wyoming on Saturday. 

With Wyoming leading Air Force 27-21 in the fourth quarter, Air Force quarterback Connor Dietz lost his helmet and immediately made his way to the Air Force sideline. Along the way, Dietz went to the ground while trainers spent several minutes attending to him. While Dietz still had to sit out the next play, the injury timeout allowed Air Force to keep all three timeouts at its disposal. 

Disclaimer: We didn't see the game. We do not want to speculate on the severity of Dietz's injury, more importantly an injury to the head, and especially for a player in training to fight for our country.

When play resumed, backup quarterback Kale Pearson finished the drive with a five-yard scoring dash with 7:45 to play. Wyoming was forced to punt on the ensuing drive and then did not get the ball back as Air Force ran out the game's final 5:29. 

Christensen eschewed the traditional postgame handshake at midfield and instead headed straight for the Wyoming locker room. When Calhoun tracked down Christensen in the end zone the Wyoming coach, by all accounts, unloaded on Calhoun.

According to the Denver Post, "Calhoun said he caught up with the Wyoming coach and said his team played a great game. But Christensen wasn't cordial.

"Christensen unleashed a profanity-laced tired on the AFA coach, and Christensen had to be restrained."

Calhoun described it as "probably not a conversation that I'd have with my mom."

Christensen told the media after the game "in this game, we're supposed to be ethical and that's not ethical."

Wyoming issued a statement on Sunday.

"I let my emotions, my passion for our football program and the frustrations of the first half of the season get the best of me, and my actions reflected negatively on our program," Christensen said in a statement issued Sunday night.

"The postgame actions and comments by coach Christensen do not represent Wyoming Cowboy football in the manner we expect, but I respect Dave for issuing his apology," said Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman.

The Mountain West announced on Monday it was reprimanding Christensen for his actions Saturday night.

Wyoming's Dave Christensenpublicly reprimanded by MWC for his actions after Saturday's loss to Air Force

— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) October 15, 2012

It's possible that Christensen's anger was a product of a 2012 season gone awry. 

Christensen received a five-year contract extension after leading Wyoming to an 8-5 record and an appearance in the New Mexico Bowl in 2011. Things, however, have not gone as planned in 2012. The Air Force loss dropped Wyoming to 1-5. Their lone win was in overtime over Idaho, and among the five losses is a defeat to Cal Poly from FCS.