It is the battle or two of the better teams in the Mountain West on Saturday as the Air Force Falcons (9-2) host the Wyoming Cowboys (7-4).
Here are the three keys:
Jump on Wyoming early
The Cowboys are coming off of a hugely emotional 17-7 win over a major rival in Colorado State. That games was played late into the night, in the bitter cold you often get in November when your stadium sits at 7,000 feet above sea level.
They Cowboys are primed for a letdown. It is hard to get up for another game against a rival so quickly and Air Force has the perfect offense to take advantage of and demoralize them early. Big, powerful runs and a couple of sustained drives ending in touchdowns would be enough here.
Keep the pass in the offense
Donald Hammond III was unreal through the air against New Mexico last week. His numbers 9-of-10 for 327 yards and four passing touchdowns – are more like what you would see from an Air Raid offense than from the triple-option. The running game has been amazing in 2019, but it is the ability of Hammond to pass – he has 47 passes and 12 touchdowns on the season – that makes this Falcons team so hard to defend. Watch for Air Force to get Hammond’s arm going early to see if he is as locked in on Saturday.
Put a body on Logan Wilson
The Cowboys’ senior linebacker was named this week as one of the six finalists for the Butkus Award which is given to the best linebacker in college football. Wilson is the only non-Power 5 guy on the list, which is a pretty special achievement. He has 88 total tackles, four interceptions, and seven passed defended on the season. He is a problem for Air Force both in the running and passing games and he needs to be blocked out of things for the Falcons’ machine to get rolling.
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