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Air Force never quits, so Cougs know they must play hard for four quarters |
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JaredCowley | Tuesday, October 24, 2006, 5:55 pm
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Jason Franchuk
DAILY HERALD
It doesn’t take much film watching for BYU’s football team to realize it can score — perhaps anytime it so desires — against Air Force.
The Cougars are best warned to watch all four quarters, though, if they hope to anticipate what Saturday’s road game will probably be like.
Last year the Falcons lost, 62-41, in Provo. But a team that left town 3-6 embedded a firm impression about the type of people it has — diligent. A 41-14 deficit heading into the fourth quarter was cut to 14 points because of special teams’ play and a dusted off passing game.
Air Force actually outscored BYU in the fourth quarter, 27-21.
Message sent: “You can never relax against Air Force,” said BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall.
Its running attack is both the easiest and the toughest the Cougars will face all year. Simple, because there won’t be any surprises and head coach Fisher DeBerry has been using the system presumably since the wheel was invented; hard, because as Mendenhall pointed out, it is impossible to duplicate the Falcons’ precision during the daily workouts.
“(The scout team) is never satisfactory, just because it can never be near the same,” Mendenhall said.
The Cougars don’t feel the same as last year’s game, either. They left Oct. 29 last year at 4-4. This year they’re 5-2, riding a four-game winning streak and the only undefeated team in the Mountain West (3-0).
Air Force (3-3, 3-1) could’ve shared that distinction, but lost Saturday at previously winless San Diego State, 19-12, on a late field goal (a touchdown was added on the final play as the Falcons desperately flung the ball around the field during the ensuing kickoff in the hopes of scoring a miraculous touchdown).
The BYU defense is obviously improved from a year ago. While Air Force doesn’t offer the typical challenges in coverage, Mendenhall is optimistic the solid linebacker group will be augmented by a young defensive line that has shown abilities to get around the edge of an offensive line. That characteristic, Mendenhall said, would give the defense flexibility in how it schemes Air Force’s option attack.
The trick will be patience, and if it can make the proper reads on quarterback Shaun Carney’s intentions.
Carney, now a junior, showed two years ago that he would be a MWC threat over four years. This year he’s averaging 3.9 yards every time he runs with the ball. He’s not exactly the threat passing the ball that BYU’s John Beck is, but Carney is still completing almost 57 percent of his passes (34-for-60).
Mendenhall admires Carney’s calmer focus, and thinks it’s helped his game.
“He’s looking more poised,” Mendenhall said. “He doesn’t look like every play is life or death, or win or lose. He doesn’t appear to be carrying as much on his shoulders.”
But the run is the first thing to stop.
“It’s like preparing for a Thursday game,” Mendenhall said, noting that it feels like less time than usual to prepare for an Air Force attack that could take longer to master how to stop.
Speaking of running games, BYU’s isn’t full force yet. Sophomore rusher Fui Vakapuna again sat out practice n Monday. He missed last week’s 52-7 win against UNLV with a high ankle sprain. Mendenhall said after the game that Vakapuna wasn’t kept out for precautionary measures, rather, he was not able to play.
His policy is that Vakapuna must practice by Thursday to be available, a common policy that many coaches endorse and one that Mendenhall has used since he took over the program last year.
Jason Franchuk can be reached at
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