Air Force keeps foes on run

UNR rolled up an astounding 444 yards rushing against UNLV, and Colorado State followed that a week later with 216 on the ground.

And now here comes Air Force, which again leads the Mountain West Conference in rushing.

Uh oh.

Well, maybe not so fast.

The Falcons, who will play UNLV at 7 p.m. Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium, might win or lose on the ground, but they aren't an exact replica of those other two opponents.

"The Nevada quarterback is a pretty rare player," Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. "CSU has that big, strong, powerful back."

UNR's Colin Kaepernick rushed for 240 yards and passed for 176. Colorado State 225-pound back Gartrell Johnson ran for 191 yards.

Air Force differs from both teams schematically as well, running a wishbone compared to UNR's zone read out of the pistol and Colorado State's traditional two-back offense.

"I'd say (the Falcons) have about three different forms of the option play, so it's very different," Rebels linebacker Jason Beauchamp said.

The Falcons are expected to start freshman quarterback Tim Jefferson for the second week in a row. He passed just five times for 34 yards and rushed for 55 in Air Force's 35-10 victory at San Diego State on Saturday. Shea Smith, who started the first five games, played the fourth quarter.

Typical of Air Force, the rushing statistics get spread out, with four players having gained more than 200 yards. The Falcons average 292.5 yards per game -- fifth best nationally -- and 4.6 per carry.

It won't be an easy task for the Rebels, even with a bye to rest and prepare for one of the country's more unique offenses. They must show they can stop a quality run game.

"We haven't tackled well, and we've had some missed assignments, and we've given up some big plays," UNLV defensive coordinator Dennis Therrell said. "Hopefully -- we've worked on that -- we've got that fixed. That's been the big thing. It's not really been such a matchup of one player or whatever."

UNLV coach Mike Sanford said possible changes in the secondary would be decided as late as game day. Cornerback Deante Purvis, safety/linebacker Beau Orth, cornerback Lorenzo Bursey Jr. and safeties Chris Jones and Travis Dixon could receive increased minutes. The starting lineup also could change.

"I think for the rest of the year we're going to end up with a lot of competition, and we're going to play a lot of people," Sanford said.

Whoever gets on the field Saturday will face an Air Force team that keeps moving forward even after losing four-year starting quarterback Shaun Carney and conference Offensive Player of the Year Chad Hall.

Sanford and Therrell said the Falcons keep winning because, unlike the other two service academies, their prep school is on campus.

"Those guys never rebuild," Therrell said. "All they do is reload. They recruit 40, 50 guys each year and just move them in."

• NOTES -- UNLV's first-ever meeting with Minnesota has been delayed for the second time. Now the Rebels will host the Golden Gophers in 2012 and play at Minnesota the following season. ... The Mountain West reached an agreement for a tie-in with the Humanitarian Bowl in 2009.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.