Why can Air Force field a competitive team

[calpoke25]

with undersized, slower and arguably less desirable FBS players than Wyoming recruits?

They are dominating Boise St. on the road with an aggressive defense and well executed offense. The games not over,and BSU may come back to win this, but I don't think they've ever been dominated by BSU so consistently like we have. They're in prime position to win the division. They don't sit back in a relaxed Tampa 2 and give the offense what they want. They have been bringing all kinds of pressure all night and hitting the Boise St QB hard. Give Howdy Doody credit.

[Asmodeanreborn]

I was thinking the same thing. We talk about how undersized we are, yet it's nothing compared to what Air Force has to deal with. They've found a way to overcome that weakness fairly well.

[fromolwyoming]

I was thinking the same thing. We talk about how undersized we are, yet it's nothing compared to what Air Force has to deal with. They've found a way to overcome that weakness fairly well.

Cut blocking plays a big part of that.

[BeaverPoke]

Because signing up for the military, knowing you have zero chance at the NFL, and living one of the most difficult lives a college student could live is better than going to UW.

Joking.

They have a better coach than we do. They don't accept any excuses. They aren't able to red-shirt so Calhoun has to play with the cards he is dealt. Takes it as it comes. His goal is to go out there and win a game.

Not build some special program with a bunch of sayings like "Cowboy Tough". He doesn't "blow up" the program in favor of getting "the right" guys. He takes the players he is given, and goes and tries to win a football game. And does it again the next saturday.

[LanderPoke]

I bet they're all on roids. It's the only explanation.

[cali2wyo]

Because signing up for the military, knowing you have zero chance at the NFL, and living one of the most difficult lives a college student could live is better than going to UW.

Joking.

They have a better coach than we do. They don't accept any excuses. They aren't able to red-shirt so Calhoun has to play with the cards he is dealt. Takes it as it comes. His goal is to go out there and win a game.

Not build some special program with a bunch of sayings like "Cowboy Tough". He doesn't "blow up" the program in favor of getting "the right" guys. He takes the players he is given, and goes and tries to win a football game. And does it again the next saturday.

Yep. And also, the service academies have different admission standards. I'm sure a lot of the guys Howdy Doody wants can't get in to AFA due to academics.

I wish we had a good coach who can adapt and make the most of any given situation. Fans are complaining about how we won last night in b ball. But we won! Shyatt knows where his team is lacking and makes his guys perform in a way that gives them a chance to win. Coach Bohl couldn't beat a D2 team this year.

[BackHarlowRoad]

Not build some special program with a bunch of sayings like "Cowboy Tough". He doesn't "blow up" the program in favor of getting "the right" guys. He takes the players he is given, and goes and tries to win a football game. And does it again the next saturday.

I believe they have plenty of sayings, "We Fly Together" being one. I think every team in the country has certain sayings, not sure how that affects anything.

Air Force also recruits. They sacrificed a home game next year so that they could play UNM in Texas. Why would they do that? For recruiting exposure in Texas. You make it sound like Calhoun puts out a sheet of paper and whoever signs up is in.

This part is merely speculation, but I would guess that if we were a military school, Bohl wouldn't have to worry about the "right" players. That's exactly the type of guy he would want.

[kansasCowboy]

Their guys get good experience playing in the JV league. They have a good setup with that.
Not to mention with just a few wrinkles, they have run the same offense for 30+ years. It's engrained there.

[phxpoke]

I was thinking the same thing. If Air Force can do it, why can't we? Last week I was writing a letter of recommendation for a student who will play for Air Force next year. I wish I was writing that letter for Wyo...

[ragtimejoe1]

Their guys get good experience playing in the JV league. They have a good setup with that.
Not to mention with just a few wrinkles, they have run the same offense for 30+ years. It's engrained there.

So what? If the kid never played that o it doesn't matter. They have the same learning curve as if they were just installing the O. They've had consistency in coaching because coaches have won.

They have a much harder road to field a competitive team than WYO ever will. They are just able to do it.

Everything else is an excuse.

[fishouttawater]

Coaching. Plain and simple. Their kids rarely make mental mistakes and their coordinators seem optimize their schemes at the right time. It's the combo of mixing fundamentally sound play with play calling that exploits the opponents tendencies and weaknesses. Belickeckian football strategy 101. That's why airforce threw so much last night. They obviously saw something on film they thought they could take advantage of.

[SDPokeFan]

We field a team that includes players who don't have to do anything but play football, but get their asses kicked every Saturday and go 1-11.

Air Force has to recruit undersized guys, fringe athletes that also have to endure the rigors of being at an academy, and then smack around Boise in Boise and are good year-in, year-out. Meanwhile, we can't field a team that could beat Sheridan. Someone has to explain this to me.

[SDPokeFan]

I was thinking the same thing. We talk about how undersized we are, yet it's nothing compared to what Air Force has to deal with. They've found a way to overcome that weakness fairly well.

Cut blocking plays a big part of that.

OK then why don't we cut block? Why don't we try something besides getting destroyed every week?

[LawPoke]

I like how aggressive AFA is on defense. They know they are small and that if they don't bring heat, they will be torched. I wish we would do the same. The one blitz I remember all year was the final offensive play against Nevada. Since then, and before, it seems that we got ran over. Sometimes in large chunks, sometimes in bites. I continue to despise our defensive scheme.

[fromolwyoming]

I like how aggressive AFA is on defense. They know they are small and that if they don't bring heat, they will be torched. I wish we would do the same. The one blitz I remember all year was the final offensive play against Nevada. Since then, and before, it seems that we got ran over. Sometimes in large chunks, sometimes in bites. I continue to despise our defensive scheme.

We've been blitzing, just with very mixed results. Sometimes we blitz, get good pressure, and the deep ball somehow still gets caught. Other times we stuff the play. And the rest the blitz gets picked up well enough that they get the play off.

[kansasCowboy]

Their guys get good experience playing in the JV league. They have a good setup with that.
Not to mention with just a few wrinkles, they have run the same offense for 30+ years. It's engrained there.

So what? If the kid never played that o it doesn't matter. They have the same learning curve as if they were just installing the O. They've had consistency in coaching because coaches have won.

They have a much harder road to field a competitive team than WYO ever will. They are just able to do it.

Everything else is an excuse.

Basically you just said the same thing.
Question: how many 18-19 yr olds do they have playing on Saturday?
The majority of AFs players on Saturday and jr and sr, with a few Soph in there to fill the depth.

Question2: what are their 18-19 yr olds doing? They practice altogether, but they get game time experience each year to engrain themselves into the offense and defensive system that they will use when they play varsity. What do our 18-19 yr olds do? They get to play for the varsity this year, but mostly they RS and practice sparingly, workout and do schooling. So would our RS be as prepared as an AF FR or Soph that get to play 10 or 11 games of their own?
I think their JV helps them immensely when it comes to them being prepared to play for the real AF team. Hence why they always seem to be right on track after they lose several senior starters and have NO big names coming back the next year.
This is why I think with all of our Frosh, RS Frosh, and Soph playing this year will benefit us in the long run. We are the equivalent of the AFA JV team playing in the MWC this year. I think our guys are getting a vast majority experience in real games and are being engrained in the system at the same time.
Yeah, it makes for a disgusting year, but these guys will be better for it. Hill is a great example of this. He had to come in halfway through last year and with his talent learned what the coaches wanted of him in his position, this year he had that knowledge, that game time experience and he excelled in the system. The others will follow in that direction as well.

Not an excuse.

[billings]

Time to switch to the wishbone again just like New Mexico did and they will be in a bowl this year.

[SnowyRange]

Good god.

Was he a "better coach" when AF went 2-10 in his 7th year?

[GoPokes86]

Attitude, philosophy, coaching, complete and total buy in from the Academy and its leadership all contribute to success at Air Force. Also the JV program as others have mentioned is great, bringing guys up and getting them real time experience is incredibly helpful.

I was impressed with Air Force in the first half last night, they brought a ton of pressure and played smart football on defense outside of the first play of the game.

[calpoke25]

Hill is a great example of this. He had to come in halfway through last year and with his talent learned what the coaches wanted of him in his position, this year he had that knowledge, that game time experience and he excelled in the system. The others will follow in that direction as well.

Not an excuse.

Are you saying that Hill is the rule, not the exception? Because I think Hill is the exception, not the rule. RB is by far the easiest position to plug in and play. Your argument is that HIll came in last year, struggled, and now is good this year through his struggles learning to play as a freshman and we can expect this from the whole team? I seem to remember him setting single game records last year. I'd argue it was obvious last year Hill was good, and he proved it right away. If our whole team was filled with Brian Hills at their respective position, I'm pretty sure we would've been good right away.