ESPN Independents and Others Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

For the past two seasons, Air Force has proven that preseason rankings mean very little.

In each of the last two years, the Falcons have been picked to finish near the bottom of the Mountain West. Last year, they finished second and this year, the Falcons are off to a 3-0 start.

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Air Force returned just eight players from last year's team and their best player and leader, tight end Travis Dekker, suffered a foot injury during fall camp and hasn't played a down. That injury left Air Force with two returning starters on offense and both were on the offensive line.

But now, Air Force is one of four undefeated teams in the Mountain West, more than any other non-BCS conference, and it's the only team that wasn't expected to be there.

"Every year we come in and every year we're ranked at the bottom of our conference, so it's not unusual for us to go into the season with everyone else having low expectations about us," strong safety Chris Thomas said. "We always know that we have some good players and we have a good plan by our coaches, so we're always confident about our ability to win games."

And Air Force has won its games in many different ways. From blowing out Southern Utah to a defensive stand against Wyoming. Last week against Houston, Air Force's run-heavy offense was aided by the wind and rain of Hurricane Ike in Dallas. While Houston quarterback Case Keenum -- the nation's leader in total offense -- struggled in the elements, the Falcons ran the ball 71 times and attempted seven passes for 0 yards.

The Falcons are last in the country in passing offense, averaging 30 yards per game.

"There's no limit, there's no end to the possibility that you can win at a service academy," coach Troy Calhoun said. "It may vary from week to week. Last year, we played TCU and we called 38 passes in a game. We should have had three touchdown passes last week if we execute. But the one thing you never do at a service academy is you never get too greedy at least any time you win a football game."

Much of Air Force's success this season has come via defense and turnovers. The Falcons are ranked 38th in total defense and 21st in scoring defense nationally. They're third in the country in sacks and haven't allowed one this season. They're sixth in the country in turnover margin by forcing nine turnovers, compared to giving up three. And the punt game, both kicking and returning, is among the best in the country.

"We have some senior guys who have really taken control and really shown us the way of how we can succeed," wide receiver Kyle Halderman said. "We've been controlling the ball and that's been a big thing we've been stressing. We have a lot of confidence in each other and when things get tough, we stick together and that's been the key."

Things could get tough this weekend when undefeated Utah comes to town. The No. 20 Utes have been hit-and-miss on offense, but on defense, the Utes are eighth in the country, allowing just 202.33 yards per game. It has helped that Utah has played Nos. 101, 85 and 115 offenses in the country and that none of those teams have a rushing offense better than 78th. UNLV is the top rushing attack Utah has faced this season, but Air Force rushes for almost three times more yardage than the Rebels.

Still, Calhoun said he'll have to adapt his game plan and make the offense a little more diverse.

"I think you gotta change and I think that's why you've got to operate from week-to-week," Calhoun said. "When you look at Utah, they just don't give up prolonged drives. The only time they've ever relinquished points is if it was really due to a short field."

Air Force defeated Utah last season, the Falcons first win over the Utes in the last five meetings, but some of that was due to key injuries sustained by Utah the game before. But for the most part, games between these two squads are always close. Three of the Falcons' four losses were by three points or fewer.

"Coming into this season, I'm not sure our hopes were that high," Halderman said of the team's 3-0 start. "Everyone was bashing us about this being the youngest team for Air Force in a long time, and everyone else in the Mountain West is so good and everything like that. I think after we started playing together, I think we realized that there could be some things happening. Once we hit Wyoming, I think we saw that we could win games and once we saw that we realized that we'd have a chance this year, it's not just going to be a rebuild year."