The Wolverine Now

SEPT. 5, 2012 SOMETHING TO PROVE E Air Force Intends To Take The Fight To Michigan BY MICHAEL SPATH njoying some down time after a 49-21 opening-weekend victory over Football Championship Subdivision foe Idaho State, senior ball carrier Wes Cobb flipped on the day's most anticipated matchup: Michigan versus Alabama at Cowboys Stadium in Ar- lington, Texas. He watched with surprise while the Crimson Tide trounced the Wolver- ines, and began to consider what that might mean for the Falcons. "Sometimes when you lose like that, you come out playing harder the next week than even if you had won," Cobb said. "Maybe they're mentally wounded, but they're prob- ably pretty ticked off, too, and they're going to be really eager to show everyone they're not that team, so we have to be ready to take their best shot." Maybe in an ideal world, U-M would wel- come a feeble foe to Ann Arbor this weekend, someone that would just collect a paycheck, let the Maize and Blue psyche recover and be on their way. But that isn't Air Force — a service academy whose football players will, post-graduation, fight battles much more significant than the ones on fall Saturday af- ternoons. "We know this is a statement game for us," 42-24 record in six seasons guiding the Falcons. PHOTO COURTESY AIR FORCE Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun has posted a Air Force junior cornerback Steffon Batts said. "We prepare hard for every game, but this week we'll put a little more oomph into our practices, more into our workouts and our film study. We know they're down a bit, but GAME FACTS they better not expect that just because they're mad and come out fighting that we're going to roll over for them so they can feel better about themselves. "We're going to come out with everything we've got, too." Air Force Academy (AFA) put a scare into Oklahoma two years ago, falling 27-24 to the Sooners, and a year ago challenged a top-five Boise State team in a 37-26 defeat. AFA has been on the big stage before, and will not be intimidated at The Big House. What they haven't done consistently is find a way to win those games, going 1-5 against BCS conference schools in head coach Troy Calhoun's six seasons in Colorado Springs (the Falcons bested Notre Dame 41-24 in the 2007 campaign). "I remember after the Oklahoma game, OU gave up more yards rushing [351] than any Bob Stoops-coached team, and their coaches and players were saying they weren't even going to look at the film because they just wanted to forget it and move on," said Frank Schwab, the Air Force beat writer for The Gazette in Colorado Springs. "Air Force has a tough time scheduling bigger programs be- cause everyone understands how dangerous they are, with a quirky offense, and no one wants a piece of them. "I think they'll give Michigan a game this weekend, but I also know this is a young team — only five starters from last year's bowl game started this year's season opener — and game nationally. The game can be heard on the Michigan Sports Network (950 AM in the Detroit area, SiriusXM channel 196) with longtime partners Frank Beck- mann and Jim Brandstatter, and sideline reporter Doug Karsch. Coaches: Michigan: Brady Hoke What: Michigan vs. Air Force. When: Sept. 8 • 3:30 p.m. Radio-TV: ABC will televise the (11-3, second season). Air Force: Troy Calhoun (42-24, sixth sea- son). History: Michigan leads the se- ries with Air Force, 1-0, last beat- ing the Falcons 24-7 in 1964. Air Force Notes: Saturday's crowd will be the largest Air Force has ever played in front of, sur- passing the 105,466 attendees at Tennessee in 2006 … AFA is 5-9-2 against the Big Ten, last playing, and losing to, Minnesota in 2009 … Junior center Michael Husar's father, Michael Sr., played at Mich- igan from 1985-89 … Air Force has ranked among the nation's top 10 in rushing every year since 1987, finishing third, second and third, respectively, from 2009-11.

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