"Fangs Out " ... Air Force Is Going To Soar This Season
When looking for an Air Force term to tie into this blog, I came across "fangs out" which is a term defined : To get aggressive. To go for the kill. "I saw the MiG and my fangs came out."
I love that. I also love how much it fits this Air Force offense, one that definitely goes for the kill (metaphorically).Side note... it is ironic that "Air "Force gives such a connotation to throwing the ball, but is a team that leads or nearly leads the country in rushing attempts the last few decades.
Air Force is going to pound the rock religiously, and just when you have had enough they pound you some more. Their offense average 325.2 rush yards per game last season (#1 in the country) , brings back 9 of it's 11 players including Fullback (shoutout PFT) Brad Roberts who rumbled for 1352 yards and 13 TD's, as well as QB Haaziq Daniels (3 year starter) who rushed for 734 yards and 11 touchdowns himself. A trio of Dane Kinamon, Micah Davis, and DeAndre Hughes all provide experience and combined for 16 total touchdowns last season.
What about the defense ?
I'm glad you asked ...
16th in the country in points allowed
5th in the country in yards allowed
9th in the country in rush yards allowed
13th in the country in pass yards allowed
They return 6 starters on defense , two of which are first team preseason All Conference projections (LB Vince Sanford, DB Trey Taylor), another of which is a second team projection (DL Chris Herrera).
Why do I care so much about Air Force ? Why should you care about Air Force ?
I'm glad you asked ...
Air Force OVER 8.5 (-134) is my favorite win total this season.
I would also throw a sprinkle on +450 to win The Mountain West (This number is down from +550 just a few days ago).
The schedule is extremely favorable. The Falcons are likely favored in all but one game (the game they could be a dog is likely Boise St which will be a very small spread but it's at Air Force).
They open the season with 5 games in which they should be laying double digits in every game :
Northern Iowa, Colorado, @ Wyoming, Nevada, and Navy
There are 3 more games in which they should be laying double digits :
@ UNLV, New Mexico, and Colorado St.
I'm no math major but that's 8 games right there. Which leaves needing 1 win (as long as those 8 games go to plan) to cash the total.
The difficult tests are :
@ Utah State, Boise State, Army (neutral site), and @ San Diego St.
Air Force went 9-3 last season and those three losses were by 4,6,and 7 - all one score games, and I think this year's team could be even better offensively than it was last year. I trust their experience, I love the system and love that they came up just short of a conference championship appearance (tied their side of the division but lost via Head 2 Head tiebreaker loss to Utah St 49-45). This team will have a chip on it's shoulder, will run the ball down your throat, and gets to host Boise St (the biggest threat on their side of the division) in a defacto division championship game. Fun final fact - Air Force is 36-9 at home in their last 45 games.
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This is my favorite win total this season. Air Force is a ground force ! Ride the rush all the way to the window !
More win totals will be added weekly via the blog, but catch mine, and the entire Picks Central crew's win totals every Wednesday.