Gear Up For Game Day: AFA Falcons

LARAMIE -- Three Hundred and eighty.

That's how many rushing attempts Air Force has to this point in the season through only six games, 92 of those belonged to former starting quarterback Liam Szarka, who was lost for the season with a lower-leg injury he sustained in a narrow win over rival Navy.

Evan Medders has stepped under center and led the Falcons to consecutive wins over Northern Illinois and UNLV. He's thrown the ball just three times. The sophomore has also rushed for 266 yards and five touchdowns.

"He doesn't need to throw," Wyoming defensive coordinator Aaron Bohl quipped.

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The Falcons run the ball an average of 63 times an outing. Despite all of those handoffs, pitches -- and even center-QB exchanges, head coach Troy Calhoun pointed out -- they have not fumbled one time in 2026.

"Our offensive coaches work the heck out of it," he continued on Tuesday in front of the local press in Colorado Springs. "You go out there this afternoon, and what we're going to do there early in the practice, we have four different ball-security stations. You aren't just doing a drill to eat up time to do a drill, every one of those has a correlation, just in terms of the toughness, the technique.

"... Players have to take an immense amount of pride in that -- and our guys care."

One of those is Owen Allen.

The senior running back has chewed up 334 rushing yards on 75 attempts this fall. He's also found the end zone three times. He said the philosophy is simple: Ball security equals job security.

"That's why we rep it as much as we do throughout the week," he said. "Ultimately, we believe that whoever wins the turnover margin in our games is going to come away with a win."

Jay Sawvel shares that belief.

That's why he has tasked his team over the final six weeks of the season with being at least a plus-1 in each outing. That didn't happen last Saturday in the Cowboys' 41-23 offensive masterclass against winless Northern Illinois. Each team finished with a turnover on downs, but the ball never touched the turf. No interceptions were thrown.

That, in itself, is a win for Wyoming.

Through the first half of the schedule, quarterback Tyler Hughes was responsible for seven interceptions and two fumbles. Three of those picks came in the season opener. The senior was also strip-sacked in that 35-13 loss to Border War rival Colorado State.

To make matters worse, the defense hasn't exactly done its part in the takeaway category, either.

The Cowboys are currently sitting at a minus-7, ranking No. 133 out of 138 FBS programs in this all-important category. There has been just one fumble recovery to go along with three interceptions.

When it comes to Air Force, Sawvel said first things first.

"You better get them on the ground," the third-year head coach said. "That's the first thing you better do."

He said applying the right amount of pressure could lead to a rare mistake. Sawvel pointed out that in the last eight meetings, the winner of the turnover battle is 6-2. Players have to be in the right position. Eyes have to stay locked in. Run lanes have to be filled. Luck, he added, wouldn't hurt, either.

"It's hard to fumble the ball when nobody's hitting you," Sawvel said. "So that's something that we've got to do a really good job with."

An optimist might say Air Force is due to dish out a gift. The realist might say, against Wyoming? I'll believe it when I see it.

Kickoff between these two Front-Range rivals is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on The CW.

Here is all you need to know -- and the links -- for Wyoming's home tilt with Air Force:

WHO: Air Force (5-1, 3-1) at Wyoming (4-3, 3-1)
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. MST
WEATHER: High of 63, Low 35, Sunny, Wind 8 mph
WHERE: War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, Wyo. (25,000-plus capacity)
TRAVEL: WyoRoad.info
STREAMING: CW
TV: CW
RADIO: Cowboy Sports Network
TICKETS: Wyoming Ticket office
BOX SCORE: ESPN
ROSTERS: Wyoming / Air Force
HISTORY: Air Force leads the all-time series, 32-28-3
BETTING ODDS: AFA -5.5, O/U: 46.5
HEAD COACHES: Jay Sawvel / Troy Calhoun