jimmythegreek
The opening odds start here
Air Force -21 -120 over Colorado St:
The Falcons (7-3 3-3) have won their last 2 games out of the Mountain West and look to make it a third when they host Colorado St (2-8 2-4) at Falcon Stadium Saturday night. Last week, Haaziq Daniels (9-113 12.6 2 TD) ran for scores of 56 and 37 yards as Air Force mauled New Mexico 35-3. Throwing just 2 passes and completing both for a total of 42 yards , one was a 33 yard TD connection with David Cormier as the Falcons led from the opening kickoff to the ending gun. John Lee Eldridge III (5-24 4.8 1 TD) also ran for a score from 10 yards out giving AF a 14-0 first quarter lead. Brad Roberts led the Falcons on the ground carrying 29 times for 163 yards (5.6) despite not scoring. Jensen Jones (3-28 9.3 1 TD) capped off the scoring with a 9 yard scamper and the Air Force defense limited the Lobos to just a Luke Drzewiecki 39 yard field goal. Air Force nearly tripled New Mexico's output outgaining the Lobos 472-170, and had 23 first downs to UNM's 8 despite committing two turnovers. Justin Holaday was just 10/21 for 128 yards and was sacked 6 times despite playing turnover free. The Falcons held a 428-44 humongous edge in the run game. Meanwhile, Jayden Clemons (7/11 90 1 TD) found Alex Brown from 32 yards out with :35 left, his only catch of the game as the Wyoming Cowboys edged Colorado St 14-13. The two play drive was set up by a 64 yard kickoff return by Cameron Stone after the Rams went up 13-7 on a Michael Boyle 23 yard field goal. Colorado St held the lead all game long and on paper actually outplayed the Cowboys. Clay Millen (18/26 251 1 INT) should have led the Rams to more scoring opportunities, but three of them resulted in punts and another a loss of downs due to stellar Wyoming defense. Tony Horton returned a Clayton Stewart punt 72 yards to paydirt to open the scoring. Horton also caught 8 passes for 168 yards and Avery Morrow carried 22 times for 104 yards (4.7), However CSU could not score any offensive TDs and had to settle for two Boyle field goals other than their special teams score. Clemons also ran it in from 14 yards (5-32 6.4 1 TD) to cut the Rams' lead to 10-7 at halftime. Colorado St outgained Wyoming 372-236 overall but committed 3 turnovers. Millen was also sacked 6 times and Horton lost 2 fumbles.
Of course the specialty of this Air Force offense is the triple option, and at 335 rushing yards per game they sit atop the nation in that category. Roberts (236-1241 5.3 13 TD) is among the leaders in total rushing yard sand TD, and Lee Eldridge (71-598 8.4 3 TD) holds the lead in yards per carry. Daniels (103-560 5.4 7 TD) is one of the more mobile backs calling his own number under center, and does have the ability to make throws when needed (35/72 719 6 TD 2 INT) with respectable game management despite slightly below 50% efficiency. Cormier (12-370 4 TD) is the lone workhorse downfield, and you talk about a sandwich when it comes to top team rushing against the second worst passing, but that's just how their game plan and style supports those numbers. The Falcons gain about 430 scrimmage yards per contest which ranks 50th in the country and score just a shade under 30 points per game. Colorado State is in the lower echelon of run defenses though they yield about 155 yards per contest. The Rams have lost 3 straight and give up about 225 passing yards so don't be surprised if Air Force coach Troy Calhoun has some tricks up his sleeve when it may come to an end around or a halfback option called here and there. Colorado State gives up about 27 points per contest but they have improved over the past 5 games in total defense yielding more than 30 points just once. Jack Howell is among the nation's leaders responsible for 98 tackles and is tied for the team lead in INT with 4, same as Ayden Hector. Mohammed Kamara leads the Rams with 8 sacks and has 36 tackles in all. Air Force is methodical when it comes to their offense and will play keep away if they are not producing first downs. They will almost always go for respectable 4th downs and medium given their field position, but will only try to catch opponents off guard if they can sustain successful drives where they stand on the field.
Millen (131/186 1517 6 TD 6 INT) has been extremely accurate through 9 of the 10 games his Rams have played. However, his main achilles heel is getting CSU to complete drives that have looked promising coming away with limited or no points. Depth has been a key issue when overcoming obstacles like these, and other than Horton (58-965 6 TD) downfield the Rams need playmakers to match the success of their opponents offensively. Same holds true in the backfield where Avery Morrow (143-730 4.1 4 TD) seems to get the bulk of the work. Overall Colorado State's offense is 6th worst in the nation averaging only 288 scrimmage yards and less than 13 points per game. The disparity against the opposition shows that they lose by more than 2 TD's per contest, and Air Force holds a better than 240 yard advantage in the rushing game. The Falcons defense is tops against the pass giving up only 151 yards as such, but they also limit their opponents to just 113 yards on the ground, 21st in the country, while surrendering only 14.3 points per game overall, good for 5th. Trey Taylor is the leading tackler with 58 and has 2 picks this season. TD Blackmon has 54 tackles and is the team leader in sacks with 4. Camby Golf has 4 of his team's 9 INT, but the concentration here has been their dominance against both the run and the pass. The Rams have had lots of issues making something from nothing during their drives, and if they're not gaining any success moving the ball, it's going to be three and out quickly when the Falcons get the ball back leaving more opportunities to thrive dominance in their option calls.
While both teams seem fairly healthy, Jay Norvell's bunch seemed to have waived the white flag where simultaneously Air Force can still get to 9 wins on the season and play in a prestigious year-end bowl game. Controlling this one on the ground will be key on both sides of the ball for Air Force in this one. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Falcons have the nation's top-ranked rushing offense and they'll be focused on moving the ball on the ground in this one. The Rams are unlikely to put up much of a fight in that capacity, and with Air Force's ability to stop teams running the ball. The Rams have struggled this season against most opponents but especially those with a strong ground game, as they'll see on Saturday. Beyond that, having to hit the road is bound to be a challenge as well, especially against an Air Force team that has had its number and is filled with confidence heading into this one. The sentiment and the mix in balance of the option on the Falcons side favors Air Force, who should be able to control the clock and the game throughout while it will be difficult for Colorado St to get momentum flowing given their inability to finish drives, move the ball and score consistently.
I'll have another Saturday selection up later.
The Falcons (7-3 3-3) have won their last 2 games out of the Mountain West and look to make it a third when they host Colorado St (2-8 2-4) at Falcon Stadium Saturday night. Last week, Haaziq Daniels (9-113 12.6 2 TD) ran for scores of 56 and 37 yards as Air Force mauled New Mexico 35-3. Throwing just 2 passes and completing both for a total of 42 yards , one was a 33 yard TD connection with David Cormier as the Falcons led from the opening kickoff to the ending gun. John Lee Eldridge III (5-24 4.8 1 TD) also ran for a score from 10 yards out giving AF a 14-0 first quarter lead. Brad Roberts led the Falcons on the ground carrying 29 times for 163 yards (5.6) despite not scoring. Jensen Jones (3-28 9.3 1 TD) capped off the scoring with a 9 yard scamper and the Air Force defense limited the Lobos to just a Luke Drzewiecki 39 yard field goal. Air Force nearly tripled New Mexico's output outgaining the Lobos 472-170, and had 23 first downs to UNM's 8 despite committing two turnovers. Justin Holaday was just 10/21 for 128 yards and was sacked 6 times despite playing turnover free. The Falcons held a 428-44 humongous edge in the run game. Meanwhile, Jayden Clemons (7/11 90 1 TD) found Alex Brown from 32 yards out with :35 left, his only catch of the game as the Wyoming Cowboys edged Colorado St 14-13. The two play drive was set up by a 64 yard kickoff return by Cameron Stone after the Rams went up 13-7 on a Michael Boyle 23 yard field goal. Colorado St held the lead all game long and on paper actually outplayed the Cowboys. Clay Millen (18/26 251 1 INT) should have led the Rams to more scoring opportunities, but three of them resulted in punts and another a loss of downs due to stellar Wyoming defense. Tony Horton returned a Clayton Stewart punt 72 yards to paydirt to open the scoring. Horton also caught 8 passes for 168 yards and Avery Morrow carried 22 times for 104 yards (4.7), However CSU could not score any offensive TDs and had to settle for two Boyle field goals other than their special teams score. Clemons also ran it in from 14 yards (5-32 6.4 1 TD) to cut the Rams' lead to 10-7 at halftime. Colorado St outgained Wyoming 372-236 overall but committed 3 turnovers. Millen was also sacked 6 times and Horton lost 2 fumbles.
Of course the specialty of this Air Force offense is the triple option, and at 335 rushing yards per game they sit atop the nation in that category. Roberts (236-1241 5.3 13 TD) is among the leaders in total rushing yard sand TD, and Lee Eldridge (71-598 8.4 3 TD) holds the lead in yards per carry. Daniels (103-560 5.4 7 TD) is one of the more mobile backs calling his own number under center, and does have the ability to make throws when needed (35/72 719 6 TD 2 INT) with respectable game management despite slightly below 50% efficiency. Cormier (12-370 4 TD) is the lone workhorse downfield, and you talk about a sandwich when it comes to top team rushing against the second worst passing, but that's just how their game plan and style supports those numbers. The Falcons gain about 430 scrimmage yards per contest which ranks 50th in the country and score just a shade under 30 points per game. Colorado State is in the lower echelon of run defenses though they yield about 155 yards per contest. The Rams have lost 3 straight and give up about 225 passing yards so don't be surprised if Air Force coach Troy Calhoun has some tricks up his sleeve when it may come to an end around or a halfback option called here and there. Colorado State gives up about 27 points per contest but they have improved over the past 5 games in total defense yielding more than 30 points just once. Jack Howell is among the nation's leaders responsible for 98 tackles and is tied for the team lead in INT with 4, same as Ayden Hector. Mohammed Kamara leads the Rams with 8 sacks and has 36 tackles in all. Air Force is methodical when it comes to their offense and will play keep away if they are not producing first downs. They will almost always go for respectable 4th downs and medium given their field position, but will only try to catch opponents off guard if they can sustain successful drives where they stand on the field.
Millen (131/186 1517 6 TD 6 INT) has been extremely accurate through 9 of the 10 games his Rams have played. However, his main achilles heel is getting CSU to complete drives that have looked promising coming away with limited or no points. Depth has been a key issue when overcoming obstacles like these, and other than Horton (58-965 6 TD) downfield the Rams need playmakers to match the success of their opponents offensively. Same holds true in the backfield where Avery Morrow (143-730 4.1 4 TD) seems to get the bulk of the work. Overall Colorado State's offense is 6th worst in the nation averaging only 288 scrimmage yards and less than 13 points per game. The disparity against the opposition shows that they lose by more than 2 TD's per contest, and Air Force holds a better than 240 yard advantage in the rushing game. The Falcons defense is tops against the pass giving up only 151 yards as such, but they also limit their opponents to just 113 yards on the ground, 21st in the country, while surrendering only 14.3 points per game overall, good for 5th. Trey Taylor is the leading tackler with 58 and has 2 picks this season. TD Blackmon has 54 tackles and is the team leader in sacks with 4. Camby Golf has 4 of his team's 9 INT, but the concentration here has been their dominance against both the run and the pass. The Rams have had lots of issues making something from nothing during their drives, and if they're not gaining any success moving the ball, it's going to be three and out quickly when the Falcons get the ball back leaving more opportunities to thrive dominance in their option calls.
While both teams seem fairly healthy, Jay Norvell's bunch seemed to have waived the white flag where simultaneously Air Force can still get to 9 wins on the season and play in a prestigious year-end bowl game. Controlling this one on the ground will be key on both sides of the ball for Air Force in this one. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Falcons have the nation's top-ranked rushing offense and they'll be focused on moving the ball on the ground in this one. The Rams are unlikely to put up much of a fight in that capacity, and with Air Force's ability to stop teams running the ball. The Rams have struggled this season against most opponents but especially those with a strong ground game, as they'll see on Saturday. Beyond that, having to hit the road is bound to be a challenge as well, especially against an Air Force team that has had its number and is filled with confidence heading into this one. The sentiment and the mix in balance of the option on the Falcons side favors Air Force, who should be able to control the clock and the game throughout while it will be difficult for Colorado St to get momentum flowing given their inability to finish drives, move the ball and score consistently.
I'll have another Saturday selection up later.
