Air Force vs. Florida Atlantic: Game Preview, Kick Time, Livestream, Radio
The Air Force Falcons face the reeling Florida Atlantic Owls. Here’s how to watch the live stream, and what to watch for.
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Can Air Force derail the Lane Train?
WEEK 2: Air Force Falcons (1-0) vs. Florida Atlantic Owls (0-1)
WHEN: Saturday, September 8 — 12:00 PM MT/11:00 AM PT
WHERE: FAU Stadium; Boca Raton, Florida (29,419)
TV: The game will be available through Facebook and embedded below on game day.
RADIO: The Air Force broadcast can be found in and around Colorado Springs on KVOR 740 AM. It can also be found in Denver on 104.3 FM and on satellite radio, Sirius channel 206 and XM channel 210.
SERIES RECORD: This will be the first meeting between Air Force and Florida Atlantic.
WEBSITES: GoAirForceFalcons.com, the official Air Force athletics website | FAUSports.com, the official Florida Atlantic athletics website
GAME NOTES (PDF): Florida Atlantic | Air Force
The Air Force Falcons emerged from their season opener against Stony Brook with a lot of encouraging answers to last year’s biggest questions. The defense held Stony Brook to just 1.5 yards per play in the victory, while the rushing offense found enough promising contributors and explosiveness to make the rest of the Mountain West take note.
By contrast, Florida Atlantic, a preseason dark horse for the Group of 5’s New Year’s Day bowl bid, got hammered by Oklahoma last Saturday. The offense, one of the best in the country last fall, mustered just 4.38 yards per play against the Sooners, but there’s a big difference between being down and being out.
Here’s what Air Force can do to stun the Owls at home.
Three Keys to an Air Force Win
Stop Devin Singletary.
This, of course, is easier said than done. Singletary averaged 6.6 yards per carry against the three best run defenses he faced in Conference USA last year, but the Sooners held the senior running back to just 69 yards on 18 carries last Saturday. Navy and Wisconsin held Singletary in check last fall, too, so there’s a glimmer of hope for the Falcons.
It could end up being a very big game for a pair of Air Force sophomores, defensive end Jordan Jackson and outside linebacker Lakota Wills, who combined for 1.5 tackles for loss against Stony Brook. If they can be disruptive along the edges, the Falcons could force FAU into more obvious passing situations than they’d like.
Make Chris Robison’s life miserable.
Air Force’s secondary was in fine form last Saturday, breaking up five passes, and there’s a chance that enough pressure could lead the Falcons to a similar opportunity against redshirt freshman Chris Robison. He completed just 7 of his first 17 pass attempts against Oklahoma.
One key player that could make a big impact is tight end Harrison Bryant, Conference USA’s preseason all-conference selection at the position last month. He had just two catches and three targets against the Sooners, but he averaged 12 yards per catch against CUSA opponents in 2017 and could be a headache in coverage if the Falcons aren’t careful.
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Keep the offense on schedule.
Despite the blowout, one big disappointment in Air Force’s offensive performance was the notable difference in how they converted third-and-short versus third-and-mid-to-long. With between one and three yards to go, the Falcons were 6-of-10; with four or more yards to go, they were 2-of-10.
Some of this was offset by Troy Calhoun’s willingness to gamble, and the Falcons did finish 5-of-6 on fourth down conversions, but the sooner they can move the chains the better. Florida Atlantic did, after all, rack up six tackles for loss on Oklahoma’s 62 offensive plays last week.