The Air Force Falcons are headed to take on the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines this weekend in Ann Arbor. The Falcons are fresh after a bye last weekend, but the home side is more than a three touchdown favorite to take care of business and send Air Force back to Colorado Springs with a loss. Here are the three keys to this one:
Stop the Michigan running game
The ground game has been a success for Michigan thus far, especially in their season opening win over Florida. Senior Ty Isaac has been the workhorse for the team as he has a pair of 100 plus outings at a crazy average of almost eight yards per carry. Add in a huge size advantage in the trenches for the Michigan offensive line over an active – but undersized – Air Force front and stopping the running game has to be priority number one for the Falcons.
Given that the Falcons had big problems against the big play last season, and that we only have the game against a bad VMI squad to judge Air Force on in 2017 – it is imperative that the front holds up against the run without needed to put eight or nine in the box. If that happens, it will be long day for the Falcons on defense.
Run the ball successfully
It is going to be all option, all day for the Falcons against Michigan. It will be a very interesting matchup on this side of the ball as the reason that Michigan was able to bottle up the Florida running game – other than the Gators offensive line being junk – was their pressure and aggression on the defensive side of the ball. The triple-option attack is not an offense you can be overly aggressive against as a defensive player. Over pursuit and missed reads are all too easy if the defender is trying to fly to the ball and the Michigan defense rarely (if ever) plays against a team running the variety of formations and option attacks that Air Force will show on Saturday.
Pressure Wilton Speight
Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight is still figuring out how to play at the college level. In Week 1 against Florida, he threw for two pick-sixes in the space of a couple of minutes. Against Cincinnati, he was better with the ball, but he was ultra-conservative, with a stat line of 17-0f-29 for 221 yards. Outside of a couple of big touchdowns throws he did nothing of note to suggest he should be the guaranteed starter for the rest of the season.
If Air Force can rush Speight then he will make mistakes. He has a knack for over throwing the ball when the rush is on and he is not comfortable in the pocket under pressure. A couple of Speight turnovers could easily keep Air Force in the game.
