Air Force’s new offensive line attempts to work through struggles that haunted season opener
Michael McAninch admitted Air Force’s offensive line left much to be desired a “less-than-impressive” opening victory Saturday.
Tough to fix a problem without first acknowledging it, and the Falcons are way ahead in that regard.
“I might have expected more out of our group,” said the senior offensive tackle, one of five linemen and nine players on offense who made their first-career start during a 21-6 victory over Merrimack.
“I’m not going to say we were going to perform just like last year’s unit right away. There’s going to be some things we need to figure out. But I would say we probably expected more than 166 yards.”
The line set a goal of 300 yards each week this season. That it collected slightly more than half of that in the opener – a game vs. and FCS foe – was cause for concern.
It didn’t help matters that starting fullback Dylan Carson, one of the offense’s more experienced players, was injured in the first quarter. Also, not all FCS teams are the same. Merrimack finished among the top 40 teams at the FCS level against the run last year and promoted its defensive coordinator to head coach and returned much of its defense.
Still, the Falcons averaged just 3 yards per carry in the victory and had just one possession in each half that took at least 4 minutes off the clock. The team would want more than that against anyone, FCS or Power Four (which comes in two weeks with a trip to Baylor).
The team is studying the Merrimack game film to figure out where fixes can be made. The offensive line has met and discussed the situation. McAninch felt the push the line generated was promising and believes there’s a path to improvement. He called it a “rusty” game and, of course, excitement and nerves played a factor.
“I think we are confident. A little bit,” said McAninch, who was one of two players – along with cornerback Trey Williams – chosen by the team to speak with media this week, placing him in the unenviable position of answering questions after a rare struggles for the Falcons’ run game. “I think we’re trying to find some more. You know what I mean? Like I said, this past weekend wasn’t how our offense was expected to perform based on the past few years. We know that. We’re going to try to build some more confidence here this week against a really good team.”
The Falcons host San Jose State at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Spartans fell to the Falcons 45-20 last year, squandering a 10-point lead. San Jose State then lost to Boise State 35-27 the following week. After that it reeled off six Mountain West wins to close the season.
Air Force was able to lean on the ground game in that comeback last year, running for 400 yards and six touchdowns while completing just two passes for 28 yards.
That has long been the formula for success.
But Saturday’s opener and the constant swarms of defenders that awaited Falcons’ ballcarriers suggested a difference strategy might be needed this year. It’s worth noting that the passing game, behind quarterback John Busha and multiple receivers, produced a 12-yard gain in a 4th-and-10 situation and a 21-yard completion was the big play on a touchdown-scoring drive in the final two minutes of the first half.
Could this be a year that Air Force is forced to lean more heavily on the passing game? And if so, can that work?
“We’ll see,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “If necessary, we’ll see.”
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