UConn is walking into one of the hardest stylistic tests it can get.
The Huskies head to Falcon Field in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Saturday afternoon to face an Air Force team that lives on the ground and does it better than almost anybody in the country. Kickoff is set for 3:05 p.m. ET, and the assignment for UConn’s defense is crystal clear: stop the run, or get dragged into a long afternoon.
That won’t be easy, even if the Huskies just handled the job well against UMass. In last Saturday’s 35-16 win, UConn held the Minutemen to 53 rushing yards on 22 carries. The problem is that Air Force is a completely different animal.
The Falcons rank No. 2 in the nation in rushing at 337.4 yards per game, sitting behind Army and ahead of Navy in the familiar triple-option crowd. Air Force runs the flexbone triple offense and leans into it heavily, with six players already clearing 200 rushing yards this season.
The quarterback rotation is a major part of that attack. Evan Medders has carried 73 times for 490 yards, averaging 6.7 yards per attempt with six touchdowns.
Liam Szarka has added 391 yards on 4.3 yards per carry and scored seven times. Kemper Hodges gives them another threat, with 36 rushes for 201 yards at 5.6 per carry and two touchdowns.
UConn’s run defense has been strong overall. The Huskies are allowing 107.6 rushing yards per game, which ranks 28th among FBS teams. But they haven’t seen many offenses built quite like this one.
Head coach Jason Candle made it clear this week that he understands the challenge facing his team. He called Air Force a “really quality opponent.”
“Very disciplined football team,” Candle told reporters this week. “You have to go earn everything that you get. Got to do what we can to limit the rushing attack and try to slow that thing down.
“We got to try to somehow, some way get them off schedule and force them into some third-and-long situations because when they're on schedule and doing what they need to do that way, this is a really tough operation to stop.”
The passing game may not decide much for Air Force. The Falcons have thrown only 65 passes as a team, completing 32 for 444 yards, with four touchdowns, four interceptions and five sacks. That amounts to just 67.6 passing yards per game.
UConn’s own passing game has been much more productive. Kalieb Osborne leads an offense that averages 244.6 passing yards, good for 51st in the nation. He’ll be working against an Air Force pass defense that has been stout, ranking 10th in FBS by allowing 163.9 yards per game.
For Candle, though, the bigger picture goes beyond the matchup in the air. He said the Huskies need to be consistent and stay in control of the game’s rhythm.
“We’ve been able to dictate and control the tempo of the games where we’ve played really, really well,” he said. “And there’s a couple times there and couple quarters where we haven’t, and that’s where we’ve had our struggles. But, for the most part, we’ve been able to dictate the tempo and keep pace and get the playmakers the ball.”
Ball security and special teams also loom large, especially against an opponent that thrives on shortening games and limiting chances. Air Force has punted only 15 times this season, a total that trails only Southern California.
“They do a good job squeezing the air out of the ball on offense and limiting the other team's possessions,” Candle said. “So, you’ve got to be clean on special teams and then when you get the ball on offense, you’ve got to do a great job maximizing your opportunities there and the possessions that you do get.”
The teams met last season on UConn’s home field, with the Huskies earning a 26-16 win.
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