Reader comments
BYU football: Calhoun has Falcons flying high, but still under national radar

Good Game | 5:04 a.m. Nov. 14, 2008

It's always fun playing the Academy.

Good luck Cougs!

An Airforce win is not a upset | 6:44 a.m. Nov. 14, 2008

If AF win, don't call that a upset.
They are a good, quiet team.
After the win, they will break into top 25 poll.
A BYU loss will drop them out of top 20 and to about 23 in the poll depending on how other teams below BYU do on the week-end.

Anonymous | 7:16 a.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Seems like unjustified speculation. Let's let them play the game!

Comments continue below

ExAF | 7:44 a.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Bronco and Calhoun both recruit from a limited pool of talent: smart, slow, people. Add small for Air Force.
They will never be national champs. There is no room for the dumb, fast, thug type "scholar-athletes" that football factories can get. Finding success despite these limitations is what makes them so much fun.

coaching changes coming | 9:28 a.m. Nov. 14, 2008

"When asked if he will stay at Air Force, Calhoun replied, "I'm not getting into it. I love the opportunity to work here. You treasure it, and you do it with everything you have. ... If we give even an ounce to another direction, that impacts our opportunity to enjoy some success. It's challenging enough here that if you're not completely focused, it's not fair to anybody."

He's outta there. Whittingham had a similar "no comment, don't wanna talk about it" reply when asked about the Washington job. He's gone at the end of this season, too.

re: An AFA win not an upset | 9:43 a.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Apparently you're having a little trouble understanding the definition of what constitutes an upset in college football. You see, BYU is currently a ranked team while AFA is not. Since BYU is ranked HIGHER than AFA, if AFA wins the game it will be an upset. Do you now understand how this works? I hope so because there will be a quiz at the end of this post.

I think BYU's chances of beating AFA tomorrow are very good. I'm not too worried about it and I also think they can do better against AFA than whotah did. And it's nice to see Calhoun getting their program back on track.

Pop quiz: Team A is ranked higher than Team B. If Team B beats Team A it will be considered an upset. True or False?

Cadets | 10:15 a.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Nothing but respect for the Cadets of AF. These guys play hard and are fun to watch. The fact that year after year they have such a solid team speaks volumes about the character of the athletes and coaches. Should be a good game.
Go Cougs!

team A | 10:29 a.m. Nov. 14, 2008

what if team A can only beat teams with losing records??

Since team B has a winning record, will it be an upset??

hmmm.....plus it get's even stickier since team B's players are living right off the field too added with the fact that they are American Hero's for serving our country.

Sounds like team A will have their hands full.

Go Falcons!!!!

TOO BAD | 11:13 a.m. Nov. 14, 2008

It's too bad these two freshmen, the qb and rb, weren't starting when AF played the utes. Af wins easily.

an upset is | 11:27 a.m. Nov. 14, 2008

when team A which is considered "worse" (by a group of say voters) than team B ends up beating team B.

My point: team A(irforce) is actually better than team B(yu) even it's not ranked (by a group of voters because these voters don't know better) yet. So if team A wins, it's NOT an upset.

I hope you can understand it because this is not a simple TRUE/FALSE question --but sometimes you should consider questions that require more thinking than taking 50% chance of getting it right!!!!

team A has a point | 11:42 a.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Go Air Force, get that paper team. Have nothing but respect for AFA and wish them the best on and off the field. I even find myself rooting for AFA when my Utes are on the field, but this week makes it is real easy!! Not a coug hater, but a AFA fan!
Go Utes and AFA!!
1. Utes
2. AFA
3. TCU
4. coogs

re: an upset is | 12:06 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Okay, lets look at history - Of the last 18 meetings between team B(yu) and Team A(irforce) the reacord stands at Team B: 17 and Team A: 1. Don't get me wrong, I love those Flyboys - nobody works harder but they just don't match well with this BYU team.

Great Athletes | 12:10 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

This is what college football should be about, great, hard working athletes that have good character and understand their purpose at their respective universities. The AFA is great and great for college football. Let all of the thugs and malcontents who only show up for school during the football season go to other schools, at BYU and AFA it is something different.

I'm not saying all of their athletes are this way, but most of them are and the programs are certainly led in this manner.

Good for both programs...should be a fun game.

Team Speed | 12:17 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

I don't know about Air Force but BYU consistently recruits very talented and fast guys on the offensive side of the ball. Just to name a few, Austin Collie, Mckay Jacobson, Oneil Chambers are all fast(all which run a 4.4) and very talented! And we all know that BYU continues to recruit excellent QB's that are very talented. So, in regards to what ExAF @ 7:44 a.m said, I'll have to disagree when talking about the offensive but agree about the defense. Why can't (or maybe doesn't is a better word) BYU recruit that same way on defense? And don't tell me it's the honor code or because it's Provo because, again, BYU can get the talent and speed on offense.

If... | 12:23 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

team A beats team B beats team C

is team D better?

No, but when team B beats team A and team U, they'll prove they're the best!

Team Speed | 12:26 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

BTW, ExAF, what did you mean in saying "They will never be national champs"? Did you mean to say "AGAIN" because BYU has already done it. If you didn't mean to say "AGAIN" then you truly do not know what you are talking about!

Rejects | 12:38 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Re: Team Speed. In answer to your question: Its because the defensive secondary is made up of primarily offensive rejects.

BlueBoy | 12:46 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Nevada beats Boise State! BYU wallops Air Force! Utah easily remains undefeated in San Diego! BYU beats Utah the next week! BYU gets the automatic BCS bowl birth!

Whoa! That was just a dream. You'd have to be nuts to think all that could happen. Right?

Well, stranger things have happened already this year.

Take USC, for example. Whether they win the Pac-10 isn't even in their hands. The team that beat them could become a 3-loss Pac-10 rep in the Rose Bowl. Heh.

BYU fans, root for this dream to come true!

Paper Airplane | 1:14 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Airforce is flying high ---- for now>>>>>>>>>.

agree with if... | 1:15 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

If... @ 12:23 p.m makes a good point. Just because team U beat team T does not automatically mean team U will crush team B like a lot of team U's fans believe. With that logic, if team B crushes team A (instead of barely squeaking out a victory in the last minutes) than does that mean we can start saying that team B will crush team U? It's all about the match up on the field.

falcons | 1:20 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

falcons win 35-28

Little Jimmy | 1:25 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

I hope Air Force cleans BYU's clock...Just don't bust Hall up,Save him for Kruger!

BCS berth | 1:44 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

it's "berth", not "birth", unless you're talking babies

BSu will be upset by Idaho.
Utah will be upset by SDSU.
TCU will be upset by Air Force

BYU will win out for another MWC championship and the BCS bid.

A TUN of fans will go beserk at such outlandish predictions.

BYU fans will just smile. :)

re: jimbo | 2:22 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

"I hope Air Force cleans BYU's clock..."

It's called a carillon, but the Falcons are welcome to clean it anytime.

We're happy for the success the Falcons have had so far this season and Cougar fans wish them well for the remainder of the season, AFTER tomorrow.

Team Speed | 2:38 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

re: rejects. Do you have examples? Of ALL of the BYU defensive players, I could only find a few that played offense in High school and no mention of playing defensive before BYU (only one is currently playing in the games...Brandon Bradley)although I don't necessary see that as a problem. I think it's a good idea to bring in some speedy receiver's to be CB's (like Brandon Bradley).

Bottom Line; BYU is very capable of recruiting with the rest of the MWC, In fact, because of their history, fan base, coaching, etc... I believe they have an advantage over most non-BCS schools. People just don't take into account that the cougars have a young defense and have been injury plagued. No team can be absolutely awesome on both sides of the ball every year. "rebuilding" years like this one for the defense need to happen every so often.

Re: If...|12:23PM | 2:39 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

where is team D coming from????

BTW, when team B(yu) beats team A(irforce) and team U(cla), that does not prove anything especially if team B(yu) was blown-out by team T(cu) and will be soundly beaten by team UT(ah).

bcs berth | 2:56 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

doesnt matter where its birth or berth

utah and tcu could have lost 3 games each and byu still wouldn't make it.

though they did barely beat one of the worst teams (wa huskies) in the ncaa at the end.

oh i heard colorado st might have gotten bcs bid but they lost to byu.

BYU fan | 3:28 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

We are going to the BCS BABY! YEAH. And we are going to beat with USC or Florida. Because of the ways we have won: soundly. That loss to TCU is not a loss it was a victory because we are able to use the game film as decoy for other teams. We tanked it on purpose so other teams think they have found our weaknesses but they have not because our weaknesses in those films are really strengths in real life. We really are not that slow on defense, it really isnt that easy to get pressure on Max Hall, He doesnt throw that many interceptions. It was all an allusion, like a really good magic trick. We have our talents hidden in our top hats, like a rabbit ready to come true. TCU may think they have won but we want them to think that because we used magic like for example Max Hall would throw the ball to Austin Collie but abri cadbra it ends up in a TCU players hand. So look out Air Force we have some more magic up our sleeves.

Re: Little JImmy | 3:54 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Go back to your Yewt blog. Again, taking a good article about AF and turning it into a BYU hater blog. You Yewt fans have no class, never had, never will.

Anonymous | 4:55 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Team Speed... I think your knee-jerk reaction to ExAF's comment shows how defensive and impulsive you can really be. His comment about never being National Champions was in regards to his own team (That's Air Force, if you haven't caught on by now.)

Anonymous | 4:57 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

in regards to "Re: Little JImmy", hello pot, my name's kettle! If you honestly and truly think that BYU fans are just as classless as the U fans you speak of, you're delusional. Get off your high horse of Holier-Than-Thou attitude and face reality: You're no better than the rest of us, no matter how hard you try. Go over to any article about the U, read the comments from Zoobies, and you'll see who the TRULY classless fans are.

RE Team Speed | 5:03 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Did I just read a post associating BYU and "speed"? Tell me. Who was last NFL caliber reciver to come from the Y and play a significant role in the NFL? (all the examples you cited play receiver)BYU puts Lineman and Linebackers in the NFL. NOT recievers or safties or defensive backs (all of which require speed).

re: an upset is | 5:37 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Sounds like a really nice little world you've created for yourself that you're living in. Too bad nobody that knows anything about football agrees with you.

Oh and since you are basically out of touch with reality, the group of people who refer to a lower ranked or unranked team beating a higher ranked team as an "upset" would include the COACHES and others who vote in the polls, hundreds of sports reporters, the athletes themselves, coaches across the country, and millions of sports fans. And in case you're wondering, this strange phenomenon also occurs in other countries as well. Imagine that.

I hope you can understand it because sometimes all that is needed is a simple True/False question and you don't need to go off the deep end making up your own definition of what is an upset.

Good Luck AF | 7:05 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Nothing would make my day, week, and month more then a win by Airforce. It is not because of the BYU players, it is the obnoxious fans. BYU fans talk more SMACK then any other fans in the country. They also have more excuses then any other team in the country. Your teams are great and the players deserve more, the fans stink.

I agree... | 7:32 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Team A(FA) beats team B(YU) and people should not consider that is an upset because AFA is better team.

Just like when team T(cu) blew out team B(yu) that was not an upset neither because (repeat after me) TCU was (and is) a better team!!!

Why is it so hard for kewgs to understand that?

Ron Anderson | 7:37 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Hey I think Little Jimmy is cool. Go Air Force wipe up the field. A BYU loss always makes a great saturday. 4th place would make it a great year.

Super BYU Fan | 7:43 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

What truly matters is that our stadium size is bigger that Airforce's. Our stadium size is always the winner. Airforce, no matter how hard you "try" to beat us, you'll never have a larger football stadium. BYU will always prevail!

Re: re: an upset is (#1) | 8:00 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Yes, let's (with the apostrophe as in "let us") look at history which it appears that you neglected to do. You stated that BYU has won 17 of the last 18 contests between BYU and the AFA. I would guess that you made this assertion based on an erroneous statement in a Dick Harmon piece that was later corrected. The actual victor in games between BYU and AFA since 1995:

1995: AFA (a 38-12 win, BTW)
1996: Did not play (old days of divided WAC)
1997: Did not play (old days of divided WAC)
1998: AFA (WAC championship game)
1999: BYU
2000: AFA
2001: BYU
2002: AFA (a 52-9 win! -- that's right, look it up)
2003: AFA
2004: BYU
2005: BYU
2006: BYU
2007: BYU

So, an actual examination of history reveals that the AFA has won 5 of the last 11 meetings (not 1 of the last 18). Lamentably, AFA has lost the last 4 meetings and BYU should be able to use its strengths to exploit AFA's weaknesses and prevail without much trouble tomorrow -- an outcome that will not please me but seems inevitable.

Good Game! | 8:21 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Just gotta say I admire the Cougs and the Falcons for the work they put on and off the field. This is what football should be about, great guys working hard and playing hard. It'll be a great game tomorrow! I am a Coug fan, but I admire the Falcons. They deserve all the respect in the world for what they go through in class and then taking on football as well. I'm excited!

coug fan | 8:57 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Byu and AFA are the only two teams that go and get kids that actualy belong in college

upsets | 10:45 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

Nice to see yoots showing their "football nawlige" on this site by claiming that a lower ranked team beating a higher ranked team is not an upset. Of course we see them applying this same twisted pretzel logic to other situations as well, like when BYU beats them and they claim they are still the better team. Yes, it's not easy for BYU fans having to put up with yappy annoying little brothers up north every day.

re re: team speed | 11:09 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

If you went out on the field and suited up I'm sure BYU could show you just how much team speed they have. There are plenty of fast athletes on BYU's team but there is somewhat of a lack of it as a unit.

mitchell | 11:39 p.m. Nov. 14, 2008

i know byu is a very good foot ball team. who cares if tcu wasted them, who cares if afa wastes them and who cares if they will lose to utah 59-0, the same score byu beat ucla by. bronco is a good coach and deserves our respect. the broncos aren't too bad either. anyway, i hope byu will win its last two games on the road. and i support them. if byu wants to win, its defense must create turnovers.

cASeY | 12:13 a.m. Nov. 15, 2008

aCCORdING tO LoGIC A bYu VICcTORY WOUlD MeAN AN aFAa DEfEAt. I AM PRETTY SURE THAT IF BYU WINS... AFA WILL LOSE. IF BYU WINS THEY WILL MOST LIKELY MOVE UP IN THE RANKINGS. IF AFA LOSES THEY WILL MOVE DOWN IN THE RANKINGS AND SINCE THEY ARENT EVEN RANKED THEY WILL JUST DIG THEMSELVES A BIGGER HOLE. GOOD LUCK WHEN THEY PLAY AGAINST TCU!
g0 bYu gO

GO COuUGaARS!!!

BYU HOMER | 12:31 a.m. Nov. 15, 2008

Okay, maybe not!

Whoever posted that Kyle Whittingham is leaving Utah at the end of the season needs to get out of the bubble. Who in their right mind wants to leave a pretty good program that he has built and coach a doormat of the PAC 10. He will make just as much at Utah, have less stress, and have opportunities to win conference championships. KWhitt is a homegrown Utah'n. He has kids in high school and elementary.

Bronco and KWhitt aren't going anywhere!!! As for the AFA/BYU game, this one should go down to the final play once again. If BYU is on the negative side of the turnovers, they WILL lose.

As a Utah fan, I want BYU to win as it will provide a 1 loss team for Utah to beat and look better for their BCS resume'.

On the other hand, if byu goes 9-0 against teams with losing records, and 0-3 against teams with winning records, that would be fine to. They would surely enjoy the New Mexico Bowl.

Team Speed | 7:46 a.m. Nov. 15, 2008

What about Kellen Fowler. He was originally a QB.

RED Man | 7:52 a.m. Nov. 15, 2008

Utes are the bomb. Cougs will see on 11/22/08. It will be better than Christmas morning. Can't wait for the day.

re re: team speed | 2:54 p.m. Nov. 15, 2008

"If you went out on the field and suited up I'm sure BYU could show you just how much team speed they have. There are plenty of fast athletes on BYU's team but there is somewhat of a lack of it as a unit."

What a stupid comment. Just because BYU is faster than ME doesn't mean they have great speed.

This is a prime example of the knowlege/mentality of a cougar fan.

Please explain this statement to me.. "there is plenty of speed on the team, but a lack of speed as a unit?" So do they slow down when they play as a unit?

I can't even believe I am posting and trying to argue with this logic. I feel dumber now.

MFHD degree hard at work!

Add your comment

Comments are monitored. Any comments found to be abusive, offensive, off-topic, misrepresentative, more than 200 words or containing URLs will not be posted.

Words Remaining

E-mail address: For internal use only. We may want to contact you to publish your comment (not your e-mail address) in the newspaper or for a separate story idea.