AFA football: Calhoun prefers not to play BCS teams

Air Force football coach Troy Calhoun would relish the opportunity to knock off BCS heavyweights Oklahoma and Florida State.

But he'd rather do it in a bowl game - or not at all.

Calhoun isn't thrilled when he looks at the Falcons' future schedules and sees a visit to Oklahoma in 2010 and home and road games against Florida State in 2011 and 2012?

Calhoun said the annual games against archrivals Army and Navy and the Falcons' Mountain West Conference slate makes the Air Force schedule challenging enough. And adding big-time football powers is excessive.

"The time you play them is in a bowl game," Calhoun said of Oklahoma, FSU and other big-time opponents from major conferences. "Our guys have completed finals. They have a few days to get their bodies together....I think that's when it's most fair for your players preparationwise."

Calhoun said recruiting and scheduling are the two key components of a Division I football program. After overhauling the Falcons' recruiting process last year, he wants more say in their schedule.

Two important?

With Army, Navy and eight Mountain West opponents each season, Air Force only has to fill two other slots in the 12-game schedule. But Calhoun said those games can swing a season.

"The single biggest difference between Air Force football teams from 2001 through 2006 compared to 2007 was neither luck, guidance, determination nor scheme," Calhoun said. "It started with scheduling. Scheduling directly contributed to the spirit, unity, toughness, depth and confidence developed throughout the 2007 season."

The Falcons opened 2007 at home against South Carolina State of the lower-tier Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Air Force cruised to a 34-3 victory that set the tone for a 9-3 regular season.

A year earlier, the Falcons played at nationally ranked Tennessee in Knoxville. And though they played well before losing 31-30, Calhoun said the game's physical and emotional toll contributed to a disappointing 4-8 campaign.

"Hypothetically, it would have been wiser to schedule a 2006 home (opener) that would have had nearly 40,000 in the stands and (resulted in) a 1-0 start," Calhoun said. "It must be considered that a healthier and more confident 2006 team may have won such close encounters that were subsequently lost to San Diego State, UNLV, Navy and Utah."

In Calhoun's perfect world, Air Force would use one of its two open dates to schedule a home opener on parents' weekend - typically against an FCS squad.

Calhoun said that an easier opener at home is important because cadets begin classes in early August - much earlier than players for most other teams - and because his players typically spend at least a third of their summers away from campus on Operations Air Force. Most other big-time programs recommend (read: require) their players stay on campus during summers.

For the second open date, Calhoun likes the idea of scheduling a school with similar academic standards - he mentioned Stanford, Vanderbilt and Duke as potential opponents.

"I think that's got to be our vision, that's got to be our philosophy, that's got to be our approach," Calhoun said. "What that means is maybe there are changes, and yet we've got to take that initiative and make sure they occur, too."

Translation? Don't book travel to Norman in 2010 or Tallahassee in 2012 quite yet.

Big Names, Big Dollars

Is Calhoun's plan realistic?

Many fans like the idea of their team going head-to-head with the big boys, and high-profile opponents bring more cachet to the program.

Calhoun, however, said Air Force can't "get enamored with a BCS label." And he said winning draws crowds and recruits more than games against "name" programs.

"And if you've just got to have a name, when is it? It's in a bowl game, unless you find that Stanford's a name or that Notre Dame's a name," Calhoun said.

But there's another important factor involved in scheduling: money.

Teams from power conferences offer large sums to teams like Air Force for games at their home stadiums.

Air Force received $850,000 for the Tennessee game, and approximately $1.2 million for selling its 2005 opener. Those payouts helped the athletic department get back into the black.

Academy athletic director Hans Mueh, who set up the Florida State home-and-home series as well as a home-and-home with Minnesota, said he likes to schedule one opponent that Air Force would be favored to beat and one "premier" game against a big-name opponent. But he said he understood Calhoun's concerns and will "work with" his coach on future schedules.

"I think (Calhoun's) philosophy on this is spot-on," Mueh said. "I just don't have a good answer for where we go with what's already there" on future schedules.

The Bottom Line

So can Air Force get out of future games with Oklahoma and Florida State?

Calhoun said it's possible. He points to Army, which backed out of a 2008 game with Georgia Tech on Oct. 20, 2007 (see sidebar).

"They've thought of their kids," Calhoun said. "They've thought of their program."

Mueh said it's "possible" Air Force could find different opponents for those games. But he added that "philosophically, I agree with sticking to contracts," and he would not break contracts unless the Falcons' opponents also wanted to get out of the games. Mueh said he thought Florida State and Oklahoma both would want to keep their games with Air Force. And because the Oklahoma game is the return game from the 2001 opener, Air Force would have to pay an approximately $500,000 buyout - a hefty sum for the academy.

"We'll see," Calhoun said. "If (those games are) what's on the docket, we'll line it up and go play."