Air Force understands what South Dakota is capable of

For a football coach looking to motivate his team the week it plays a Football Championship Subdivision school, game film of that FCS team beating a Big Ten team is priceless.

“South Dakota 41, Minnesota 38” will get more views at Air Force this week than the most viral of all YouTube videos. By the time the Falcons play South Dakota on Saturday, they will have seen and heard (and heard, and heard) how the lower-division Coyotes went to Minnesota last season and upset the Gophers. South Dakota never trailed in that game.

And don’t think Air Force’s loss at Minnesota in 2008 hasn’t been mentioned by the staff as well, as a timely comparison.

“That’s something we weren’t able to accomplish two years ago,” Air Force quarterback Tim Jefferson said, when asked about South Dakota’s signature win last year.

One of the toughest jobs a coaching staff has is convincing a team it can lose to a lower-division team, especially with a big game next on the schedule. Last year, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun tried selling to his players that Northwestern State had more NFL draft picks through its history, and other desperate propaganda for a FCS team that had gone 0-11 the previous year. Air Force, possibly looking ahead to a Week 2 matchup against BYU, was lethargic in the first half and led just 24-21 at halftime before pulling away for a 65-21 win.

This year, even though Air Force has a huge game against TCU on Sept. 10, Calhoun has a compelling argument to keep his players’ interest through this week.

“I thought, physically, they were the better football team,” Calhoun said of the South Dakota win at Minnesota. “That’s something that gets your attention. They’re a capable group.”

The part about South Dakota being physically better than Minnesota should give Air Force something to worry about. Air Force isn’t the biggest team, and South Dakota’s starting offensive line averages 304.6 pounds.

“I sat it and watched it one night in my room, and they gave them a beating,” outside linebacker Alex Means said. “Their offense took it to the defense.”

Air Force wants to schedule a FCS team for Parents’ Weekend as long as Calhoun is the coach. South Dakota might be the best FCS team Air Force has invited to Falcon Stadium under Calhoun.

“That showed us big time who they were,” safety Jon Davis said. “Minnesota was supposed to beat them, and that’s why Minnesota put them on the schedule, but Minnesota came out there and thought it would just be a fun first game for the year. It turned out to be a loss for them. It could be the same for us.”