Opinion: Falcons good enough to upset No. 17 BYU

Picking on weaklings is fun, I guess, but repeated smackdowns of tomato-can opponents gets boring.

Air Force pulverized the tomato-can-of-the-week, also known as Colorado State, 38-17 on Saturday, continuing a season-long trend.

The Falcons are easy to summarize. They beat the losers on their schedule and lose to the winners.

That could change this Saturday. Maybe that should change this Saturday.

On the surface, BYU looks terrifying. The Cougars will prowl into Colorado Springs with only one loss, a powerful passing attack and four straight wins over Air Force.

That's the bad news.

Here's the good news:

BYU might be the most overrated No. 17 team in American football history.

The Cougars barely beat CSU a week ago and UNLV the previous week. The Cougars surrendered 109 points in three dreadful defensive weeks.

Are the Cougars powerful? No.

Vulnerable? Oh, yes.

Falcons coach Troy Calhoun talks each week about how much his team needs to improve, and he repeated his usual lines after Saturday's game.

"We're not there yet," he said.

"There" for Calhoun is a lofty place. He didn't return to his alma mater to finish third or fourth in the Mountain West Conference. He didn't leave his cushy job as Houston Texans offensive coordinator to hover outside the Top 25.

He has ambitious visions for his program. He wants - no, he plans - to fly high at Air Force despite all service-academy obstacles.

BYU offers Calhoun and his team the chance to grab those visions now instead of a few years from now.

A win over BYU would propel the Falcons into the Top 25 and bring national attention to Calhoun's renovation job.

This isn't some far-fetched dream. If the Falcons attack the Cougars with the same precision and emotion they brought down on CSU in the second half, BYU will be in trouble.

Calhoun enjoys talking about his team's lack of elite talent.

This isn't his ego talking. I've always believed he emphasizes his team's weaknesses to bring attention to his team's effort and heart.

"We don't have a superstar," Calhoun said with pride. "We don't have a sensational, all-world candidate."

Hate to disagree with you, coach, but maybe you do. Freshman quarterback Tim Jefferson is flirting with sensational, and I'm not talking about tomorrow.

I'm talking about today.

Jefferson shredded CSU's defense, completing 6 of 8 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns. He came achingly close to a third touchdown pass, but Ty Paffett misjudged the ball and couldn't quite hang on to a soaring third-quarter throw.

BYU coaches will be left shaking and sweating when they examine film of Jefferson's performance. No way the Cougars stop Air Force's running attack if they are forced to worry about Jefferson throwing perfect long balls.

This Saturday, the Falcons can establish themselves. They can throw away all questions.

And plenty of questions still dog this team. Yes, Air Force has flown to an 8-2 record, but an asterisk remains.

The eight teams Air Force has conquered this season are a combined 29-50. The five Mountain West teams the Falcons have beaten are 6-25 in conference.

Sorry, but there's no way to avoid this question: Can Air Force defeat a quality opponent?

That's why BYU offers such a tempting target.

The Falcons have looked terrific against an assortment of college football's bottom feeders.

When the Falcons ran into Utah and Navy, they looked decent, at best.

Saturday, the truth about the Falcons will be revealed.

Kicking around tomato cans is fun.

Beating the real thing is a lot better.