Air Force football preview: Three keys to success

Three keys to success for the 2011 Air Force Falcons:

1. Survive October

In the history of Air Force football, there might not be a tougher calendar month than this October. Four of five games are on the road, and four of five come against 2010 bowl teams. The Falcons are going to be worn down some by November. The question is how many wins they’ll have after a difficult October.  

2. Get Asher the ball

Tailback Asher Clark is coming off a 1,000-yard season, and Air Force will give him plenty of opportunities to do it again. With not much experience at fullback, and not much certainty at the backup tailback spots, there will be a lot of pressure on Clark to have another big year.

3. Get back to big plays on defense

In 2010, there weren’t enough sacks and turnovers by the defense, although the defense forced four turnovers in the bowl win against Georgia Tech. If the pass rush improves, the secondary should be able to capitalize and come up with a few more interceptions than it did a year ago.