Air Force second-year tailbacks doing well

Sophomores Kyle Lumpkin and Savier Stephens have worked well together so far this season as Air Force's tailback tandem.

The players, who started in the same backfield at the prep school two years ago, are splitting time at the position, and they help each other by giving advice on the opposing defense when they come out of the game. They also compete with each other and are "each other's worst critic," Stephens said.

Though they've combined for 381 yards - and more than 100 in each of the Falcons' three games - they've found plenty to criticize.

"Neither one of us is really satisfied with our performance yet," Stephens said. "We feel like we both have to have 100 yards apiece. We have to really step it up."

Running backs coach Jemal Singleton agrees. "There's a lot of yardage we've left on the field," he said.

"It's making the wrong read on a cut, it's not running through an arm tackle that we should be able to break. It's being in the open field one-on-one with a safety or a corner and getting tackled. I tell my guys that you're never allowed to be tackled by one guy."

Stephens carried the ball just 36 times in 2007, while Lumpkin played on the junior varsity. But Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said tailbacks should play at "a different level" once they hit the 50- or 60-carry mark.

Houston off 2010 schedule

Air Force and Houston won't play a rematch of Saturday's 31-28 Falcons victory in the near future unless they meet in a bowl game.
The second game of the teams' home-and-home series has been taken off the Falcons' 2010 schedule, Air Force sports information director Troy Garnhart confirmed Monday.

The Falcons were scheduled to open the 2010 season Sept. 4 by playing host to the Cougars. But the game does not fit with Calhoun's philosophy of playing a team from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) or a lower-tier team from the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) at home in the opener.

A replacement game has not yet been set.

Air Force opens next season at home with Northern Colorado of the FCS, and it will not open 2012 at home against Minnesota as previously scheduled (a FCS replacement for the Gophers is being finalized). The Falcons are slated to open the 2011 campaign with Florida State.

Paulson leading nation in sacks

Senior defensive end Jake Paulson has made six sacks in the Falcons' first three games, and his 2.0 per-game mark leads the nation.

It's just a quarter of the way through the season, but Paulson is on pace for a campaign that will rank among the best in Air Force history for a defensive lineman. College Football Hall of Famer Chad Hennings holds the record for quarterback sacks in a season (a statistic first kept at Air Force in 1986). He made 24 during the 12-game 1987 regular season.

If nothing else, Paulson gives the Falcons one of their best pass rushers in years.

"He's a technician, and he's very persistent," defensive line coach Ron Burton said.

Depth chart

Freshman cornerback Anthony Wright, who had an interception in the win over Houston, moved ahead of junior Brenton Byrd-Fulbright on the depth chart.

"He played better on Saturday," Calhoun said of Wright.

The only other change was junior Luke Hyder moving into the backup slot receiver in place of sophomore Reggie Rembert.

Etc.

Freshman quarterback Tim Jefferson has traded his No. 10 jersey for No. 7. ... Seniors Todd Newell (ankle) and Aaron Kirchoff (shoulder) both practiced Monday.