Ramsey: AFA hints of big things in 2010

FORT WORTH, Texas • After a season of hinting at their full power, the Air Force Falcons finally delivered on their promises.

The Falcons’ 47-20 smackdown of Houston served as a perfect end to 2009, but more importantly it was a proclamation of what is possible for 2010.

If the Falcons show this level of imagination and might next season, they could vault to near the peak of the Mountain West Conference.

The Falcons devastated the Cougars, stifling an offense that had averaged 43.9 points while stampeding their way to 402 yards rushing and 27 first downs.

They cruised to this victory, leading by at least 11 points in the game’s last 52 minutes.

They intercepted Case Keenum six times, making one of college football’s most dangerous players look oddly mediocre.

They busted out of the run, run, run mold and burned the Cougars with passes.

This is one of the signature wins of the Troy Calhoun era at Air Force, and it’s been a long wait. The Falcons haven’t delivered even a mild upset since Sept. 13, 2007, when they dropped TCU in overtime.

And this was Calhoun’s finest hour. At times this season, he showed little trust in his offense, refused to take chances and doomed his Falcons to defeats.

He was at his gambling best Thursday. He defied the odds and twice scored on fourth-down plays. He called a fake punt in his own territory. He was passionately chasing victory instead of tentatively trying not to lose.

Best of all, he turned Tim Jefferson loose on the Cougars' defense.

Houston all but begged the Falcons to pass, and Calhoun and Jefferson made the Cougars pay.

“It’s easy to get enamored with just a sector of the way you play,” Calhoun said.

At times this season, Calhoun was too enamored of the run. Running up the gut became his favored tactic. At times, it seemed, his only tactic.

It didn’t help that Jefferson spent most of the season waddling around on a sore ankle. He fell into a sluggish funk. He even had to endure speculation, which now seems ridiculous, that Connor Dietz should start as Falcons quarterback.

Jefferson was stuck in place, hobbled by injuries and overly conservative game plans.

On Thursday, Jefferson broke loose. He was steady and at times spectacular, hitting 8-of-9 passes and making expertly timed pitches.

“For me, I don’t think the sky is the limit,” Jefferson said. “I’m going to keep getting better, and hopefully other teams were watching this game and they’re going to be saying they have to look out for No. 7 of the Falcons.”

No doubt, MWC coaches won’t like what they see when they watch tape of AFA’s trashing of Houston. This season’s AFA offense was often sluggish.

Next season should be different. The Falcons rampaged to 563 yards against Houston, and not one of those yards was earned by a senior.

As the game neared its end, the Falcons dumped icy fluid on Calhoun. He was freezing on this gloomy, chilly Texas afternoon.

He also was laughing, enjoying this moment of triumph and thinking about even better moments ahead.