Air Force finished the regular season with the nation’s top-ranked pass defense, allowing just 148.7 yards through the air per game.

And yet the Falcons still have something to prove today when it comes to stopping the pass.

That’s because the last time they were on the field they were shredded by BYU and quarterback Max Hall in a 38-21 rout. In the Falcons’ final regular season game Nov. 21, Hall completed 33-of-45 passes for 377 yards and five touchdowns, and his mastery called into question the Falcons’ ranking.

After all, a third of the teams Air Force faced during the regular season operate triple-option offenses that rarely throw the ball, including Army and Navy, which rank second-to-last and last in the country, respectively, in passing offense. That, coach Troy Calhoun said, “probably has a little bit of an impact,” on the Falcons’ stats. Plus, Air Force faced TCU’s spread attack in bitter cold and blowing snow.

So the question must be asked: Was the BYU game simply an anomaly, or did it expose a pass defense with puffed-up statistics?

The Falcons can prove it was the former today at 10 a.m. in the Armed Forces Bowl against Houston at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

“It’s a little bit on us to come out and show that we’re not that team that played BYU that day,” sophomore cornerback Anthony Wright Jr. said.

Houston, with a high-octane offense that ranks No. 1 in the nation in passing (450 yards per game), provides the perfect opponent in the Falcons’ quest for redemption.

Cougars quarterback Case Keenum leads the nation with 5,449 yards passing and 43 touchdowns throws (against just nine interceptions) and boasts an astounding 71 percent completion rate (468-of-659). Six Houston players caught 31 or more passes, and four had five or more touchdown grabs.

So how can Air Force slow these Cougars after being torched by the ones from BYU?

1. Win one-on-one battlesNot just in the secondary, when defensive backs are matched up with receivers, but on the line of scrimmage.

“For us to have an opportunity to win, our (defensive line) has to be able to take advantage of the one-on-one situations that we have,” defensive line coach Ron Burton said.

That’s something Air Force didn’t do against BYU, Calhoun said, and Hall often could deliver passes without feeling any pressure.

2. Vary defensive callsAt times Air Force will need to use full-scale blitzes. At times they’ll need to drop eight players into coverage. And they’ll need to do everything in between. “Change tempos,” defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter said.

“I think you’ve got to mix it up,” Calhoun said. “It’s got to be anywhere from three to six that are coming (on the pass rush).”

3. Disguise defensive callsThe Falcons can’t allow Keenum to feel comfortable when a play begins. So they have to try to confuse him – show a look that indicates a blitz is coming but then drop into coverage just before the snap.

“We’ve got to give him the same look yet do different things to try to get him off schedule,” DeRuyter said. “Because if you just sit back and let it be pass skeleton for him, they’re going to rip you apart. … You’ve got to give him something where he’s got to work at reading what you’re doing.”

4. Don’t get too cuteWhile Nos. 2 and 3 are important, Air Force can’t rely totally on out-scheming the Cougars.

Senior safety Luke Hyder said the Falcons installed “probably the biggest (defensive) package” of the season for BYU. And Calhoun said that ended up giving players too much to think about and slowing them down.

“I think all year our guys played really, really fast,” secondary coach Charlton Warren said. “And against BYU, they didn’t play as fast – they were a little bit hesitant with a call or a check. … We’re not going to have a check (against Houston) for every little thing they do. We’re going to play our defense.”

And hope to show it’s worthy of its ranking.

“BYU game was tough, and they have great athletes and they made great plays,” Hyder said. “But I still have confidence in us, we still have confidence, and if anything, yeah, we want to come back out and show what we can do.”

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