COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — College football coaches promise recruits games against top-10 teams. Playing against highly-ranked Notre Dame makes it only better.
Air Force will get its chance to knock off the Irish on Saturday night at Falcon Stadium in an ESPN telecast.
Notre Dame (6-0), winner of 11 consensus national championships, holds the No. 7 ranking in both polls. Air Force (6-0) moved up to No. 18 in the Associated Press poll and No. 15 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll Sunday.
“With Notre Dame coming in, it’s going to be bigger than life,” Falcon back Joel Buelow said.
Air Force set up this matchup of unbeatens by dispatching defending Mountain West Conference champion Brigham Young 52-9 Saturday night at Falcon Stadium. Air Force trailed 3-0, then scored the next 45 points to avenge a 63-33 blitzing at BYU a year ago.
Air Force has been determined to get back to its winning ways after a 6-6 season in 2001. In the second game this season Air Force knocked off New Mexico, which had won a school-record three in a row against the Falcons. In the fourth game, the Falcons rallied to edge Utah, which beat Air Force to the Mountain West’s postseason berths last season, although Air Force could gloat over a season-ending 38-37 win over Utah.
In the past three seasons, Air Force has gone to one bowl and
hasn’t claimed a Mountain West title.
By beating BYU, Air Force put itself at 3-0 in the conference with three teams picked ahead of it in the preseason standings already defeated.
As for a postseason game, Air Force can make its unprecedented Bowl Championship Series statement by defeating Notre Dame. The first BCS poll of the year will be released Oct. 21. Even if it wins the Mountain West, Air Force won’t be assured a BCS berth to one of the elite Fiesta, Rose, Sugar or Orange bowls. Air Force needs a top-six finish in the BCS standings to accomplish such a feat.