The Falcons will work once again to stay a few steps ahead of in-state rival Colorado in non-conference action.
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Are the Buffs truly down?
The Air Force Falcons will close out a two-game homestand to open the 2022 season against the Colorado Buffaloes.
Since the last time these two teams clashed in 2019, they’ve moved along very different paths. The Falcons, of course, finished that year as a top-25 team and then won ten games again in 2021, while the Buffaloes have scuffled to two losing campaigns in the last three years. Will this fall be more of the same on both sides?
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Conference: Pac-12
Series History: Colorado leads the all-time series, 12-5.
2021 Record: 4-8 (3-6 Pac-12)
Head Coach: Karl Dorrell (third year at Colorado; 8-10 with Buffaloes, 43-37 overall). After surpassing expectations during the abbreviated COVID season in 2020, the Buffs fell on hard times last year. Most of that is owed to an offense that was one of the most anemic in the country, though the defense had its own fair share of struggles, too, outside of a pair of close wins against Oregon State and Washington.
Key Players
Daniel Arias, WR
Arias might be the de facto WR1 in this year’s offense after Brendan Rice left the program through the transfer portal. His numbers from last season, 19 receptions for 237 yards and one touchdown, reflect last year’s larger offensive struggles than anything, and at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds will make for an enticing target on Saturdays.
Brady Russell, TE
Whoever wins the quarterback job will be able to rely upon the steady Russell, who set career highs in 2021 with 25 catches and 307 receiving yards. Though he didn’t find the end zone, he has picked up his yards per catch average over the past two seasons and didn’t seem affected by the injury that wiped out nearly all of his 2020 campaign.
Robert Barnes, LB
With Nate Landman and Carson Wells having moved on, more will be expected of Barnes, the former Oklahoma transfer who saw action in 11 games, starting three, and picked up 41 total tackles, three tackles for loss, and an interception. He picked up more reps down the stretch in 2021, making at least six tackles in each of Colorado’s last four games, so he’ll be prepared to clean up near the line of scrimmage.
Josh Chandler-Semedo, LB
The Buffaloes needed defensive reinforcements and got at least one impact player from the transfer portal in Chandler-Semedo. He…