COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Troy Calhoun has a football team that ran for 304 yards at Wyoming without punting and still lost by two touchdowns. Now Calhoun must prepare a third starting quarterback while correcting the mistakes that cost Air Force at Wyoming.
Evan Medders is out Saturday with turf toe. Liam Szarka is already lost for the season with a knee injury. Senior Josh Johnson and freshman Howard Fisher IV are competing for the next opportunity, and Calhoun expects at least two quarterbacks to play. The Falcons are 5-2, one victory from bowl eligibility, but the man taking the snap will be asked to manage an offense that lost three fumbles in its last game.
Calhoun announced Medders’ absence at Tuesday’s media availability without giving a return date. He does not believe the injury necessarily ends the sophomore’s season. Air Force has limited practice time to prepare his replacements.
Medders had made the most of his opportunity after Szarka went down. He rushed for at least 100 yards in three consecutive starts, including 115 against Wyoming on 21 carries. He also threw a five-yard touchdown to Grant Wayne after halftime and ran for the two-point conversion that brought Air Force within 21-14. Then he left injured late in the third quarter.
Johnson replaced him, with Fisher appearing later. Both played in the Wyoming loss. The Falcons’ offense did not punt, finished with 387 yards and spent long stretches moving the chains. Yet three lost fumbles, two by Johnson in the fourth quarter, erased chances to score and left the defense dealing with possessions that should have belonged to Air Force.
One fumble came near Wyoming’s goal line with Air Force threatening to tie. Another ended a fourth-and-2 opportunity around midfield. The final score was 28-14. Air Force’s productive running game could not overcome those lost scoring chances.
Calhoun has not announced which of his remaining quarterbacks will start. He generally gives four players practice work, but intends to concentrate the repetitions on fewer options this week. The goal is to have two quarterbacks prepared for the calls they are most likely to make Saturday rather than split the work so evenly that neither is ready for a complete drive.
Johnson is the experienced choice. Calhoun pointed to effective passing and rushing in his previous work against Colorado State, but he did not suggest that last season’s plan can simply be copied for UConn. Johnson knows the Academy’s system and has been in games with the varsity offense. He also has to carry the responsibility of two fumbles from the Wyoming loss into a week when ball security is the first requirement.
Fisher spent a year at the Academy’s prep school learning the terminology and developing physically. Calhoun is evaluating which concepts he can execute now. Going younger could give Air Force a quarterback to develop beyond this week, but Saturday’s choice still has to account for the reads he can make against UConn. Calhoun has to weigh Johnson’s experience against what Fisher can handle in the offense now.
Fisher’s work at Wyoming was his most extensive yet: nine carries for 38 yards and three completions on seven attempts for 36 yards. He entered with three career carries. Calhoun has game evidence, but that appearance does not establish how much of the game plan Fisher can run. Preparing him alongside Johnson gives the staff another option if the first choice struggles or an injury forces another change.
Kemper Hodges has also taken some practice work at quarterback, though the staff has used him primarily at fullback. Calhoun has not named him a starter. An offense that involves its quarterback in the running game needs replacements who can manage the exchange as well as the play call.
Receiver Adam Hrynciw put some of the obligation on the players around the new quarterback. Establish runs, provide familiar throws and finish catches even when the pass is imperfect. Hrynciw’s role becomes more demanding with Johnson or Fisher learning the game plan. A new starter cannot correct a missed block or an available pass that hits the ground.
Guard Alec Falk is also out with an elbow strain, with Calhoun estimating an absence of about three weeks. The replacement beside the other linemen has to communicate while the quarterback and fullback sort out the option read. Even with a smaller game plan, Johnson and Fisher will need the blockers and receivers to execute their assignments.
The Wyoming defeat had already shown how quickly one mistake can replace a good drive. Penalties erased first downs on two first-half possessions that ended with field goals; another wiped out a would-be touchdown run before the ball was lost. Air Force had the ball long enough to run 78 plays. Those drives still produced only 14 points.
Calhoun has emphasized points per possession, and Wyoming supplied a painful reason. A team that never punted still finished with 14 points. Concentrating the quarterback repetitions might improve the next exchange, but it will not correct a holding penalty elsewhere. The staff needs a plan the new starter can handle, and the returning players need to avoid the penalties that wiped out gains at Wyoming.
UConn brings a productive offense to Colorado Springs. The Huskies are 4-3 with two straight wins under first-year coach Jason Candle, averaging 35.6 points and 203 rushing yards. They beat Air Force 26-16 in Connecticut last year and are coming off a 35-16 win over UMass in which Cyncir Bowers ran for 131 yards. The Falcons’ defense will have work of its own regardless of the quarterback decision on the opposite sideline Saturday.
Air Force hosts UConn at 1:05 p.m. Mountain, 12:05 p.m. Pacific, Saturday on MW+. Army follows. Johnson has experience, and Fisher can earn more of the varsity offense. Hrynciw and the players blocking beside Falk’s replacement can make either quarterback’s first series easier. Calhoun needs that support to give either quarterback a better chance than Air Force had in the closing possessions at Wyoming.
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