The Air Force Falcons are taking on the South Dakota Coyotes in their 2011 season opener, and while South Dakota is a FCS team they are not going to be a push over. They do return 19 of 22 starters with 13 of those being named to the Great West All-Conference teams. They played two FBS teams in Central Florida and Minnesota, who they beat.
Last season the Coyotes went 4-7 and are expected to be better with their returning talent. The Coyotes are led by quarterback Dante Warren, who was a second team all-Great West Conference selection, accounted for 2,530 yards and is a dual-threat quarterback. He is equally good at passing and running.
The passing game is the strength of this offense as the Coyotes bring back all of their starting receivers from a year ago. So that will be the area of concern for the Air Force secondary. The Coyotes' best receiver is Will Powell who had 933 yards and 10 touchdowns, but look for the Falcons' best corner Anthony Wright to cover Powell on Saturday.
Look for Air Force to not show too much in this first game, because they face TCU next week. There is no reason for the Falcons to run anything other then a plain offense.
Game time is set for 12 p.m. MT and will be shown on The Mtn.