GAME NOTES: Expecting to have a better showing this week than they did last weekend, the 19th-ranked BYU Cougars welcome the Air Force Falcons to Provo on Saturday afternoon for a Mountain West Conference showdown at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Last weekend the Cougars, one of three teams in the league currently ranked in the AP's Top-25, went up against one of the weakest teams in all of college football and almost watched the New Mexico Lobos snap their 13-game losing streak. Instead, BYU managed to slip by the home team with a narrow 24-19 triumph in Albuquerque. The win was the second in a row and the sixth in seven outings for a team who has fallen only to TCU and Florida State in 2009.

As for the Falcons, already eligible for a bowl berth, they ran their MWC mark to 5-2 on Saturday with a 45-17 blowout of UNLV at home in Colorado. For the academy it was the third straight win and the fourth in five games as they finish up their regular season this weekend.

Last year, Air Force lost by two touchdowns (38-24) against the Cougars, allowing BYU to move to a commanding 27-6 advantage in the all-time series.

Aside from the 72-0 blowout against Nicholls State in the season opener, last week's effort against UNLV was the best of the year for the Falcons with the squad generating a hefty 431 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Earning himself league praise this week, running back Asher Clark carried the ball 18 times for 160 yards and three scores for the academy.

Also having a strong game passing the ball was Tim Jefferson who hit on 8- of-13 for 126 yards but, more importantly, didn't throw any interceptions and refrained from being sacked at all.

As for the Falcon defense, it allowed a struggling UNLV squad to post just 147 yards on the ground and another 135 yards through the air, leaving the Rebels to average just 4.5 yards per snap.

Consistently one of the top rushing teams in the nation, Air Force is again near the head of the class in that department with 279.2 ypg, ranking the group first in the conference and fourth in the nation this week. Where the squad drops the proverbial ball is in the passing game where Jefferson has guided the team to just 81.8 ypg, ranking them last in the MWC and 118th in the nation.

Because the Falcons keep the ball on the ground as much as they do and eat up plenty of clock, opponents generally have to resort to passing the ball and that has played right into their hands. Right now there's no one better in the nation in pass defense as the Falcons permit just 127.9 ypg. The run defense has been strong as well with only 137.5 ypg permitted, which means altogether Air Force is seventh in the nation in total defense, giving up a mere 13.3 ppg to rank ninth in that department.

The Cougars expected to cruise past New Mexico last week, just as so many other opponents have done versus the Lobos in the last 13 weeks, but it just wasn't meant to be so easy. BYU quarterback Max Hall stepped up and converted 21-of-33 passes for 314 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but he was also sacked twice and intercepted once in the contest. Hall had to pick up the slack because the running game was nowhere to be found as it generated a mere 41 net yards on 23 attempts.

"I think the difference in the game itself, from an offensive perspective...from what type of game we thought it would be and the way it ended up being," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said as he reflected on the UNM meeting, "I think New Mexico's ability to play run defense against us...we were very effective."

Trying to shut down the Lobos, BYU was still a bit weak stopping the home team's passing attack. Donovan Porterie was permitted to hit for 272 yards and a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions. On a positive note, the Cougars did get through to take down Porterie five times behind the line of scrimmage and that helped to slow the UNM offense.

Hall, who is now tied with former Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer for the most wins by a BYU quarterback with 29, ranks first in the conference and is now second in the nation with a 166.52 pass efficiency rating. The signal-caller accounts for more than 290 ypg in total offense to again rank first in the MWC and ninth in the country this week.

Thanks to efforts against Tulane and Wyoming, a pair of opponents who combined to score only three points versus the Cougars this season, BYU is currently fourth in the conference and 37th in the nation with 21.6 ppg allowed. However, those defensive efforts appear to be more the exception than the rule for the team this year because there were also games against Florida State and TCU in which the squad gave up 54 and 38 points, respectively.

"I think you're gonna find two teams that are excited to play football," said Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun about this matchup in his weekly press conference. "The thing that we realize is, to be able to go play well there requires extraordinary focus and preparation and you have to play like a seasoned football team...I expect us to play well."

The Cougars have had more than a few bumps in the road this season and after New Mexico gave them such a hard fight last week, almost anything is possible this time in Provo. Expect to see the Falcons give BYU all it can handle and maybe even send the Cougars to their third loss of the season.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Air Force 28, BYU 24