AFA Sports   Air Force Academy sports

Junior safety Jon Davis was named the Mountain West Conference’s defensive player of the week, the first time he has received that honor.

He had a team-high six tackles against Wyoming, including one for loss, a big interception on the first drive of the game in the end zone, and somehow came away with a fourth-quarter fumble recovery on what ended up being Wyoming’s last offensive play. Air Force ran out the clock after Davis’ recovery. Falcons coach Troy Calhoun said when he watched the film of the game Sunday, he was surprised Davis was the one that eventually got the ball.

“He was the last one in the pile,” Calhoun said.

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As you all know, Kevin Fogler will be out a few weeks. Also, some early comments on Navy in there.

Navy news: The Midshipmen were happy to get the bye when they did.

Around the Mountain West/service academies: Utah’s getting a bye. … Aztecs are too. … BYU is getting hungrier, the Deseret News reports. I don’t know, if I was a Cougars fan, I’d hope they’d be getting better instead. … TCU drops in the poll, after winning by 17. Get used to this, folks. People in Boise should beware, too. Funny things are going to happen over the next few weeks. Think the BCS wants Boise State or TCU in the title game? Not if they can help it. … Wyoming is trying to stay positive.

Receiver Kevin Fogler has an injured posterior cruciate ligament in his knee and will be out for perhaps the rest of Air Force’s regular season.

“Maybe mid-November,” Falcons coach Troy Calhoun said of Fogler’s possible return. “Early November at the very soonest.”

Air Force’s final regular-season game is Nov. 18.

Fogler injured himself in the third quarter of Saturday’s game at Wyoming. Zach Kauth will get more playing time in Fogler’s usual “X” receiver spot.

Fogler came into this season with a 21.5-yard average per catch, the second highest in school history.

Here’s the game story, and I guess the point I was trying to make is this – Air Force probably should have had an easier time. So while I was impressed with the Falcons’ poise late in the game, they really didn’t play that well to put themselves in that spot.

Ramsey says the Falcons need to play better to beat Navy.

If I were an Air Force fan, I’d be very nervous about how the special teams have been playing.

The notes lead with something you’ve probably already seen: Notre Dame and Air Force have a tentative agreement to play in 2011 and 2013.

Wyoming news: The Cowboys couldn’t get off the field. Air Force ran 30 more second-half plays than Wyoming. … Wyoming will lament this loss for a while.

Around the Mountain West/service academies:

Colorado State 36, Idaho 34: Nice of the Rams to break the 12-game losing streak. Their freshman quarterback Pete Thomas is going to be very, very good in this league.

UNLV 45, New Mexico 10: Oh my goodness.

Nevada 27, BYU 13: Each week, that Week 2 Air Force win looks a little less impressive.

San Diego State 41, Utah State 7: Don’t sleep on the Aztecs. Remember, Utah State gave Oklahoma a game.

Utah 56, San Jose State 3: Utes did what they had to do.

Army 35, Duke 21: Duke isn’t great, but this is a solid win.

Nathan Walker scored the game-tying touchdown for Air Force on Saturday, and that might have been his second biggest contribution to a tough victory.

Walker, who is Jared Tew’s backup at fullback, had a fantastic block on quarterback Tim Jefferson’s game-winning 6-yard touchdown run with 3:41 remaining. Walker also scored on a key 9-yard run with 11:59 left in the game, which tied it 14-14.

“They were both fun,” Walker said. “Just trying to make the most of my opportunities and do whatever I can.”

The block was one of the tougher assignments an Air Force player had against Wyoming. Jefferson had a draw play, and Walker would be isolated on Wyoming linebacker Brian Hendricks. The same Hendricks that piled up 23 tackles in a game against Air Force last year and had 12 in the first half on Saturday. But Walker threw a textbook block. He hit Hendricks and knocked him back a little, then kept his feet driving to open up a huge hole for Jefferson to run through.

“He just sealed it off,” Jefferson said. “There was nobody else there. He made it really easy for me to get in the end zone.”

“You kind of are on an island, and just going against him one-on-one,” Walker said. “You just try to come out on top.”

Walker is a senior who went to high school at Colorado Springs Christian, and he spends most of his time watching from the sideline as Tew plays a huge role in Air Force’s offense. But Walker has done well with his opportunities, and perhaps his biggest contribution was in the fourth quarter against Wyoming. Walker said days like this one make him feel like his hard work has paid off.

“It’s not just an insurance policy, but he’s a legitimate contributor,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “That’s one of those guys, holy cow, what a special kid.”

Details are still being worked out, but there is a tentative agreement for Air Force to play a home-and-home series in football against Notre Dame, Air Force athletics director Hans Mueh said. Mueh said he anticipated the contract for the series would be signed very soon.

The plans are for the 2011 game to be held at Notre Dame on Oct. 8, with the return game at Air Force in 2013. Air Force has not played Notre Dame since 2007, and hasn’t hosted the Fighting Irish, one of the biggest draws in college football, since 2006.

Mueh said Notre Dame approached Air Force about renewing the series. The series had a hiatus when Charlie Weis was head coach of the Fighting Irish, but they have a new coach in Brian Kelly and want to play the Falcons again.

“That means a lot to us,” Mueh said. “They recognize the great relationship we’ve had through the years.”

That wasn’t the prettiest first half the Falcons have had. Still, Air Force would have led had it not been for two big special-teams mistakes.

On the first play of the second quarter, Erik Soderberg missed a 26-yard field goal wide right. On the last play of the second quarter, Soderberg never got a chance to kick a 40-yard field goal because the snap from Colton Reid bounced back to holder Ben Cochran.

The Falcons have had issues other than special teams. The run defense has not been very good. Wyoming came into the game having gained 73 rushing yards in its first three games, and had 140 in the first half against the Falcons. Wyoming tailback Alvester Alexander already has 110 yards and a touchdown.

All indications are that receiver Kevin Fogler, who missed the last three quarters last week with a head injury, will come back to the lineup today against Wyoming.

Fogler is dressed out and participating in his normal warmup repetitions for the Falcons about 40 minutes before kickoff.

Well, Ramsey got us to Laramie safe, and it’s another beautiful day for Air Force football up here.

Air Force is a significant favorite, and aside from the “trap game” angle, the biggest concern the Falcons have today is Wyoming quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels. If Carta-Samuels doesn’t have a big day, the Falcons will roll, it’s as simple as that.

Wyoming will spread it out and offer some unusual formations, which accentuates Carta-Samuels’ abilities.

“The quarterback is the guy that runs the show for them, and does a nice job,” defensive coordinator Matt Wallerstedt said.

Carta-Samuels had a tough day against Air Force last year, getting sacked six times in a shutout loss. But the Falcons come into this year’s game with absolute respect for the Cowboys’ quarterback.

“He’s a really good scrambler, just a playmaker,” defensive end Rick Ricketts said. “You lose contain one time, and he’s got days to throw.”

Last year, breakdowns in contain were rare for the Falcons against Carta-Samuels. But part of his struggles were simply inexperience, which shouldn’t be as pronounced now that he has seen the Falcons’ defense.

What works in Air Force’s favor is two games against mobile, dangerous quarterbacks. Paul Harris of Northwestern State and Riley Nelson of BYU each had good moments against the Falcons, but they should be better off today for that experience.

“I think it helps us, realizing how important being disciplined on defense is,” Ricketts said.