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Air Force finished tied for third in the Mountain West. The Falcons had the same overall record as San Diego State, finishing behind TCU and Utah. TCU had nine first-team all-Mountain West picks, Utah had four, San Diego State had six, and Air Force? Just one. That’s the same amount as New Mexico and Colorado State, which combined for three conference wins.

Cornerback Reggie Rembert, the lone Falcon on the all-MWC first team, said it was disappointing he was the only one.

“It really was,” Rembert said. “I think we have a lot more deserving players than that.”

Team success doesn’t always mean individual awards are deserved, and there doesn’t seem to be any dramatic snub among the Falcons. Perhaps one of the offensive linemen on the all-MWC second team, Chase Darden or A.J. Wallerstein, had a good case as part of a unit that was a big part of the Falcons’ success this year. Air Force ranks second among FBS teams in rushing offense.

Go to the bottom of this story on Rembert (loved the story about the pictures on the wall outside the locker room) to view the all-MWC first team. Let me know which Falcons should have been on it.

The Falcons, who have been hit hard by injuries at the forward position, lost another last week. Freshman Myles Jerrett, who got good reviews during practice in October, broke a bone in the back of his shoulder during practice last Tuesday. He will have surgery and is out for the season, coach Jeff Reynolds said.

“He was Taylor Broekhuis’ backup,” Reynolds said. “Now we have no backup.”

The Falcons should get some help at forward about Jan. 1, when Zach Bohannon is scheduled to return from a thumb injury.

Jerrett had played just three minutes in two games. He did score two points and had two rebounds in his limited playing time.

Just sent out by Air Force …

Lt. Gen. Mike Gould, superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy: “The Air Force Academy has enjoyed having TCU in the Mountain West Conference. They have been a strong and competitive partner in the Mountain West, and we wish them the best as they move to the Big East. We feel very confident about the long-term sustainability of the Mountain West Conference, especially with the upcoming additions of Boise State, Fresno State and University of Nevada-Reno to the membership of the Mountain West family.”

Director of Athletics Dr. Hans Mueh: “TCU has been a valued member of the Mountain West Conference and we wish them well as they move on to the Big East. We’re confident that the Mountain West Conference will continue to thrive moving forward.”

The American Football Coaches Association has put Air Force cornerback Reggie Rembert on its All-American first team.

Rembert was joined in the All-American secondary with LSU’s Patrick Peterson, Nebraska’s Prince Amukamara and Oklahoma’s Quinton Carter. He and TCU linebacker Tank Carder were the only players from the Mountain West named to the team.

Fanhouse is reporting today that TCU has decided to leave for the Big East in all sports, beginning on July 1, 2012. That’s obviously an enormous blow for the Mountain West, losing its most successful football program over the past few years.

As Fanhouse points out, because TCU is joining before the 2012-13 school year, it’s BCS rankings for this evaluation period will go to the Big East’s rankings. That likely ruins the Mountain West’s shot at getting an automatic qualification into the BCS.

The Mountain West had added Boise State, Nevada and Fresno State and has been negotiating to add Hawaii in football. The conference has lost Utah, BYU and TCU – perhaps its three best football programs throughout the history of the league.

For details:

http://daveramseysez.freedomblogging.com/

Denver dominated the second period, and even though Air Force goaltender Jason Torf kept the Pioneers off the scoreboard for most of the period, the Pioneers finally broke through on a power-play goal by Drew Shore. The Pioneers outshot the Falcons 23-3 in the period.

Torf was magnificent most of the period, which has kept Air Force in the game. Denver scored on a scrum in front of the net with 6:52 remaining in the period, but it was disallowed after a review. But the Pioneers kept firing pucks at Torf and Shore finally beat him with 4:55 to go in the second.

Air Force got a five-minute power play on a major penalty with 1:01 left in the second period, but gave away two minutes of the advantage when Tim Kirby got a roughing penalty as time expired. Kirby hit DU’s Jason Zucker for shooting on goal after the horn.

Air Force outplayed Denver in just about every way and trails 1-0.

The Falcons have to be a bit frustrated after getting so many opportunities in the first period and coming up empty. The best chance was Jason Fabian’s wraparound shot that DU goalie Sam Brittain got his leg pad in front of for a great save. The Falcons had 16 shots to Denver’s 7 in the first period, and most of the shots were very good scoring opportunities.

Denver got on the board in the first few minutes after an Air Force power play.

With Boise State’s loss, TCU’s win and Utah beating BYU, Air Force’s bowl scenarios are pretty clear. At this point, barring something unusual it would seem the Falcons have two possible destinations: the Independence Bowl and the Las Vegas Bowl. As we’ve said here for many weeks, the Falcons going to the Independence Bowl is still the overwhelming favorite.

TCU is going to a BCS game. The possibility of Boise State passing them in the BCS standings and TCU getting left out of all the BCS bowls is off the table after Boise State lost Friday night. So there’s no chance TCU goes to the Las Vegas Bowl and knocks the other Mountain West teams down a slot.

San Diego State seems to be locked into the Poinsettia Bowl, which is the Mountain West’s second bowl. Utah would be the obvious choice for the Las Vegas Bowl at 10-2, but as SI.com has pointed out and the Salt Lake Tribune says here, the Las Vegas Bowl might not want a rematch of the Utah-Notre Dame game of a few weeks ago. The Irish is a possibility (although probably a long shot) for Las Vegas if it loses tonight against USC – it has been reported Notre Dame would be in line for the Champs Sports Bowl with a win over the Trojans.

That’s where Air Force-BYU comes into play. BYU is 6-6 after its loss today, and Air Force is 8-4 with a win over the Cougars. It’s hard to imagine the Las Vegas Bowl or Independence Bowl taking BYU over Air Force, although it is possible. Assuming Air Force is in line over BYU, the Falcons could be the choice if the Las Vegas Bowl gets Notre Dame and doesn’t want a rematch against Utah, or it seems like a good chance they will go to the Independence Bowl if Utah is the Las Vegas Bowl’s selection.

Air Force feels it is a better hockey team than it was a few weeks ago at the beginning of the season. The Falcons get a chance to show off their progress today.

Air Force takes on Denver in the Denver Cup at Magness Arena, with the winner claiming the title from the two-day even. Air Force and DU won yesterday.

DU is ranked 12th in the nation and beating the Pioneers, or even being competitive on Denver’s home ice, would be a good sign for a young Air Force team.

“We’re just excited to play Denver,” Air Force coach Frank Serratore said. “Hey, what the heck. That’s what it’s all about. We’ve put ourselves in a position where we can play the big dog, and we could win the Denver Cup. That would be fun.”

Serratore said his young players are showing more maturity and finding ways to win. He said the team is ready to make the step and beat an elite team. He pointed back to the loss to Colorado College – he didn’t think Air Force played poorly, but couldn’t find that way to win. He hopes that has changed.

Although Air Force’s win against Clarkson on Friday showed some progress, Serratore knows his team must be better tonight. Air Force didn’t score on the power play,  gave up a shorthanded goal and missed many scoring opportunities, some things that he knew needed to improve.

“In order for us to beat Denver, we’ll have to have a lot of things going for us,” Serratore said. “We’ll have to out-goaltend them, we’ll have to out-special team them, and we’ll have to take advantage of the chances we get.”

Defenseman Brad Sellers said the Falcons are excited to face a good Denver team.

“Denver is always a huge test, they’re a team that’s always in the NCAA Tournament, they’re a huge in-state rival for us,” Sellers said. “It’s another one of those steps we want to take growing as a team.”