2006 Week 2

Air Force opened their season with a tough loss on the road at Neyland stadium, 28-20. In front of a packed crowd on a rainy afternoon, the Falcons threatened to upset the 14th ranked Volunteers, taking the lead twice in a back-and-forth battle, but the big play ability of Tennessee's speedy playmakers eventually put an end to Air Force's upset bid.

After holding Tennessee to one first down and a punt on the first series of the game, the Falcon offense offered no help, as Shaun Carney was intercepted on the first two Air Force drives, first near the redzone under enormous pressure in the backfield, and later when a skyrocketing linebacker interrupted a short toss to a wide open Handley. Between these interceptions, Tennesee marched easily down the field on their way to a 7-0 lead.

The Falcons would respond with two scores of their own, kicking a field goal and taking a 10-7 lead on Shaun Carney's scramble into the endzone early in the third quarter. The Volunteers would prove to be too much in the second half though, as the teams traded scores finally capped off by a 10-yard TD pass from Erik Ainge with 2:32 left to put the game almost out of reach. Air Force had one last chance, driving to the Tennessee 20, but the game was over when Handley took a handoff on 4th and 1 and was blown up in the backfield for a 3-yard loss. The loss of yardage took Handley under 100 yards (97) for the game.

Carney finished with 16-of-32 passing for 266 yards, 1 TD and 3 interceptions, often pressured to try to force the ball into double- and triple-coverage. Despite the interceptions, the Falcon offense managed to generate 447 yards of total offense and 27 first downs.

"Our blocking needs to improve dramatically," Air Force coach Kirk Hemmen said after the game. "Carney needs to make better decisions in the pocket, but that's hard to do when the pocket collapses so quickly." Hemmen also lamented his team's inability to finish drives, twice turning it over on 4th down, and twice being held to field goals. "Those kinds of things change the momentum of the game," he said.

Air Force is off next week, then Travels to Wyoming on the 23rd to take on the Cowboys.