¬ The "other" battle for the front range -- the one that isn't the Wyoming-Colorado State fracus -- takes place this Saturday as the Air Force Falcons head north to take on the Wyoming Cowboys.

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun hopes his team learned all it needs to in a 41-7 win over Southern Utah.

"If life is about experience and living and learning," Calhoun said, "then we need to learn fast, especially this weekend playing up in Laramie."

The hostile crowd and rough weather won't be the only thing waiting across the border for Calhoun's Falcons. Wyoming coach Joe Glenn hopes to have Air Force's unconventional offense more than figured out.

"They are spreading it out all over the field," Glenn said. "It may take us a couple of days of watching film just to figure out what positions guys are playing."

Glenn may not know exactly what to expect from the Academy's offense, but he is well acquainted with the Falcons' defense.

"We only scored 12 points on them last year and they took the ball away from us five times," Glenn said.

Calhoun doesn't expect the Cowboys to be weak on that side of the ball, either.

"They were a top-25 defense last year," Calhoun said. "This week we are going up against an excellent crew."

The fames against AFA will mark Wyoming's 1000th Division 1 football game.

"Wyoming football has been a great source of pride for that state," Calhoun said of his neighbors to the north.

Big win for Utah

Going into last Saturday's game against Michigan, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham's team had a lot of confidence.

Coming out with a 25-23 victory in The Big House didn't hurt that confidence a bit.

"This is a very confident football team and they have a bit of swagger to them," Whittingham said. "Our football team has a great deal of confidence because of their preparation."

Although he acknowledged that it was a big win, Whittingham was not all that impressed with his team.

"That was the disappointing part, one good half of football and one sub-par half," Whittingham said.

At least, the Utes where impressive to someone -- Mike Sanford. Sanford's UNLV Rebels will face Utah on Saturday in Salt Lake City.

"Michigan played with a sense of urgency in the second half, but the bottom line is Utah stopped them," Sanford said.

TCU

Horned Frogs' coach Gary Patterson was not all that impressed with his defense, which allowed only three points this past Saturday to New Mexico.

"We are not there yet," Patterson said. "We played very hard. We played very physical. But, we didn't play that smart."

New Mexico coach Rocky Long may have a difference of opinion. In addition to holding his Lobos to a field goal, TCU ran over quarterback Donavon Porterie.

"We probably won't see anyone faster than TCU," Long said.

SDSU

After a loss to Cal Poly, SDSU coach Chuck Long is actually looking forward to a trip to South Bend to face Notre Dame.

"It's a chance to put our program on the map because of the national TV audience," Long said.

The Fighting Irish have all their games televised on NBC.

CSU

Maybe it was the Sunday start. Maybe it was the Democratic National Convention in town. Maybe Steve Fairchild thought his Colorado State Rams could channel the 1980s 49ers.

Whatever caused it, the Rams threw the ball 37 times in their 38-17 loss to Colorado.

Was this a sign of what to expect from Fairchild?

No.

"They were playing the run first and then the score dictated it," Fairchild said.