Notre Dame @ Air Force preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 8, 2011 ) Air Force 33, Notre Dame 59

Notre Dame hopes to have senior quarterback Tommy Rees behind center when it visits Air Force on Saturday. Rees suffered a neck injury in last weekend’s victory over USC but he returned to practice Tuesday and Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly sees that as a sign his signal caller will be on the field against the Falcons. Air Force, which hasn’t played since Oct. 10, has lost six consecutive games since recording a season-opening victory over Colgate.

Rees departed in the third quarter against the Trojans and Kelly said his status will officially be firmed up later in the week. “We believe that Tommy’s going to be ready,” Kelly said. “He was cleared to practice so we’re moving forward that he will be the starter.” Air Force also has a starting quarterback returning from injury. Sophomore Karson Roberts suffered a head injury during a loss to San Diego State on Oct. 10 and was cleared to return to practice early this week.

TV: 5 p.m. ET, CBS Sports. LINE: Notre Dame -19.5.

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (5-2): Rees has passed for 1,660 yards with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions and the passing game will suffer if senior Andrew Hendrix (1-for-10, nine yards) is forced to be the starter. Juniors George Atkinson III (363 yards) and Cam McDaniel (351 yards) are splitting the ball-carrying duties while senior receiver T.J. Jones (37 receptions, 527 yards) has caught a touchdown pass in four consecutive games and junior wideout DaVaris Daniels (28 for 429) is also having a solid campaign. Senior inside linebacker Carlo Calabrese has a team-high 48 tackles (five for losses), junior defensive end Stephon Tuitt has five sacks this season and is tied for sixth in school history with 19, and junior safety Matthias Farley has two of Notre Dame’s six interceptions.

ABOUT AIR FORCE (1-6): Roberts has thrown three of the Falcons’ four passing touchdowns and was just starting to grasp the offense prior to his injury. Senior Anthony LaCoste (282 yards) is third on the team in rushing behind juniors Broam Hart (386) and Jon Lee (350) but had a career-best 109 yards on 22 carries against San Diego State to become the fifth different Air Force player to top 100 yards this season. Junior inside linebacker Joey Nichol has 68 tackles – including 6.5 for losses – for the Falcons, who give up 37.6 points per game and are allowing opponents to complete 73.2 percent of their passes.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Notre Dame leads the series 23-6 and won the last meeting when it notched a 59-33 home win in 2011.

2. The Fighting Irish have won in each of their last six visits to Air Force.

3. The Falcons have scored at least one rushing touchdown in 54 straight games, the longest active streak in FBS.

PREDICTION: Notre Dame 30, Air Force 13